Wenatchee River
title: "Wenatchee River" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["wenatchee,-washington", "rivers-of-washington-(state)", "tributaries-of-the-columbia-river", "rivers-of-chelan-county,-washington"] topic_path: "general/wenatchee-washington" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wenatchee_River" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::data[format=table title="Infobox river"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Wenatchee River |
| image | Wenatchee River west of Leavenworth, WA 02.jpg |
| image_size | 300 |
| image_caption | The Wenatchee River west of Leavenworth |
| map | Wenatcheerivermap.jpg |
| map_caption | Map of the Wenatchee River |
| pushpin_map | USA Washington |
| pushpin_map_caption | Mouth of the Wenatchee River in Washington |
| subdivision_type1 | Country |
| subdivision_name1 | United States |
| subdivision_type2 | State |
| subdivision_name2 | Washington |
| subdivision_type4 | County |
| subdivision_name4 | Chelan |
| length | 53 mi |
| discharge1_location | river mile 7 at Monitor |
| discharge1_min | 221 cuft/s |
| discharge1_avg | 3231 cuft/s |
| discharge1_max | 45200 cuft/s |
| source1 | Lake Wenatchee |
| source1_coordinates | |
| mouth | Columbia River |
| mouth_location | Wenatchee |
| mouth_coordinates | |
| basin_size | 1333 sqmi |
| :: |
| name = Wenatchee River | native_name = | native_name_lang = | name_other = | name_etymology = | image = Wenatchee River west of Leavenworth, WA 02.jpg | image_size = 300 | image_caption = The Wenatchee River west of Leavenworth | map = Wenatcheerivermap.jpg | map_size = | map_caption = Map of the Wenatchee River | pushpin_map = USA Washington | pushpin_map_size = | pushpin_map_caption= Mouth of the Wenatchee River in Washington | subdivision_type1 = Country | subdivision_name1 = United States | subdivision_type2 = State | subdivision_name2 = Washington | subdivision_type3 = | subdivision_name3 = | subdivision_type4 = County | subdivision_name4 = Chelan | subdivision_type5 = | subdivision_name5 = | length = 53 mi | width_min = | width_avg = | width_max = | depth_min = | depth_avg = | depth_max = | discharge1_location= river mile 7 at Monitor | discharge1_min = 221 cuft/s | discharge1_avg = 3231 cuft/s | discharge1_max = 45200 cuft/s | source1 = Lake Wenatchee | source1_location = | source1_coordinates= | source1_elevation = | mouth = Columbia River | mouth_location = Wenatchee | mouth_coordinates = | mouth_elevation = | progression = | river_system = | basin_size = 1333 sqmi | tributaries_left = | tributaries_right = | custom_label = | custom_data = | extra =
The Wenatchee River is a river in the U.S. state of Washington, originating at Lake Wenatchee and flowing southeast for 53 mi, emptying into the Columbia River immediately north of Wenatchee, Washington. On its way it passes the towns of Plain, Leavenworth, Peshastin, Dryden, Cashmere, Monitor, and Wenatchee, all within Chelan County. The river attracts kayaking and river rafting enthusiasts and tourism.
Tributaries include the Chiwawa River, Nason Creek, Peshastin Creek, and Icicle Creek. Its drainage basin is 1333 sqmi in area.
History
Historically the dividing line between Okanogan County and Kittitas County, the river has been in the center of Chelan County since the county's formation around 1899.
Water from the Wenatchee River and its tributaries has been diverted for irrigation since 1891, mainly for orchards. There are two small dams on the Wenatchee River, the Tumwater Canyon Dam, which sits just west of the community of Leavenworth, and the Dryden dam, a low-head dam situated just outside the town of Dryden. The Tumwater Canyon dam originally provided power to the original 2 mi-long railroad tunnel used near Stevens Pass to get trains across the Cascade Mountains, it was later (starting in 1928) used to power the railroad's electrification from Wenatchee to Skykomish.
Pollution
Toxic chemicals banned decades ago in Washington continue to linger in the environment and concentrate in the food chain, threatening people and the environment, according to three recent studies by the Washington state Department of Ecology. In 2007, the Washington Department of Health advised the public to not eat mountain whitefish from the Wenatchee River from Leavenworth downstream to where the river joins the Columbia, due to unhealthy levels of PCBs.
References
References
- "Water Resources Data-Washington Water Year 2005; Entiat, Wenatchee, and Sand Hollow River Basins and the Columbia River from Wells Dam to Rock Island Dam". [[USGS]].
- {{GNIS. 1527909. Wenatchee River
- "Wenatchee Subbasin Plan". Northwest Power and Conservation Council.
- "Toxics Persist in Washington Rivers, Lakes and Fish".
::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. ::