The Mashel River is a river

River

A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...

 in Pierce County

Pierce County, Washington

right|thumb|[[Tacoma, Washington|Tacoma]] - Seat of Pierce CountyPierce County is the second most populous county in the U.S. state of Washington. Formed out of Thurston County on December 22, 1852, by the legislature of Oregon Territory...

, in the U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of Washington. It is a tributary of the Nisqually River

Nisqually River

The Nisqually River is a river in west central Washington in the United States, approximately long. It drains part of the Cascade Range southwest of Tacoma, including the southern slope of Mount Rainier, and empties into the southern end of Puget Sound....

, which it enters about 3.6 miles (5.8 km) northwest of Eatonville

Eatonville, Washington

Eatonville is a town in Pierce County, Washington, United States. The population was 2,758 at the 2010 census.-History:For centuries, Indian people roamed the rivers and streams of the Eatonville area. Indian Henry was one of those who, in 1889, guided the town's founder, Thomas C. Van Eaton, from...

, at Nisqually river mile

River mile

In the United States, a River mile is a measure of distance in miles along a river from its mouth. River mile numbers begin at zero and increase further upstream. The corresponding metric unit using kilometers is the River kilometer...

 39.6.

Course

The Mashel River’s headwaters are a tiny, unnamed lake about 5.1 miles southeast of Mount Beljica. The river starts off as a small stream flowing northwest before turning west then south, where the South Fork Mashel River joins, after which the Mashel turns west. The Mashel River is joined by Busy Wild Creek and then, about 3.5 miles downstream, Beaver Creek. The Mashel continues west for about 2.7 miles then turns southwest, along the southern city limits of Eatonville, which it follows for about 1.7 miles. The river is joined by the Little Mashel River

Little Mashel River

The Little Mashel River is a river in Pierce County, Washington. It is a tributary of the Mashel River, and enters the Mashel just downstream from the Eatonville, Washington city limits. It is noted for its canyon and the three waterfalls.- Course :...

 a mere 380 feet after leaving Eatonville’s city limits. George Smallwood Park, named for one of the former mayors of Eatonville, is located about 0.8 miles above the Little Mashel River confluence. After the Little Mashel confluence the Mashel flows west for another 1.1 miles before passing under Highway 7 and gradually turning south and emptying into the Nisqually River.

South Fork

The South Fork Mashel River begins at the outlet of another tiny, unnamed lake which is located just 0.6 miles due east of the lake that the main fork begins at and just 29 feet lower in elevation. It flows generally northwest from its source to its mouth, a distance of approximately 4.3 miles. The South Fork has no major tributaries but does receives many minor streams. Near its mouth the South Fork flows over a waterfall.

Boxcar Canyon

Boxcar Canyon is a stretch of river that ends about 1 mile upstream from Eatonville. People often come to the canyon to camp, build fires, party, swim, cliff jump and more. Due to the amount of irresponsible behaviors that come with that, the river, canyon, and area around the canyon have been badly polluted. The city of Eatonville has made efforts lately to clean up the area including a big cleanup in 2004 which ended up hardly making an impact. The canyon was even closed and signs were posted in an attempt to discourage people from mistreating the land. Within days, most of the signs, out of defiance, were either defaced or torn down.

The railroad trestle crossing Boxcar Canyon near Walker Road caught fire and burned down in the late 1970s or early 1980s. The tall creosote timber structure burned readily.

As a result of all the vandalism as well as pollution, it is now difficult or impossible for fish to spawn in the canyon where spawning used to be very common.

In an effort to help save the fish that formerly spawned in the canyon, the Nisqually Land Trust has purchased the canyon and some of the land around it. They also purchased a large section of river and nearby land just downstream from Eatonville as well.

Fish

The Mashel River is home to four types of salmonids: Rainbow Trout

Rainbow trout

The rainbow trout is a species of salmonid native to tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead is a sea run rainbow trout usually returning to freshwater to spawn after 2 to 3 years at sea. In other words, rainbow trout and steelhead trout are the same species....

, Chinook Salmon

Chinook salmon

The Chinook salmon, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha, is the largest species in the pacific salmon family. Other commonly used names for the species include King salmon, Quinnat salmon, Spring salmon and Tyee salmon...

, Coho Salmon

Coho salmon

The Coho salmon, Oncorhynchus kisutch, is a species of anadromous fish in the salmon family. Coho salmon are also known as silver salmon or "silvers". It is the state animal of Chiba, Japan.-Description:...

, and Pink Salmon

Pink salmon

Pink salmon or humpback salmon, Oncorhynchus gorbuscha, is a species of anadromous fish in the salmon family. It is the smallest and most abundant of the Pacific salmon.- Appearance :...

. Of these, the Steelhead and Chinook Salmon are the most endangered.

Logjams

Recently, logjams have been inserted into the river in hope that salmon will be able to spawn better. A lot of the trees along the river, especially along the upper sections, have been logged so there are less trees to create natural log jams. The logjams trap leaves and create deep pools. Salmon travelling upstream can rest in these pools. The Coho Salmon have benefited the most from these logjams.