Patit Creek

Patit Creek
Location of the mouth of Patit Creek in Washington
Location
Country	United States
State	Washington
County	Columbia
Physical characteristics
Source	Confluence of North and West Forks
• location	Blue Mountains
• coordinates	46°20′07″N 117°51′25″W[1]
Mouth	Touchet River
• location	Dayton
• coordinates	46°19′11″N 117°59′05″W[1]
• elevation	1,601 ft (488 m)[1]
Length	7.8 mi (12.6 km)[2]
Basin size	65.9 sq mi (171 km^2)[2]

Patit Creek is a tributary of the Touchet River in Columbia County, Washington in the United States. It originates as two forks, North Patit and West Patit Creeks, on Maloney Mountain in the northern Blue Mountains near Camp Wooten.[3] Both forks flow north before turning west, joining 7.8 miles (12.6 km)[2] east of Dayton to form Patit Creek.[4] The main stem flows west through a valley in the foothills and through Dayton, emptying into the Touchet River just west of downtown.[5]

Lewis and Clark camped on Patit Creek during their return from the Pacific coast on May 2, 1806. The site is commemorated with a series of metal sculptures representing the members of the expedition and their animals.[6] The creek's name is derived from the Nez Perce Pat-tit-ta, meaning "bark creek".[7]: 209 

The creek flows through a narrow, constricted channel in the northern part of Dayton and is considered a significant flooding hazard. It caused major damage in the floods of February 1996[8] and February 2020.[9] The creek has spawning populations of wild steelhead trout, though intensive farming has degraded stream habitat, with the elimination of riparian vegetation, increased sediment runoff, and channel straightening for flood control.[10]

See also

• List of rivers of Washington

References

1. "Patit Creek". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. September 10, 1979. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
2. United States Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map Archived 2012-03-29 at the Wayback Machine, accessed February 18, 2024
3. U.S. Geological Survey. "U.S. Geological Survey Topographic Map: Hopkins Ridge, Washington quad". TopoQuest. Archived from the original on February 19, 2024. Retrieved February 18, 2024.
4. U.S. Geological Survey. "U.S. Geological Survey Topographic Map: Cahill Mountain, Washington quad". TopoQuest. Archived from the original on February 19, 2024. Retrieved February 18, 2024.
5. U.S. Geological Survey. "U.S. Geological Survey Topographic Map: Dayton, Washington quad". TopoQuest. Archived from the original on February 19, 2024. Retrieved February 18, 2024.
6. "Patit Creek Campsite, Columbia County, Washington". The Historical Marker Database. Archived from the original on February 19, 2024. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
7. Meany, Edmond Stephen. Origin of Washington Geographic Names. University of Washington Press. ISBN 9780598974808.
8. "Town Wades Through Disaster – Dayton Calmly Copes With Flooding From Touchet River's North Fork". The Spokesman-Review. February 9, 1996. Archived from the original on February 19, 2024. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
9. "Dayton mayor shares information about aftermath of the flood". The Waitsburg Times. February 20, 2020. Archived from the original on February 19, 2024. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
10. "Minor Spawning Area – Patit Creek". Salmon Recovery Portal. Archived from the original on February 21, 2024. Retrieved February 19, 2024.