# Newhalem, Washington

Newhalem (Lushootseed: dxʷʔiyb) is a small unincorporated community on the Skagit River in the western foothills of the North Cascades, in Whatcom County, northwestern Washington, United States.

## Description

Newhalem is a company town owned by Seattle City Light and populated entirely by employees of the Skagit River Hydroelectric Project, or of local county, state or federal agencies. The town is not open to permanent residents who do not work for these agencies. The Ross Lake National Recreation Area surrounds Newhalem on all sides, and the North Cascades National Park boundary is approximately one mile to the north and south of the town. Newhalem does not have an assigned US Postal Service zip code and thus, for postal purposes, is considered part of Rockport (98283).
The name Newhalem has its roots in a local indigenous language as meaning 'Goat Snare', as the natives used to trap mountain goats in the area.
In pre-colonial times, the site was inhabited by members of the Upper Skagits.
There was a school in Newhalem a long time ago but it was demolished because the population had severely dropped. Now the students have about a 1+1⁄2-hour bus to Concrete.

## Climate

Newhalem has plentiful rainfall year-round, but with significantly less rainfall in the summer months than in winter. According to the Köppen climate classification, Newhalem has an oceanic climate (Cfb).
Climate data for Newhalem, Washington, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1909–present :
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 63 (17) | 71 (22) | 78 (26) | 91 (33) | 101 (38) | 113 (45) | 109 (43) | 108 (42) | 99 (37) | 83 (28) | 74 (23) | 61 (16) | 113 (45) |
| Mean maximum °F (°C) | 48.8 (9.3) | 52.8 (11.6) | 63.3 (17.4) | 75.7 (24.3) | 86.4 (30.2) | 89.8 (32.1) | 94.5 (34.7) | 93.8 (34.3) | 86.8 (30.4) | 70.5 (21.4) | 54.9 (12.7) | 48.5 (9.2) | 97.3 (36.3) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 40.1 (4.5) | 43.7 (6.5) | 49.4 (9.7) | 57.9 (14.4) | 66.5 (19.2) | 70.4 (21.3) | 78.0 (25.6) | 78.6 (25.9) | 71.0 (21.7) | 57.0 (13.9) | 45.4 (7.4) | 39.5 (4.2) | 58.1 (14.5) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 36.2 (2.3) | 38.3 (3.5) | 42.2 (5.7) | 48.7 (9.3) | 56.1 (13.4) | 60.2 (15.7) | 65.8 (18.8) | 66.4 (19.1) | 60.6 (15.9) | 50.3 (10.2) | 41.2 (5.1) | 36.0 (2.2) | 50.2 (10.1) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 32.2 (0.1) | 32.9 (0.5) | 35.0 (1.7) | 39.5 (4.2) | 45.7 (7.6) | 49.9 (9.9) | 53.7 (12.1) | 54.3 (12.4) | 50.3 (10.2) | 43.7 (6.5) | 36.9 (2.7) | 32.5 (0.3) | 42.2 (5.7) |
| Mean minimum °F (°C) | 22.1 (−5.5) | 25.0 (−3.9) | 28.1 (−2.2) | 32.2 (0.1) | 36.7 (2.6) | 43.1 (6.2) | 47.6 (8.7) | 47.8 (8.8) | 43.4 (6.3) | 35.1 (1.7) | 27.8 (−2.3) | 23.2 (−4.9) | 15.7 (−9.1) |
| Record low °F (°C) | 0 (−18) | 4 (−16) | 14 (−10) | 23 (−5) | 30 (−1) | 35 (2) | 39 (4) | 40 (4) | 32 (0) | 20 (−7) | 7 (−14) | 5 (−15) | 0 (−18) |
| Average precipitation inches (mm) | 12.40 (315) | 7.16 (182) | 8.36 (212) | 4.65 (118) | 3.01 (76) | 2.58 (66) | 1.40 (36) | 1.68 (43) | 3.55 (90) | 8.78 (223) | 13.58 (345) | 11.70 (297) | 78.85 (2,003) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 10.2 (26) | 7.7 (20) | 2.8 (7.1) | 0.1 (0.25) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 2.4 (6.1) | 6.3 (16) | 29.5 (75) |
| Average extreme snow depth inches (cm) | 8.3 (21) | 4.8 (12) | 2.5 (6.4) | 0.1 (0.25) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 1.1 (2.8) | 7.5 (19) | 12.4 (31) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) | 18.5 | 15.2 | 19.1 | 16.5 | 13.2 | 12.8 | 6.7 | 6.6 | 11.3 | 17.3 | 20.6 | 19.1 | 176.9 |
| Average snowy days (≥ 0.1 in) | 3.3 | 2.5 | 1.6 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.5 | 3.1 | 12.1 |
| Source: NOAA ||||||||||||||

## Newhalem in literature and film

The writer Tobias Wolff lived in Newhalem as a boy in the late 1950s, after his mother moved from west Seattle to marry a mechanic who lived in one of the company houses. In his memoir, This Boy's Life, he calls this isolated settlement "Chinook," and describes how the nearest high school was a long bus ride away, in a slightly larger hamlet called Concrete. In the 1993 film version of This Boy's Life, starring Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio, the two places are combined and called "Concrete."
Portions of the 1983 Hollywood movie WarGames, starring Matthew Broderick, were filmed in Newhalem (most notably the scenes of the "Cheyenne Mountain Complex", filmed in an abandoned gravel pit northwest of the town).

## Newhalem summer softball tournament

On every third weekend of July since 1977 there is a softball tournament held between competitors hailing from across the Skagit Valley.

## Highway 20

Newhalem is the final place on Highway 20 to purchase supplies before crossing Rainy Pass and entering Eastern Washington.