| Carbon River | |
|---|---|
 The Carbon River near the town of Carbanado. Looking upstream from Fairfax Bridge. | |
 The Carbon River is shown highlighted in the Puyallup River watershed | |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Washington |
| County | Pierce |
| City | Orting |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | Mount Rainier |
| • location | Carbon Glacier |
| • coordinates | 46°56′38″N 121°47′24″W / 46.94389°N 121.79000°W[1] |
| • elevation | 3,575 ft (1,090 m)[2] |
| Mouth | Puyallup River |
• location | Orting |
• coordinates | 47°7′50″N 122°13′58″W / 47.13056°N 122.23278°W[1] |
• elevation | 112 ft (34 m)[2] |
| Length | 30 mi (48 km) |
| Basin size | 78.9 sq mi (204 km2)[3] |
| Discharge | |
| • location | Fairfax, WA[3] |
| • average | 427 cu ft/s (12.1 m3/s)[3] |
| • minimum | 32 cu ft/s (0.91 m3/s) |
| • maximum | 12,000 cu ft/s (340 m3/s) |
| Basin features | |
| Tributaries | |
| • left | Voight Creek |
| • right | South Prairie Creek |
The Carbon River is a river in the U.S. state of Washington. It flows about 30 miles (48 km) from its source, the Carbon Glacier on Mount Rainier, to join the Puyallup River at Orting.
Charles Wilkes called the river the "Upthascap River", but after the discovery of coal along its banks in 1876 the river was renamed "Carbon".[4]
- ^ a b U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Carbon River
- ^ a b Google Earth elevation for GNIS coordinates.
- ^ a b c Puyallup and White River Basins, Water Resource Data, Washington, 2005, USGS.
- ^ Phillips, James W. (1971). Washington State Place Names. University of Washington Press. ISBN 0-295-95158-3.