Near Snoqualmie Pass at an elevation of nearly 3,000 feet, the Yakima shoots through pipes beneath Keechelus Dam right in the heart of the Cascade Mountains and immeidately becomes a river. Of course the river is joined along the way by numberous mountain streams and continually gains flow.
Some streams are significant in their own right.
Rivers like the Cle Elum and Teanaway, which drain a large part of this mountainous area, empty into the Yakima as it makes its way to the valleys below. By the time the river reaches Kittatas Valley it has traveled roughly 50 miles and has been joined by numerious smaller streams. During summer months the Kittatas Valley appears from a distance as an oasis, a Shangri-la of green surrounded by the tawny summer grasses of this arid land. All thanks to the river. The fertile valley is renowned for it's alfalfa hay crop and beef cattle industry.