Green River (Duwamish River)
| Green River | |
| River | |
 Looking upriver from suspension bridge in Isaac Evans Park, Auburn, Washington
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| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| State | Washington |
| County | King |
| Cities | Auburn, Kent, Tukwila |
| Source | Cascade Range |
| - elevation | 3,283 ft (1,001 m) |
| - coordinates | 47°8′N 121°18′W / 47.133°N 121.300°W |
| Mouth | Duwamish River |
| - elevation | 57 ft (17 m) |
| - coordinates | 47°28′N 122°15′W / 47.467°N 122.250°WCoordinates: 47°28′N 122°15′W / 47.467°N 122.250°W |
| Length | 65 mi (105 km) |
| Basin | 440 sq mi (1,140 km2) |
| Discharge | for Auburn, Washington |
| - average | 1,316 cu ft/s (37 m3/s) |
| - max | 28,100 cu ft/s (796 m3/s) |
| - min | 81 cu ft/s (2 m3/s) |
 Map of the Duwamish/Green River watershed with the Green River highlighted
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The Green River is a 65-mile (105 km) long river in the state of Washington in the United States, arising on the western slopes of the Cascade Mountains south of I-90.
The upper Green River valley forms the western approach to Stampede Pass, and was once home to many small railroad and logging towns such as Weston, Lester, Green River Hot Springs, Nagrom, Maywood, Humphreys, Eagle Gorge, Lemolo, and Kanaskat. Shortly before World War I, the City of Tacoma, Washington, filed for water rights on the Green River. Today, much of the upper valley has become a gated water supply watershed for Tacoma and access is heavily restricted, creating controversy among recreation enthusiasts.
Between 1880 and 1888, the Northern Pacific Railway explored and surveyed the Green River. The railway constructed the first direct rail link across Washington's Cascade Range with the opening of their Stampede Tunnel in 1888.
Until 1906, the Green River flowed into the White in downtown Auburn. In 1906, however, the White River changed course above Auburn following a major flood and emptied into the Puyallup River as it does today. The lower portion of the historic White River—from historic confluence of the White and Green Rivers to the historic confluence with the Black River at Tukwila that forms the Duwamish—is now considered part of the Green River. Then, with the opening of the Lake Washington Ship Canal in 1916, the lake's level dropped nearly nine feet and the Black River dried up. From that time forward, the point of the name change from Green to Duwamish is no longer a confluence of rivers, though it has not changed location. Thus, the Green River now becomes the Duwamish River, flowing into the industrialized estuary known as the Duwamish Waterway and thence Elliott Bay in Seattle. By contrast, the White turns south at Auburn, and flows into the Puyallup River and later Commencement Bay in Tacoma.
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Wikipedia