The Waatch River is a stream on the Olympic Peninsula

Olympic Peninsula

The Olympic Peninsula is the large arm of land in western Washington state of the USA, that lies across Puget Sound from Seattle. It is bounded on the west by the Pacific Ocean, the north by the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and the east by Puget Sound. Cape Alava, the westernmost point in the contiguous...

 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 originates in the northwestern Olympic Mountains

Olympic Mountains

The Olympic Mountains is a mountain range on the Olympic Peninsula of western Washington in the United States. The mountains, part of the Pacific Coast Ranges, are not especially high - Mount Olympus is the highest at - but the western slopes of the Olympics rise directly out of the Pacific...

 and empties into the Pacific Ocean

Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...

. The name "Waatch" comes from the Makah

Makah language

The Makah language is the Indigenous language spoken by the Makah people. Makah has been extinct as a first language since 2002, when its last fluent native speaker died. However, it survives as a second language, and the Makah tribe is attempting to revive the language, including through preschool...

 village name /waʔač'/, said to mean "bundling up cedar to make a torch".

Course

The Waatch River originates in the northwestern portion of Olympic Peninsula in the Makah Reservation

Makah Reservation

Makah Reservation is an Indian reservation for the Makah located on the most northwestern tip of the Olympic Peninsula in Clallam County, Washington, USA. The northern boundary of the reservation is the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The western boundary is the Pacific Ocean. It has a land area of and a...

. It flows north for several miles to within a mile of Neah Bay

Neah Bay, Washington

Neah Bay is a census-designated place on the Makah Indian reservation in Clallam County, Washington, United States. The population was 794 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Neah Bay is located at ....

. After collecting the tributary Educket Creek the Waatch River turns west. It empties into the Pacific Ocean at northern end of Makah Bay, south of Waatch Point and Cape Flattery, and about a mile north of the mouth of the Sooes River

Sooes River

The Sooes River is a stream on the Olympic Peninsula in the U.S. state of Washington. It originates in the northwestern Olympic Mountains and empties into the Pacific Ocean.-Course:...

. The Makah Air Force Station is located at the river's mouth.