Lake Kapowsin

Kapowsin is a census-designated place located approximately 25 miles (38 kilometers) southeast of Tacoma in Pierce County, Washington, United States. The 2020 Census placed the population at 249. Kapowsin, originally Kapousen Precint, was named for its shallow lake. The ancient glacial drainage channel provides a nearly level connection between the Puyallup and Nisqually Rivers, and formed a natural travel route at the base of the Cascade foothills. Chief Kapowsin was a fictional leader with an iron fist who lived on the lake's shores, a folklore told by the Nisqually tribe that lived in the nearby village of bacálabc (or bišál; southwest of Eatonville) prior to the area being settled in 1888.Kapowsin was founded in 1901 when the Kapowsin Lumber Company built a sawmill at the community's present site. Located on the north end of Lake Kapowsin, the community was a thriving lumber town in the early part of the 20th century, with a high school, shops, and trades, and a population of about 10,000. After a decline in the timber industry, the town diminished in size into a neighborhood center, with a store, tavern, post office (US ZIP code 98344), fire station and grange hall. Kapowsin High School was abandoned in 1949 after being damaged in an earthquake. The 2010 Census placed the population at 333. Kapowsin is located partially in the Bethel School District and partially in the Eatonville School District, and Kapowsin Elementary School is located nearby. Secondary students attend Frontier Junior High and Graham-Kapowsin High School, which opened in 2005. Tacoma Rail's freight line to Morton, Washington, runs through the town.

Electron is an unincorporated community in Pierce County in the state of Washington, US.Electron sits along the Puyallup River just northeast of Lake Kapowsin and is the site of the Electron Hydroelectric Project, a power plant operated by Puget Power. Above the plant, 10.1 miles upriver, is the Electron Diversionary Dam, which runs water to the power plant via a wooden flume. The dam and power plant project was constructed in 1903-04 and began operation on April 12, 1904. Electron was the site of a CCC camp in the 1930s. A mudslide destroyed the original powerhouse in 1936; rebuilding was partially completed in 1937 and fully rehabilitated in 1941. There is a small town park in Electron.

Graham is a census-designated place (CDP) in Pierce County, Washington, United States. It is located 16.2 miles southeast of Tacoma. The population was 23,491 at the 2010 census and grew to 32,658 at the 2020 census.

Graham-Kapowsin High School is a high school in the Bethel School District, Pierce County, Washington, United States. Its doors first opened to grade 10 and 11 students in September 2005. GK added grade 12 students beginning Fall 2006. Grade 9 joined in the 2012–13 school year.

Leber is an unincorporated community in Pierce County, in the U.S. state of Washington.

Ohop Valley is an agricultural region in Pierce County, Washington, United States. It is located between Electron and Eatonville, and contains the unincorporated settlement of Ohop. Ohop Creek, which runs through the valley, feeds into Ohop Lake and its waters eventually join the Puyallup River. Prior to settlement in the 1880s by Norwegian immigrants, the area was owned by local Native Americans who assisted new farmers. The town of Ohop also had a small mineral spring that was used to bring tourists to the area, along with its views of nearby Mount Rainier. The Ohop Valley also remains a hub for local logging.Part of the valley is now owned by a land trust managed by the Nisqually Indian Tribe to restore salmon habitat near Ohop Creek. One of the historic barns in the Ohop Valley was acquired by the Eatonville School District and is planned to house a STEM agricultural education campus.

Orting is a city in Pierce County, Washington, United States. The population was 9,041 at the 2020 census.

Emerald Ridge High School is a high school in the Puyallup School District of Washington, United States and is commonly referred to as ERHS or simply ER. Emerald Ridge opened in September 2000. It features green, black and silver as its primary colors and has a jaguar as its official mascot. The enrollment was around 1,600 In the 2008–2009 school year, 10th graders showed 90.1% competency in Reading, 55% in Math, 97.7% in Writing and 44.4% in Science.

Orting High School is a high school located in Orting, Washington that serves students from grades 9–12 in the Orting and surrounding areas. The mascot is the Cardinal, and the Orting Cardinals was a member of the Nisqually League. OHS is now part of the SPSL 2A league.

Pierce County is a county in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, the population was 921,130, up from 795,225 in 2010, making it the second-most populous county in Washington, behind King County, and the 60th-most populous in the United States. The county seat and largest city is Tacoma. Formed out of Thurston County on December 22, 1852, by the legislature of Oregon Territory, it was named for U.S. President Franklin Pierce. Pierce County is in the Seattle metropolitan area (formally the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA, metropolitan statistical area). Pierce County is home to the volcano Mount Rainier, the tallest mountain in the Cascade Range. Its most recent recorded eruption was between 1820 and 1854. There is no imminent risk of eruption, but geologists expect that the volcano will erupt again. If this should happen, parts of Pierce County and the Puyallup Valley would be at risk from lahars, lava, or pyroclastic flows. The Mount Rainier Volcano Lahar Warning System was established in 1998 to assist in the evacuation of the Puyallup River valley in case of eruption.

The Bridge for Kids is a proposed bridge across the Carbon River in Orting, Washington, about a mile upstream of where it joins the Puyallup River. It would provide an emergency evacuation route for school children to escape a future lahar flow from Mount Rainier, consisting of an up to 10-meter (33 ft) high flood of mud, rock and boulders. As of 2016, the $40 million bridge was still in the planning phase.

Pierce County Airport, (ICAO: KPLU, FAA LID: PLU), also known as Thun Field, is a county-owned public-use airport located 5 nautical miles (9.3 km; 5.8 mi) south of the central business district of Puyallup, Washington, a city in Pierce County, Washington, United States. It is located in the CDP South Hill, Washington. It is included in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2019–2023, in which it is categorized as a local general aviation facility. There is no commercial airline at this airport; the closest airport with commercial airline service is Seattle–Tacoma International Airport, about 24 miles (39 km) to the north. Many U.S. airports use the same three-letter location identifier for the FAA and IATA. However, this airport is assigned PLU by the FAA but has no designation from the IATA.