| Cle Elum River | |
| Subdivision Type1: | Country |
| Subdivision Name1: | United States |
| Subdivision Type2: | State |
| Subdivision Name2: | Washington |
| Subdivision Type3: | Region |
| Subdivision Name3: | Kittitas County |
| Subdivision Type5: | City |
| Subdivision Name5: | Cle Elum |
| Length: | 28miles[1] |
| Discharge1 Location: | Roslyn, Washington |
| Discharge1 Avg: | 945 cuft/s [2] |
| Source1: | Cascade Range |
| Source1 Coordinates: | 47.5886°N -121.1669°W[3] |
| Source1 Elevation: | 6115feet[4] |
| Mouth: | Yakima River |
| Mouth Coordinates: | 47.1769°N -120.9969°W |
| Mouth Elevation: | 1990feet |
| Tributaries Right: | Waptus River, Cooper River |
The Cle Elum River is a tributary of the Yakima River, approximately 28 miles (45 km) long in the U.S. state of Washington. A Northern Pacific Railway station at the future site of the city of Cle Elum, Washington was named Clealum after the Kittitas name Tie-el-Lum, meaning "swift water", referring to the Cle Elum River. In 1908, Clealum was altered to Cle Elum. This spelling came to be used for the river as well.[5] Some maps in the 1850s also have the river labeled as Samahma River.[6]
The river originates in the Cascade Range near Mount Daniel and flows generally south, through Hyas Lake. The river is joined by many tributary streams including Waptus River and Cooper River draining from Cooper Lake, after which it enters Cle Elum Lake. Although a natural lake, Cle Elum Lake's water level and discharge is controlled by Cle Elum Dam, a 165-foot (50 m) high earthfill structure built in 1933. The dam and lake are managed for irrigation purposes by the United States Bureau of Reclamation as part of the Yakima Project.[7] Below the dam, Cle Elum River continues south to join the Yakima River on the west side of the city of Cle Elum.