The Salmon River is a tributary

Tributary

A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean...

 of the Queets River

Queets River

The Queets River is a river in the U.S. state of Washington. It is located on the Olympic Peninsula, mostly within the Olympic National Park and empties into the Pacific Ocean.The Queets River is long. Its drainage basin is in area...

 in US state of Washington.

The river flows roughly from east to south, with the North Fork Salmon River, Middle Fork Salmon River, South Fork Salmon River, combining to form the Salmon River, which empties into the Queets River. The river's length, including its longest source tributary, the Middle Fork, is 18 miles (29 km). The main stem

Main Stem

"Main Stem" is 1942 instrumental by Duke Ellington and His Famous Orchestra. Although recorded in 1942, the single would not be released until 1944 where it was Duke Ellington's last of four number one's on the Harlem Hit Parade. "Main Stem" would also peak at number twenty on the pop chart"Main...

 Salmon River, below the North Fork, is about 13 miles (20.9 km) long. The Salmon's drainage basin

Drainage basin

A drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...

 is 56 square miles (145 km²) in area.

Geology

The North, Middle, and South Fork watersheds are composed of shale, and sandstone, both sedimentary rocks, while the watershed of the lower Salmon River is composed of "coastal piedmont consisting of porous, unconsolidated deposits of Olympic alpine glaciers, including gravels, sands, silts and clays."

Ecology

More than 80% of the watershed is covered by coniferous forests (including Sitka spruce, western hemlock, and Douglas-fir

Douglas-fir

Douglas-fir is one of the English common names for evergreen coniferous trees of the genus Pseudotsuga in the family Pinaceae. Other common names include Douglas tree, and Oregon pine. There are five species, two in western North America, one in Mexico, and two in eastern Asia...

), with the remainder being hardwood stands and unforested wetlands.

There is a hatchery on the river that breeds 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 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...

. Some number of hatchery

Hatchery

A hatchery is a facility where eggs are hatched under artificial conditions, especially those of fish or poultry. It may be used for ex-situ conservation purposes, i.e. to breed rare or endangered species under controlled conditions; alternatively, it may be for economic reasons A hatchery is a...

 Winter steelhead

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....

 smolt

Smolt

Smolt may refer to:* Spawn , a juvenile fish.* Smolt , a project aimed at hardware information collection....

s are planted in the river every year. Sea-run cutthroat trout

Coastal cutthroat trout

The coastal cutthroat trout also known as the sea run cutthroat, or harvest trout are a subspecies of cutthroat trout with an anadromous life history....

and Chinook salmon also inhabit the river.