page_title: Nooksack River
section_title: North Fork
hierarchical_section_title: Nooksack River / Course / North Fork
caption_attribution_description: English: Looking down at the raging North Fork Nooksack River from the Mount Baker Highway, which, at this location, sits atop a 200 foot cliff that drops almost straight into the river. This location is just upstream from Nooksack Falls.
context_page_description: The Nooksack River is a river in the northwest part of the U.S. state of Washington. It drains an area of the Cascade Range around Mount Baker, near the Canada–US border. The lower river flows through a fertile agricultural area before emptying into Bellingham Bay and, via the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Strait of Georgia, the Pacific Ocean. The river begins in three main forks, the North Fork, Middle Fork, and South Fork. The North Fork is sometimes considered the main river. Including the North Fork, the Nooksack is approximately 75 miles long. All three forks originate in the Mount Baker Wilderness.
context_section_description: The North Fork Nooksack River rises at the Nooksack Cirque in central Whatcom County, north of Mount Shuksan in the western part of North Cascades National Park. Gathering melt water off of East Nooksack Glacier, it flows generally west, passing north of Mount Baker. For most of its course the North Fork is paralleled by State Route 542 (also called the Mount Baker Highway).
  Flowing west from the Nooksack Cirque, the river picks up large creeks such as Price Creek, a short creek draining Price Lake, as well as Ruth Creek, before flowing under the uppermost highway bridge.
  At Nooksack Falls the river flows through a narrow valley and drops freely 88 feet (27 m) 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 to flow west, the North Fork receives several tributaries including Wells Creek, which joins the river right at the base of the falls as well as Glacier Creek, and Canyon Creek, before the river turns briefly south.  The Middle Fork and South Fork join within a few miles of one another. The Middle Fork joins first, creating the Nooksack River proper. The South Fork joins just east of Deming in the Nooksack Indian Reservation.
  The traditional name of the North Fork in the Nooksack language is Chuw7álich ("the next point").
caption: Looking down at the raging North Fork Nooksack River from the Mount Baker Highway, which, at this location, sits atop a 200-foot cliff that drops almost straight into the river. This location is just upstream from Nooksack Falls.
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