Nooksack River

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River in Washington state, United States

title: "Nooksack River" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["lynden,-washington", "nooksack", "rivers-of-washington-(state)", "geography-of-bellingham,-washington", "rivers-of-whatcom-county,-washington"] description: "River in Washington state, United States" topic_path: "geography" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nooksack_River" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary River in Washington state, United States ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox river"]

FieldValue
nameNooksack River
name_otherNorth Fork Nooksack River
imageNoonsack river-aerial.jpg
image_captionAerial photo of the river in Ferndale, Washington
mapNooksackBasin.jpg
map_captionNooksack Basin
pushpin_mapUSA Washington
pushpin_map_captionMouth of the Nooksack River in Washington
subdivision_type1Country
subdivision_name1United States
subdivision_type2State
subdivision_name2Washington
subdivision_type3Counties
subdivision_name3Whatcom
subdivision_type5Cities
subdivision_name5Ferndale, Marietta
length75 mi
discharge1_locationFerndale
discharge1_min466 cuft/s
discharge1_avg3814 cuft/s
discharge1_max48200 cuft/s
source1Cascade Range
source1_locationMount Baker Wilderness
source1_coordinates
source1_elevation3620 ft
mouthBellingham Bay
mouth_coordinates
mouth_elevation0 ft
basin_size786 sqmi
tributaries_leftWells Creek, Glacier Creek, Middle Fork Nooksack River, South Fork Nooksack River
tributaries_rightCanyon Creek
::

| name = Nooksack River | native_name = | native_name_lang = | name_other = North Fork Nooksack River | name_etymology = | image = Noonsack river-aerial.jpg | image_size = | image_caption = Aerial photo of the river in Ferndale, Washington | map = NooksackBasin.jpg | map_size = | map_caption = Nooksack Basin | pushpin_map = USA Washington | pushpin_map_size = | pushpin_map_caption= Mouth of the Nooksack River in Washington | subdivision_type1 = Country | subdivision_name1 = United States | subdivision_type2 = State | subdivision_name2 = Washington | subdivision_type3 = Counties | subdivision_name3 = Whatcom | subdivision_type4 = | subdivision_name4 = | subdivision_type5 = Cities | subdivision_name5 = Ferndale, Marietta | length = 75 mi | width_min = | width_avg = | width_max = | depth_min = | depth_avg = | depth_max = | discharge1_location= Ferndale | discharge1_min = 466 cuft/s | discharge1_avg = 3814 cuft/s | discharge1_max = 48200 cuft/s | source1 = Cascade Range | source1_location = Mount Baker Wilderness | source1_coordinates= | source1_elevation = 3620 ft | mouth = Bellingham Bay | mouth_location = | mouth_coordinates = | mouth_elevation = 0 ft | progression = | river_system = | basin_size = 786 sqmi | tributaries_left = Wells Creek, Glacier Creek, Middle Fork Nooksack River, South Fork Nooksack River | tributaries_right = Canyon Creek | custom_label = | custom_data = | extra =

The Nooksack River is a river in western Whatcom County of the northwestern U.S. state of Washington, draining extensive valley systems within the North Cascades around Mount Shuksan, Mount Baker and the Twin Sisters, and a portion of Fraser Lowland south of the Canada–United States border.

The river proper begins with the merging of three main tributaries, namely the North Fork, Middle Fork and South Fork, near Deming. All three forks originate in the Mount Baker Wilderness, and the North Fork, the longest of the three, is sometimes considered the main river. The Nooksack is approximately 75 mi in total length measuring from the North Fork headwaters. The lower Nooksack flows as a northerly loop through the fertile southern Fraser Lowland agricultural area before emptying into Bellingham Bay and, via the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Strait of Georgia, communicating with the Pacific Ocean.

Course

North Fork

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c4/Nooksack_Canyon.jpg" caption="Looking down at the raging North Fork Nooksack River from the Mount Baker Highway, which, at this location, runs along a 200-foot cliff that drops almost straight into the river. This location is just upstream from Nooksack Falls."] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/25/Nooksack_Headwaters_2010.JPG" caption="Nooksack River [[cirque"] ::

The North Fork Nooksack River rises at the Nooksack Cirque east of Mount Shuksan within the western part of North Cascades National Park in central Whatcom County. Gathering meltwater off East Nooksack Glacier, it flows generally west past north of Mount Baker. For most of its course, this fork is paralleled by State Route 542 (also called the Mount Baker Highway). The river picks up large creeks such as Price Creek, a short creek draining Price Lake; as well as Ruth Creek, before the uppermost highway bridge crosses it.

At Nooksack Falls, the river flows through a narrow valley and drops freely 88 ft into a deep rocky river canyon. The falls are viewable from the forested cover near the cliff edge. A small parking lot nearby contains a kiosk with information about the falls and a hydroelectric project.

Continuing west, the North Fork receives several tributaries including Wells Creek, which joins the river at the base of the falls, and Glacier Creek and Canyon Creek, before the river turns briefly south. The Middle Fork and South Fork join the North Fork within a few miles of one another. The Middle Fork joins first, with its confluence opposite Welcome. The South Fork joins just southeast of Deming and the Nooksack Indian Reservation, creating the Nooksack River proper.

The traditional name of the North Fork in the Nooksack language is Chuw7álich ("the next point").{{Cite web | title = Cultural Resources Department | work = NookSack Indian Tribe | access-date = 2013-09-16 | url = http://www.nooksacktribe.org/departments/cultural-resources/ | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140104111111/http://www.nooksacktribe.org/departments/cultural-resources/ | archive-date = 2014-01-04 | url-status = dead

Middle Fork

The Middle Fork Nooksack River, about 20 mi long, originates on the southern slopes of Mount Baker near Baker Pass. It flows generally northwest between Mount Baker and Twin Sisters, and drains into the North Fork opposite Welcome, about 4.5 km northeast of the confluence between the North and South Forks.

The traditional name of the Middle Fork in the Nooksack language is Nuxwt’íqw’em ("always-murky water").

South Fork

The South Fork Nooksack River, about 50 mi long, rises in southern Whatcom County, east of Twin Sisters Mountain near Bell Pass and Lake Wiseman. It flows briefly south, entering Skagit County, then northwest to re-enter Whatcom County. It flows past the town of Acme, and due north until merging with the North Fork near the State Route 9 bridge, 1 mi southeast of Deming and the Nooksack Indian Reservation.

The traditional name of the South Fork in the Nooksack language is Nuxw7íyem ("always-clear water").

Nooksack ''proper''

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ab/Glacier_Creek_and_the_North_Fork_of_the_Nooksack_River.jpg" caption="Glacier Creek joins the Nooksack River"] ::

After the Middle and South Forks join, the combined river flows northwest, emerging from the valley south of the Sumas Mountain and flowing past Everson and Lynden. Near Everson, the river is at risk of floods breaching the right bank, allowing flow into lower lands to the north, through Sumas River and into Canada. At Lynden the river turns southwest and, near Ferndale, south. Its mouth is at the north side of Bellingham Bay at the Lummi Indian Reservation, approximately 3 mi west of Bellingham.

River modifications

The river supplies the nearby town of Glacier, Washington with hydroelectric power from a dam on the North Fork near Nooksack Falls. The Middle Fork was partially blocked with a diversion dam built by the City of Bellingham in the late 1950s for diverting water into Lake Whatcom, which supplies the city's drinking water. As of July 2020, this old water diversion system has been modified to remove the dam and restore the river channel for the benefit of critical salmon spawning habitat.

In the late 19th century, most of the stream flow of the Nooksack River near its mouth flowed through the present channel of the short Lummi River to Lummi Bay, northwest of Bellingham Bay. Near the start of the 20th century, a log jam plugged the channel to Lummi Bay, forcing the river to change its channel to the present one. The accumulation of the new river delta has been an ongoing field of research regarding the new wetlands it has created. The river only resupplies the previous delta on Lummi Bay during high-flow conditions.

Floods

The river is subject to flooding due to high rainfall amounts in the region and some of the deepest snow packs in the country. The Pineapple Express, a weather pattern that brings central Pacific wind and rain to the northwest, can sometimes catalyze flooding. For example, flooding in Everson occurred 14 times from to 1936 to 2003. Specific examples of floods are:

Both the U.S. and Canada have faced long-term political hurdles to adequate flood prevention. "On the Washington side, there has been a reluctance to spend money to benefit Canada", and on the Canadian side, "B.C. has been reluctant to use the International Joint Commission following a 1988 report that resulted in the cancellation of the Sage Creek coal mine on the Flathead River".

References

References

  1. [http://www.bartleby.com/69/14/N04214.html Nooksack River] {{webarchive. link. (2004-07-02 , The Columbia Gazetteer of North America.)
  2. {{gnis. 1523812
  3. [[Google Earth]] elevation for [[Geographic Names Information System. GNIS]] coordinates.
  4. {{gnis. 1523714
  5. [https://pubs.usgs.gov/wdr/2005/wdr-wa-05-1/pdf/wa00103ADR2005_Figure44.pdf Nooksack River Basin], Water Resource Data, Washington, 2005, [[United States Geological Survey. USGS]].
  6. {{gnis. 1523077
  7. {{gnis. 1526222
  8. (2000). "Washington Road & Recreation Atlas". [[Benchmark Maps]].
  9. (2020-07-20). "Bang! Watch a Nooksack River dam finally coming down, freeing miles for fish habitat".
  10. "April 2003 update, Nooksack Rivers International Task Force".
  11. Nathan Vanderklippe. (December 3, 2021). "The U.S. rebuffed decades of pleas from B.C. to shore up a dike for $29 million. Now, damage from flooding will hit $1 billion". [[The Globe and Mail]].
  12. (February 6, 2018). "Down by the River". [[The Bellingham Herald]].
  13. Blumenthal, Les. (October 2010). "Endangered species ruling could slow development in floodplains". Tacoma News, Inc..
  14. (2021-11-16). "Immediate evacuation order for Sumas Prairie due to landslide in Abbotsford".
  15. Hauser, Christine. (2021-11-16). "Evacuations Continue After Mudslides in British Columbia". The New York Times.
  16. Robert Mittendorf. (December 10, 2025). "Low-lying areas of Whatcom County under imminent flood threat as Nooksack rises". The Olympian.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

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