Hoh River: Forks Washington

The Hoh River is a river in the U.S. state of Washington, located on the Olympic Peninsula. About 56 miles (90 km) long, the Hoh River originates at the Hoh Glacier on Mount Olympus and flows west through the Olympic Mountains of Olympic National Park and Olympic National Forest, then through the foothills in a broad valley, emptying into the Pacific Ocean at the Hoh Indian Reservation. The final portion of the Hoh River's course marks the boundary between the coastal segment of Olympic National Park and Olympic National Forest, the Hoh Indian Reservation.

The Hoh's drainage basin is 299 square miles (770 km2). Its discharge, or streamflow, has considerable seasonal variation, with summer streamflow averaging about one-third that of winter flows.

The Hoh is a glacial river fed by glaciers on Mount Olympus, such as the Blue Glacier. The glaciers grind rock into a fine glacial flour which turns the Hoh River a milky slate blue color. The river valley is generally broad and relatively flat, causing the glacial sediments to settle out, creating extensive gravel bars, river meanders, and the many side channels characteristic of a braded river.

One of the road entrances to Olympic National Park is on the Hoh River. The Hoh River Campground is the trailhead of the Hoh River Trail, which follows the river through the Hoh Rain Forest from the campground to Mount Olympus. Logjams are common, resulting in quiet pools and new river channels being formed.

The river's name and the name of the Hoh tribe both ultimately come from the Quinault placename /húxw/.