page_title: Skykomish River
hierarchical_section_title: Skykomish River
caption_attribution_description: English: Map of the Snohomish River watershed in Washington, USA with the Skykomish River highlighted. Made using USGS National Map data. Replacement for File:Skykomishrivermap.jpg.
context_page_description: The Skykomish River is a 29-mile long river in the U.S. state of Washington which drains the west side of the Cascade Mountains in the southeast section of Snohomish County and the northeast corner of King County. The river starts with the confluence of the North Fork Skykomish River and South Fork Skykomish River approximately one mile west of Index, then flowing northwesterly towards Puget Sound. It is joined by the Sultan River and the Wallace River at Sultan. It then meets the Snoqualmie River to form the Snohomish River at Monroe. The Snohomish River continues along the river valley eventually dumping into Port Gardner Bay on Possession Sound.
  The Skykomish River's main stem is 29 miles long. The length including its headwater tributaries, South Fork Skykomish and Tye River, is 62.4 miles. The Skykomish's drainage basin is 834 square miles in area.
  U.S. Highway 2 and the BNSF Railway are routed to follow the Skykomish River, South Fork Skykomish, and Tye River to Stevens Pass and the Cascade Tunnel.
  The Skykomish is sometimes referred to by the nickname "Sky River" or "The Sky".
  According to the U.S.
context_section_description: The Skykomish River is a 29-mile (47 km) long river in the U.S. state of Washington which drains the west side of the Cascade Mountains in the southeast section of Snohomish County and the northeast corner of King County. The river starts with the confluence of the North Fork Skykomish River and South Fork Skykomish River approximately one mile west of Index, then flowing northwesterly towards Puget Sound. It is joined by the Sultan River and the Wallace River at Sultan. It then meets the Snoqualmie River to form the Snohomish River at Monroe. The Snohomish River continues along the river valley eventually dumping into Port Gardner Bay on Possession Sound (part of Puget Sound).
  The Skykomish River's main stem is 29 miles (47 km) long. The length including its headwater tributaries, South Fork Skykomish and Tye River, is 62.4 miles (100 km). The Skykomish's drainage basin is 834 square miles (2,160 km²) in area.
  U.S. Highway 2 and the BNSF Railway are routed to follow the Skykomish River, South Fork Skykomish, and Tye River to Stevens Pass and the Cascade Tunnel.
  The Skykomish is sometimes referred to by the nickname "Sky River" or "The Sky".
  According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the South Fork is about twice the size of the North Fork in terms of both discharge and watershed area above their confluence at Index, making it the true hydrologic source of the Skykomish River. The South Fork average flow of 2,431 cu ft/s (68.8 m³/s) is sourced from a drainage area of 355 square miles (920 km²), compared to the North Fork which has an average flow of 1,216 cu ft/s (34.4 m³/s) from a drainage area of 146 square miles (380 km²). In turn the source of the South Fork – in terms of streamflow – is the Rapid River, a tributary of the Beckler River, which in turn is a tributary of the South Fork Skykomish.
  The name "Skykomish" comes from the Northern Lushootseed word /sq'íxʷəbš/, meaning "upriver people", from /q'íxʷ/, "upstream". It is the name of a Southern Coast Salish group.
caption: Map of the Skykomish River highlighted in the Snohomish River watershed
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