Course
Most of the river above and including Howard A. Hanson Reservoir are part of the Green River Watershed, which is closed to public access, creating controversy among recreation proponents for some time. West of the Green River Watershed at Kanaskat, the river passes through the Green River Gorge with cliffs rising sharply as much as 300 feet (91 m) from the riverbed. Flaming Geyser State Park, Nolte State Park, and Kanaskat-Palmer State Park are located in this area.
Downstream from the Green River Gorge is the half-mile wide Green River Valley, where farmland has been protected from development. An attempt to locate a bike trail along the valley walls has encountered fierce resistance from farmers. As a result, bikes must share the road with autos as it winds through the pastoral landscape.
At Auburn, the Green River emerges from the Green River Valley and enters the much larger Auburn/Kent Valley, which was created by glacial action during the Pleistocene ice ages, then filled in by river sediments and lahars from Mount Rainier. After flowing generally west from its source, at Auburn the river turns north, entering a zone of light-industrial and retail development. A public multiuse trail runs along the river through most of this valley.
Read more about this topic: Green River (Washington)