The Deschutes River is a 50-mile-long (80 km) river in the U.S. state of Washington. Its headwaters are in the Bald Hills in Lewis County, and it empties into Budd Inlet of Puget Sound at Olympia in Thurston County. It was given its name by French fur traders, who called it Rivière des Chutes, or "River of the Falls", a translation of the First Nations name for the site. (The city of Tumwater, founded in the same location, takes its name from the Chinook Jargon translation for "waterfall".)

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Deschutes River
Tumwater Falls of the Deschutes River, in the city of Tumwater
Location of the mouth of the Deschutes River in Washington Show map of Washington (state) Deschutes River (Washington) (the United States) Show map of the United States
Location
Country	United States
State	Washington
County	Thurston, Lewis
Physical characteristics
Source	Cascade Range
• coordinates	46°41′0″N 122°26′17″W[1]
Mouth	Puget Sound
• coordinates	47°1′6″N 122°54′13″W[1]
Length	50 mi (80 km)
Basin size	162 sq mi (420 km2)[2]
Discharge
• location	river mile 2.4 at Tumwater[2]
• average	396 cu ft/s (11.2 m3/s)[2]
• minimum	48 cu ft/s (1.4 m3/s)
• maximum	8,150 cu ft/s (231 m3/s)

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Tributaries of the river include Spurgeon Creek, Thurston Creek and Lake Lawrence.^[3]

There are numerous parks along its course, including Pioneer Park and Tumwater Falls Park. A popular tubing stretch runs from Pioneer Park to Tumwater Falls.

The Chehalis Western Trail parallels the river for a stretch of 2 miles (3.2 km), allowing users direct views and access to the river.^[4][5]

• List of rivers of Washington