Geographic Units

We have divided the Yakima Basin into geographic reaches based on tributary watersheds and mainstem reaches. While we tried to follow HUC boundaries where possible, this is a unique arrangement that is meant to match how we talk about places in the basin.

The links below take you to individual pages for each area, where you can find detailed information on the watersheds, streams and river reaches in each geographic unit.

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Geographic Frameworks Used in the Yakima Basin

Recovery Board system

HUC system: https://www.usgs.gov/national-hydrography/watershed-boundary-dataset

Population areas by species

Subbasin Plan Assessment Units

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River miles?

More information on the default geographic organization used in Yakipedia can be found below.

Yakima Basin

An online GIS layer for the Yakima Basin can be found here: ADD LINK TO GIS PORTAL

It makes up approximately 10% of the state of Washington, with an area of ADD.

The Yakima Basin is both a USGS HUC 4 (1703) and HUC 6 watershed (17030001) within the HUC 2 Region #17 (Pacific Northwest); interestingly there is no HUC designation for the Columbia Basin.

The Northwest Power and Conservation Council uses the Columbia Basin as its top-level unit, which is divided into Provinces and then subbasins. The Yakima Basin is #62 of the 62 total subbasins, and is one of 11 subbasins within the Columbia Plateau Province. You can see a map of this framework here:. https://www.nwcouncil.org/subbasin-plans/map/ The 2004 Yakima Subbasin Plan LINK divided the Yakima Subbasin into ?? assessment units FIND/LINK TO MAP.

The Yakima Basin makes up approximately 2/3rds of the State of Washington's Middle Columbia Salmon Recovery Region. Link

The Yakima Basin is one of four Major Population Groups (MPGs) withing NOAA's Middle Columbia River Steelhead Distinct Population Segment (DPS).

The Yakima Basin is designated by USFWS as one of 24 Occupied Core Areas within the Mid-Columbia Bull Trout Evolutionarily Significant Unit (ESU).

Add Map of Yakima in state?

WRIAs

Washinton State's Water Resource Areas (WRIAs) are our top-level breakout unless there is a compelling reason to us a different geographic framework. There are three WRIAs in the Yakima Basin, and they are consistent with the USGS HUC 8s.

WRIAs in the Yakima Basin

WRIA	Name	HUC 8	Description
37	Lower Yakima	17030003	Yakima River and all its tributaries below the Naches River confluence
38	Naches	17030002	Naches River and all its tributaries
39	Upper Yakima	17030001	Yakima River and all its tributaries above the Naches River confluence

See map below.

Mid-Level Geographic Units

Middle layer are either watersheds (when all areas that drain to the lowest point in a unit are included in the unit) or reaches (when water flows into a unit from an upstream unit). We have designated 18 Mid-Level Units; they are consistent with HUC 10 watersheds except where we have a specific reason to split and/or combine HUC 10s. We use names that match local usage, which differ from the often-inscrutable official HUC names.

WRIAs and Mid-level Geographic Units

Mid-Level Geographic Units

Unit	Name	WRIA	HUC 10(s)	Description
1	Upper Yakima Watershed	39	1703000103	Yakima River and all tributaries except the Cle Elum from Cascade Crest to the mouth of the Teanaway, including Kachess and Keechelus Lakes
2	Cle Elum Watershed	39	1703000101	Cle Elum River and all its tributaries
3	Teanaway Watershed	39	1703000102	Teanaway River and all its tributaries
4	Thorp to Ellensburg Reach	39	1703000105	Yakima River and its tributaries from the mouth of the Teanaway downstream to the mouth of Wilson Creek
5	Ellensburg Area Watershed	39	1703000104	Wilson Creek and all of its tributaries
6	Yakima Canyon Reach	39	1703000107	Yakima River and its tributaries (except Wenas Creek) between the mouth of Wilson Creek and the mouth of the Naches
7	Wenas Watershed	39	1703000106	Wenas Creek and all its tributaries
8	Upper Naches Watershed	38	1703000201	American, Bumping and Little Naches Rivers and all their tributaries, including Bumping Lake
9	Nile Reach	38	1703000202	The Naches River from the confluence of the Bumping and Little Naches to the confluence of the Tieton and its tributaries
10	Tieton Watershed	38	half of 1703000203	The Tieton River and its tributaries including Rimrock Lake
11	Lower Naches Reach	38	half of 1703000203	Naches River and its tributaries from the mouth of the Tieton to the confluence with the Yakima, including Cowiche Creek
12	Gap to Gap Reach	37	1703000302	Yakima River and its tributaries from the mouth of the Naches to the mouth of Ahtanum Creek
13	Ahtanum Watershed	37	1703000301	Ahtanum Creek and all its tributaries
14	Wapato Reach	37	1703000304, 1703000305 & part of 1703000310	Yakima River from Union Gap to approximately 4.25 miles below the mouth of Satus Creek
15	Toppenish Watershed	37	1704000306 & 1704000303	Toppenish Creek and all its tributaries
16	Satus Watershed	37	1704000307 & 1704000308	Satus Creek and all its tributaries
17	Mabton Reach	37	1703000309 and part of 1703000310	Yakima River and its tributaries from approximately 4.25 miles below the mouth of Satus Creek to just downstream of the Benton County line
18	Lower Yakima	37	1703000312, 1703000311 & part of 1703000310	Yakima River and its tributaries from just below the Benton County line to the confluence of the Yakima and Columbia Rivers

Geographic Units

Geographic units are the smallest spatial unit in our framwork and are named after the dominant creek or river that passes through them. The are mean to represent a convenient scale at which to describe watersheds and reaches that are less numerous than HUC 12s (69 geographic units vs 153 HUCs) and and have names that intuitively describe their geography. Where possible these consist of one or more complete HUC 12s, but in some cases creating units that match general usage in the basin requires either combining or splitting HUC 12s.

WRIA 39 Upper Yakima Geographic Units

#	Geographic Unit	Mid-level Unit	WRIA	Source	HUC12_List	Description
1	Gold Creek	Upper Yakima Watershed	39	HUC12 SPLIT	(170300010301)	Gold Creek and its tributaries
2	Keechelus Lake	Upper Yakima Watershed	39	HUC12 SPLIT	(170300010301)	Keechelus Lake and all tributaries except Gold Creek
3	Upper Kachess River	Upper Yakima Watershed	39	HUC12 SPLIT	(170300010303)	Upper Kachess River and its tributaries
4	Box Canyon Creek	Upper Yakima Watershed	39	HUC12 SPLIT	(170300010303)	Box Canyon Creek and its tributaries
5	Kachess Lake	Upper Yakima Watershed	39	HUC12 SPLIT	(170300010303)	Kachess Lake and all its tributaries except Box Canyon and Upper Kachess
6	Cabin Creek	Upper Yakima Watershed	39	HUC12	170300010302	Cabn Creek and its tributaries
7	Big Creek	Upper Yakima Watershed	39	HUC12	170300010305	Big Creek and its tributaries
8	Upper Yakima River Mainstem	Upper Yakima Watershed	39	HUC12	170300010304	Yakima River from Keechelus Dam to Easton Lake and all its tributaries except Cabin Creek
9	Easton Reach - Yakima River Mainstem	Upper Yakima Watershed	39	HUC 12	170300010306	Yakima River from Easton Lake to the Cle Eum River and all its tributaries except Big Creek
10	Cle Elum Reach - Yakima River Mainstem	Upper Yakima Watershed	39	HUC12	170300010307	Yakima River from the Cle Elum River to the Teanaway River and all its tributaries
11	Waptus River	Cle Elum Watershed	39	HUC12	170300010101	Waptus River and its tributaries
12	Cooper River	Cle Elum Watershed	39	HUC12	170300010103	Cooper River and its tributaries
13	Cle Elum River	Cle Elum Watershed	39	HUC 12 MERGE	170300010102 170300010104 170300010105 170300010106	Cle Elum River and Lake and all their tributaries except the Wapatus and Cooper Rivers
14	North Fork Teanaway River	Teanaway Watershed	39	HUC 12 MERGE	170300010201 170300010204	North Fork Teanaway and its tributaries
15	Middle Fork Teanaway River	Teanaway Watershed	39	HUC12	170300010202	Middle Forl Teanaway and its tributaries
16	West Fork Teanaway River	Teanaway Watershed	39	HUC12	170300010203	West Forl Teanaway and its tributaries
17	Mainstem Teanaway River	Teanaway Watershed	39	HUC12	170300010205	Mainstem Teanaway River from the confluence of the Middle and West Forks to its mouth and all its tributaries except the North Fork
18	Taneum Creek	Thorp to Ellensburg Reach	39	HUC 12 MERGE	170300010503 170300010504	Taneum Creek and its tributaries
19	Manastash Creek	Thorp to Ellensburg Reach	39	HUC 12 MERGE (one partial)	170300010508 170300010509 (170300010511)	Manastash Creek and its tributaries
20	Reecer Creek	Thorp to Ellensburg Reach	39	HUC12	170300010510	Reecer Creek and its tributaries
21	Swauk Creek	Thorp to Ellensburg Reach	39	HUC 12 MERGE	170300010501 170300010502	Swauk Creek and its tributaries
22	Upper Canyon - Yakima River Mainstem	Thorp to Ellensburg Reach	39	HUC12	170300010505	Yakima River from Teanawya River to Taneum Creek and all its tributaries except Swauk Creek
23	Thorp Reach - Yakima River Mainstem	Thorp to Ellensburg Reach	39	HUC 12 MERGE	170300010506 170300010507	Yakima River from Taneum Creek to Manastash Creek and all its tributaries except Reecer Creek
24	Ellensburg Reach - Yakima River Mainstem	Thorp to Ellensburg Reach	39	HUC12 SPLIT	(170300010511)	Yakima River and its tributaries from Manastash Creek to Wilson Creek
25	Wilson/Naneum Creek	Ellensburg Area Watershed	39	HUC 12 MERGE	170300010401 170300010402 170300010408	Wilson Creek and all its tributaries except Coleman and Cherry Creeks
26	Coleman Creek	Ellensburg Area Watershed	39	HUC12	170300010403	Coleman Creek and its tributaries
27	Cherry Creek	Ellensburg Area Watershed	39	HUC 12 MERGE	170300010404 170300010405 170300010406 170300010407 170300010409	Cherry Creek and its tributaries
28	Yakima Canyon	Yakima Canyon Reach	39	HUC 12 MERGE	170300010702 170300010703 170300010704 170300010705 170300010706 170300010707 170300010708	Yakima River from Wilson Creek to Selah Creek and all its tributaries except Umtanum Creek
29	Selah Reach - Yakima River Mainstem	Yakima Canyon Reach	39	HUC12	170300010709	Yakima river from Selah Creek to the Naches River and all its tributaries except Wenas Creek
30	Umtanum Creek	Yakima Canyon Reach	39	HUC12	170300010701	Umtanum Creek and its tributaries
31	Wenas Creek	Wenas Watershed	39	HUC 12 MERGE	170300010601 170300010602 170300010603 170300010604 170300010605	Wenas Creek and its tributaries

WRIA 38 Naches Geographic Units

#	Geographic Unit	Mid-level Unit	WRIA	Source	HUC12_List	Description
32	Little Naches River	Upper Naches Watershed	38	HUC 12 MERGE	170300020101 170300020102 170300020103 170300020109	Little Naches River and its tributaries
33	Bumping River	Upper Naches Watershed	38	HUC12 MERGE	170300020104 170300020105 170300020108	Bumping River and its tributaries including Bumping Lake
34	American River	Upper Naches Watershed	38	HUC12 SPLIT	170300020106 170300020107	American River and its tributaries
35	Upper Naches River	Nile Reach	38	HUC12 MERGE	170300020201 170300020202	Naches River from Bumping River to Rock Creek
36	Nile Creek	Nile Reach	38	HUC12	170300020203	Nile Creek and its tributaries
37	Rattlesnake Creek	Nile Reach	38	HUC 12 MERGE	170300020204 170300020205 170300020206	Rattlesnake Creek and its tributaries
38	Middle Naches River (Nile)	Nile Reach	38	HUC 12 MERGE	170300020207 170300020208	Naches River from Rock Creek to the Tieton and all its triburaties except Nile and Rattlesnake Creeks
39	Clear Creek	Tieton Watershed	38	HUC12	170300020301	Clear Creek and its tributaries
40	North Fork Tieton River	Tieton Watershed	38	HUC12	170300020302	Nort Fork Tieton River and Clear Lake and all their tributaries except Clear Creek
41	South Fork Tieton River	Tieton Watershed	38	HUC 12 MERGE	170300020303 170300020304	South Fork Tieton River and its tributaries
42	Indian Creek	Tieton Watershed	38	HUC12 SPLIT	(170300020305)	Indian Creek and its tributaries
43	Rimrock Lake	Tieton Watershed	38	HUC12 SPLIT	(170300020305)	Rimrock Lake and all its tributaries except Indian Creek and the North and South Fork Tieton Rivers
44	Tieton River	Tieton Watershed	38	HUC 12 MERGE	170300020306 170300020308	Tieton River and its tributaries from Rimrock Dam to the Naches River
45	Oak Creek	Tieton Watershed	38	HUC12	170300020307	Oak Creek and its tributaries
46	Lower Naches River	Lower Naches Reach	38	HUC12	170300020312	Lower Yakima River from the Tieton to the Yakima and all its tributaries except Cowiche Creek
47	Cowiche Creek	Lower Naches Reach	38	HUC12 MERGE	170300020309 170300020310 170300020311	Cowiche Creek and its tributaries

WRIA 37 Lower Yakima Geographic Units

#	Geographic Unit	Mid-level Unit	WRIA	Source	HUC12_List	Description
48	Gap to Gap Reach - Yakima River Mainstem	Gap to Gap Reach	37	HUC12	170300030206	Yakima River from the Naches River to Ahtanum Creek and all its tributaries except Wide hollow Creek and Moxee Drain
49	Wide Hollow Creek	Gap to Gap Reach	37	HUC 12 MERGE	170300030204 170300030205	Wide Hollow Creek and its tributaries
50	Moxee Drain	Gap to Gap Reach	37	HUC12 MERGE	170300030201 170300030202 170300030203	Moxee Drain and its tributaries
51	Ahtanum Creek	Ahtanum Watershed	37	HUC 12 MERGE	170300030101 170300030102 170300030103 170300030104 170300030105	Ahtanum Creek and its tributaries
52	Wapato Reach - Yakima River Mainstem	Wapato Reach	37	HUC 12 MERGE	170300030501 170300030502 170300030503 170300030506 170300031001 170300031002	Yakima River from mouth of Ahtanum Creek to Yakima River from ~4.5 miles below Satus Creek and all its tributaries except Wanity Slough, Toppenish and Satus Creeks and Granger Drain
53	Wanity Slough and Marion Drain	Wapato Reach	37	HUC 12 MERGE	170300030401 170300030402 170300030403	Wanity slough and its tributaries
54	Granger Drain	Wapato Reach	37	HUC 12 MERGE	170300030504 170300030505	Granger Drain and its tributaries
55	Upper Toppenish Creek	Toppenish Watershed	37	HUC 12 MERGE	170300030601 170300030602 170300030603 170300030605	Toppenish Creek and its tributaries upstream of Simcoe Creek
56	Simcoe Creek	Toppenish Watershed	37	HUC 12 MERGE	170300030301 170300030302 170300030303 170300030304 170300030305	Simcoe Creek and its tributaries
57	Lower Toppenish Creek	Toppenish Watershed	37	HUC 12 MERGE	170300030604 170300030606 170300030607	Mainstem Toppenish Creek and its tributaries downstream of Simcoe Creek
58	Upper Satus Creek	Satus Watershed	37	HUC 12 MERGE	170300030701 170300030701 170300030702 170300030706	Satus Creek and its tributaries upstream of Logy Creek
59	Dry Creek	Satus Watershed	37	HUC 12 MERGE	170300030801 170300030802 170300030803	Dry Creek and its tributaries
60	Logy Creek	Satus Watershed	37	HUC 12 MERGE	170300030703 170300030704 170300030705	Logy Creek and its tributaries
61	Lower Satus Creek	Satus Watershed	37	HUC 12 MERGE	170300030804 170300030805 170300030806 170300030807	Satus Creek and its tributaries downstream of Logy Creek
62	Mabton Reach - Yakima River Mainstem	Mabton Reach	37	HUC12 MERGE	170300031003 170300031004	Yakima River from ~4.5 miles below Satus Creek to just below the Benton County Line and all its tributaries except Sulfur Creek Wasteway
63	Sulphur Creek Wasteway	Mabton Reach	37	HUC 12 MERGE	170300030901 170300030902 170300030903 170300030904 170300030905 170300030906	Sulphur Creek and its tributaries
64	Prosser Reach - Yakima River Mainstem	Lower Yakima	37	HUC12	170300031007	Yakima River and all its tributaires from just below the Benton County line to the mouth of Snipes Creek
65	Lower Yakima Reach - Yakima River Mainstem	Lower Yakima	37	HUC12 MERGE	170300031203 170300031205 170300031202	Yakima River from the mouth of Snipes Creek to the Columbia River and all its tributaries except Corral Creek and Amon Creek
66	Spring and Snipes Creeks	Lower Yakima	37	HUC12 MERGE	170300031005 170300031006	Spring and Snipes Creek and their tributaries
67	Corral Creek	Lower Yakima	37	HUC12	170300031201	Corral Creek and its tributaries
68	Cold Creek	Lower Yakima	37	HUC12 MERGE	170300031101 170300031102 170300031103 170300031104 170300031105 170300031106 170300031107 170300031108 170300031109	Cold Creek and its tributaries
69	Amon Creek	Lower Yakima	37	HUC12	170300031204	Amon Creek and its tributaries