Puyallup River - Course

Course

The Puyallup River begins in two forks, the North Puyallup River and the South Puyallup River. Both originate at glaciers on Mount Rainier. The North Puyallup River flows from the toe of Puyallup Glacier, while the South Puyallup River flows from Tahoma Glacier. The two streams flow through the western part of Mount Rainier National Park, joining just outside the park boundary and forming the Puyallup River proper.

The main Puyallup River flows north and northwest from Mount Rainier. The tributary Mowich River, which also flows from glaciers on Mount Rainier, joins the Puyallup from the east. Below the Mowich confluence, the Puyallup River flows through a rugged region of mountains and foothills. The river is dammed at Electron Dam shortly below the Mowich confluence. The dam diverts a portion of the Puyallup River into a long flume, which runs for several miles to Electron, where the water is passed through turbines in a hydroelectric powerhouse before being returned to the river. The Puyallup River passes through a steep and narrow gorge between Electron Dam and the powerhouse.

After Electron the river turns north and flows by the city of Orting, where it is joined by the Carbon River from the east. Like the Mowich, the Carbon River also originates at a glacier on Mount Rainier (the Carbon Glacier). The Puyallup continues its northernly course after Orting. At Sumner, the river is joined by the White River, another glacier-fed river. At the White River confluence, the Puyallup River turns northwest, flowing by the cities of Puyallup and Fife, and through the Puyallup Indian Reservation, before emptying into Commencement Bay at the Port of Tacoma, part of the city of Tacoma.