Geographic Units

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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
2 Keechelus Lake Upper Yakima Watershed 39 HUC12 Split (170300010301)
3 Upper Kachess River Upper Yakima Watershed 39 HUC12 split (170300010303)
4 Box Canyon Creek Upper Yakima Watershed 39 HUC12 Split 170300010303
5 Kachess Lake Upper Yakima Watershed 39 HUC12 Split (170300010301)
6 Cabin Creek Upper Yakima Watershed 39 HUC12 170300010302
7 Big Creek Upper Yakima Watershed 39 HUC12 170300010305
8 Upper Yakima River Mainstem Upper Yakima Watershed 39 HUC12 (170300010303)
9 Easton Reach - Yakima River Mainstem Upper Yakima Watershed 39 HUC12 170300010306
10 Cle Elum Reach - Yakima River Mainstem Upper Yakima Watershed 39 HUC12 170300010307
11 Waptus River Cle Elum Watershed 39 HUC12 170300010101
12 Cooper River Cle Elum Watershed 39 HUC12 170300010103
13 Cle Elum River Cle Elum Watershed 39 Merge (HUC12) 170300010102, 170300010104, 170300010105, 170300010106
14 North Fork Teanaway River Teanaway Watershed 39 Merge (HUC12) 170300010201, 170300010204
15 Middle Fork Teanaway River Teanaway Watershed 39 HUC12 170300010202
16 West Fork Teanaway River Teanaway Watershed 39 HUC12 170300010203
17 Mainstem Teanaway River Teanaway Watershed 39 HUC12 170300010205
18 Taneum Creek Thorp to Ellensburg Reach 39 Merge (HUC12) 170300010503, 170300010504
19 Manastash Creek Thorp to Ellensburg Reach 39 Merge (HUC12) 170300010508, 170300010509
20 Reecer Creek Thorp to Ellensburg Reach 39 HUC12 170300010510
21 Swauk Creek Thorp to Ellensburg Reach 39 Merge (HUC12) 170300010501, 170300010502
22 Upper Canyon - Yakima River Mainstem Thorp to Ellensburg Reach 39 HUC12 170300010505
23 Thorp Reach - Yakima River Mainstem Thorp to Ellensburg Reach 39 Merge (HUC12) 170300010506, 170300010507
24 Ellensburg Reach - Yakima River Mainstem Thorp to Ellensburg Reach 39 Split (HUC12) 170300010511
25 Wilson/Naneum Creek Ellensburg Area Watershed 39 Merge (HUC12) 170300010401, 170300010402, 170300010408
26 Coleman Creek Ellensburg Area Watershed 39 HUC12 170300010403
27 Cherry Creek Ellensburg Area Watershed 39 Merge (HUC12) 170300010404,170300010405,170300010406,170300010407,170300010409
29 Yakima Canyon Yakima Canyon Reach 39 Merge (HUC12) 170300010702, 170300010703, 170300010704, 170300010705, 170300010706, 170300010707, 170300010708
29 Selah Reach - Yakima River Mainstem Yakima Canyon Reach 39 HUC12 170300010709
30 Umtanum Creek Yakima Canyon Reach 39 HUC12 170300010701
31 Wenas Creek Wenas Watershed 39 Merge (HUC12) 170300010601, 170300010602, 170300010603, 170300010604, 170300010605


NACHES WATER RESOURCE AREA (WRIA 38)


# Geographic Unit Mid-level Unit WRIA Source HUC12_List Description
32 Little Naches River Upper Naches Watershed 38 Merge (HUC12) 170300020101,170300020102,170300020103
33 Bumping River Upper Naches Watershed 38 HUC12 Split 170300020104,170300020105,170300020108
34 American River Upper Naches Watershed 38 HUC12 Split 170300020106,170300020107
35 Upper Naches River Nile Reach 38 HUC12 170300020202
36 Nile Creek Nile Reach 38 HUC12 170300020203
37 Rattlesnake Creek Nile Reach 38 Merge (HUC12) 170300020204, 170300020205, 170300020206
38 Middle Naches River (Nile) Nile Reach 38 Merge (HUC12) 170300020207,170300020208
39 Clear Creek Tieton Watershed 38 HUC12 170300020301
40 North Fork Tieton River Tieton Watershed 38 HUC12 170300020302
41 South Fork Tieton River Tieton Watershed 38 Merge (HUC12) 170300020303, 170300020304
42 Indian Creek Tieton Watershed 38 HUC12 Split (170300020305)
43 Rimrock Lake Tieton Watershed 38 HUC12 Split (170300020305)
44 Tieton River Tieton Watershed 38 Merge (HUC12) 170300020306, 170300020308
45 Oak Creek Tieton Watershed 38 HUC12 170300020307

LOWER YAKIMA WATER RESOURCE AREA (WRIA 37)

Gap to Gap Reach (USGS HUC 1703000302)

  1. Gap to Gap Reach - Yakima River Mainstem
  2. Wide Hollow
  3. Moxee Drain

Ahtanum Watershed (USGS HUC 1703000301)

  1. Ahtanum Creek

Wapato Reach (USGS HUCs 1703000304 and 1703000305)

  1. Wanity Slough and Marion Drain
  2. Wapato Reach - Yakima River Mainstem
  3. Granger Drain

Toppenish Watershed (USGS HUCs 1703000303 and 1703000306)

  1. Simcoe Creek
  2. Upper Toppenish Creek
  3. Lower Toppenish Creek

Satus Watershed (USGS HUCs 1703000307 and 1703000308)

  1. Upper Satus Creek
  2. Lower Satus Creek
  3. Logy Creek
  4. Dry Creek

Mabton Reach (USGS HUCs 1703000309 and 1703000310)

  1. Mabton Reach - Yakima River Mainstem
  2. Sulphur Creek Wasteway

Lower Yakima (USGS HUCs 1703000310, 1703000311 and 1703000312)

  1. Prosser Reach - Yakima River Mainstem
  2. Lower Yakima Reach - Yakima River Mainstem
  3. Spring and Snipes Creeks
  4. Corral Creek
  5. Cold Creek
  6. Amon Creek Wasteway
  7. Yakima Delta
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