YAKIMA RIVER

river, rising in the Cascade Range, near Snoqualmie Pass in south-central Washington, U.S., and flowing southeast about 200 miles (320 km) past Ellensburg and Yakima to join the Columbia River near Kennewick in Benton county. The Yakima and its tributaries irrigate about 460,000 acres (190,000 hectares) in the river valley. The Keechelus Dam, near the river's source, is a major unit of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation's Yakima project. The Yakima Indian name probably means runaway, referring to the rushing waters of the river.