The Willapa River is a river on the Pacific

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...

 coast of southwestern Washington in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, approximately 20 miles (32.2 km) long. It drains an area of low hills and a coastal plain into Willapa Bay

Willapa Bay

Willapa Bay is a bay located on the southwest Pacific coast of Washington state in the United States. The Long Beach Peninsula separates Willapa Bay from the greater expanse of the Pacific Ocean. With over of water surface Willapa Bay is the second largest estuary on the United States Pacific coast...

, a large estuary north of the mouth of the Columbia River

Columbia River

The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, flows northwest and then south into the U.S. state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state...

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The river rises in the Willapa Hills

Willapa Hills

The Willapa Hills is a geologic, physiographic, and geographic region in southwest Washington. When described as a physiographical province, the Willapa Hills are bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west, the Columbia River to the south, the Olympic Mountains to the north, and the Cascade Range to...

 in southeastern Pacific County, approximately 25 miles (40.2 km) west of Chehalis

Chehalis, Washington

Chehalis is a city in Lewis County, Washington, United States. The population was 7,259 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Lewis County.-History:...

. It flows northwest in a winding course past the small communities of Willapa and Raymond

Raymond, Washington

Raymond is a city in Pacific County, Washington, United States. The population was 2,975 at the 2000 census and decreased 3.1% to 2,882 at the 2010 census. The town's economy is based on logging and fishing, together with a limited amount of tourism....

. It enters the northwest end of Willapa Bay at South Bend

South Bend, Washington

South Bend is a city in Pacific County, Washington, United States. It is the county seat of Pacific County. The population was 1,637 as of the 2010 census, a decrease of 9.4% from the 2000 census figures. The town is widely known for its oysters and scenery....

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Name

The name is that of the Willapa people

Willapa people

The Willapa were an Athapaskan-speaking people in Washington, United States. Their territory was the valley of the Willapa River and the prairie between the headwaters of the Chehalis and Cowlitz Rivers....

, an Athapaskan-speaking people, now extinct, who occupied the valley of the river and also the prairies between the headwaters of the Chehalis

Chehalis River

The Chehalis River may refer to:*Chehalis River , in the United States*Chehalis River , in Canada...

 and Cowlitz River

Cowlitz River

The Cowlitz River is a river in the state of Washington in the United States, a tributary of the Columbia River. Its tributaries drain a large region including the slopes of Mount Rainier, Mount Adams, and Mount St. Helens....

s.