Skagit WSR - Skagit Wild and Scenic Facts

Fifty percent of the land in the system is in private ownership.

The Skagit Wild and Scenic River corridor is generally a quarter-mile wide.

The 58.5 miles of the Skagit River are classified as Recreational. One hundred miles of the Sauk, Suiattle and Cascade rivers are classified as Scenic.

Washington State’s Skagit River is the largest river in the Puget Sound Basin.

Three special bird species visit the river system each year:the trumpeter and tundra swan and the majestic bald eagle.

Five salmon species are found in the Skagit River System: chinook, coho, pink, chum, and sockeye.

The river system is home to four Native American tribes—the Upper Skagit, Sauk-Suiattle, Samish and the Swinomish.

The Forest Service manages 44 percent of acreage within the Skagit Wild and Scenic River System, 50 percent is private and 6 percent is owned by State, County and other Federal agencies.

How much water flows through the Skagit River?

10 billion gallons of water is drained every day from over 2900 streams in the Skagit River watershed. This makes it the largest watershed in the Puget Sound Basin, providing over 20% of the water flowing into the sound. Only the Columbia and the Sacramento are larger on the west coast of the United States.

Where are the highest points in the watershed?

Mount Baker, located east of Bellingham and north of Concrete has an elevation of 10,773 feet. Glacier Peak, located east of Darrington and south of Concrete is 10,541 feet tall. These two peaks are both heavily glaciated volcanoes in the Cascade Mountains.

How big is the Skagit River watershed?

The entire watershed of the Skagit River Basin covers 3100 square miles. The Cascade River covers 185, Sauk-Suiattle River covers 732, the Baker River covers 297 and the Skagit River itself covers 1306 square miles.

How many lakes and reservoirs are in the Skagit River watershed?

376 lakes and 11 reservoirs are scattered amongst the glaciers and rocky peaks of the Skagit River watershed.

How many glaciers melt into the Skagit River?

394 glaciers feed the entire Skagit Wild and Scenic River System. 177 glaciers feed the upper Skagit, while the lower Skagit receives melt water from 5 glaciers. 57 glaciers flow into the Cascade River, while the Sauk-Suiattle watershed drains 96. To the north, the Baker River is host to the water from 63 glaciers.

Why doesn’t the Sauk River just flow into the Stillaguamish River near Darrington?

The Sauk-Suiattle River system used to drain into the sea by way of the Stillaguamish River until a large mudflow from Glacier Peak blocked the Sauk near Darrington forcing the river to flow north into the Skagit.

Who lives in the watershed?

Not including humans, the Skagit watershed is the home to approximately 276 wildlife species. 25 fish. 17 amphibians 10 reptiles. 73 mammals. 174 birds.

Courtesy of North Cascades Institute