| Nisqually River | |
| River | |
 I-5 crosses the Nisqually River near its mouth.
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| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| State | Washington |
| Districts | Nisqually Indian Reservation, Fort Lewis |
| Tributaries | |
| - left | Little Nisqually River |
| - right | Mashel River |
| Source | Nisqually Glacier |
| - location | Mount Rainier |
| - elevation | 4,809 ft (1,466 m) [1] |
| - coordinates | 46°47′39″N 121°44′54″W / 46.79417°N 121.74833°W [2] |
| Mouth | Puget Sound |
| - location | Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge |
| - elevation | 0 ft (0 m) |
| - coordinates | 47°6′31″N 122°42′11″W / 47.10861°N 122.70306°W [2] |
| Length | 81 mi (130 km) |
| Basin | 517 sq mi (1,339 km2) [3] |
| Discharge | for La Grande, WA |
| - average | 1,460 cu ft/s (41 m3/s) [4] |
| - max | 5,220 cu ft/s (148 m3/s) |
| - min | 460 cu ft/s (13 m3/s) |
  Mouth of the Nisqually River in Washington
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The Nisqually River (pronounced /nɪˈskwɑːli/) is a river in west central Washington in the United States, approximately 81 mi (130 km) long. It drains part of the Cascade Range southwest of Tacoma, including the southern slope of Mount Rainier, into the southern end of Puget Sound. "Nisqually-1", a specimen of Populus trichocarpa, grew on the bank of the Nisqually River. Its genome sequence was published in 2006.
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The river rises in southern Mount Rainier National Park, fed by the Nisqually Glacier on the southern side of Mt. Rainier. It flows west through Ashford and Elbe along Route 706. It is then impounded for hydroelectricity by the Alder Dam, completed in 1944, and the La Grande Dam, completed in 1912 and rebuilt in 1945. They hold back Alder Reservoir and La Grande Reservoir. Before the construction of the dams, a natural fish barrier prevented anadromous fish from ascending the Nisqually above what is now La Grande Reservoir.[5]
Below Elbe, the river flows northwest through the foothills, passes near McKenna, Washington, and through Fort Lewis and the Nisqually Indian Reservation. The river crosses beneath Interstate 5 and into the Nisqually River Delta, which is the location of the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge. The Nisqually enters Puget Sound approximately 15 mi (24 km) ENE of Olympia in what is known as the Nisqually Reach.
The Nisqually River forms the Pierce-Lewis county line, as well as the boundary between Pierce and Thurston counties.
The Nisqually River is the traditional territorial center of the Nisqually tribe that shares its name and also lived throughout southern Puget Sound. The Treaty of Medicine Creek, one of the major Northwest treaties between Washington territory and the native population of Puget Sound, was signed near a creek at the site of what is now a wildlife refuge near the delta of the river. The Nisqually were moved from the river and much of the surrounding region after the signing of the treaty, settling on a reservation on Puget Sound east of Olympia. After a period of resistance by the Nisqually tribe, including such leaders as Chief Leschi, a new reservation three times the size of the original was established on the river.
In 1917, the US Army occupied the Nisqually reservation, ordered people from their homes, and later condemned most of the reservation to build Fort Lewis.[6]
In the 1960s and 1970s, the Nisqually pursued their fishing rights along the river, which were stated in the Treaty of Medicine Creek but had been ignored. Nisqually tribal members, acting in concert with the nearby Puyallup tribe, endured harassment and arrest to fish in traditional waters. This led to the 1974 Boldt Decision that granted all native tribes in Washington state the right to 50% of the fish within their traditional territories.
 Mount Rainier and headwaters of the river from the Nisqually Glacier |
 The upper Nisqually River in Mount Rainier National Park |
   | Nisqually River at La Grande, WA - USGS Real-Time Water Data for USGS 12086500 NISQUALLY RIVER AT LA GRANDE, WA |
| | Nisqually River at McKenna, WA - USGS Real-Time Water Data for USGS 12089500 NISQUALLY RIVER AT MCKENNA, WA |
| | Nisqually Indian Tribe - History - Nisqually Indian Tribe - History |
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