Forks

History

Forks was once inhabited by the Quileute Native American tribe, before they ceded their territory. In 1889, a reservation was created near Forks; that same year the village was burnt down by settler Daniel Pullen. Forks is from tribal burning areas that the tribes used to regenerate young ferns. The phrase "prairie upstream" from the Quileute language was translated and became the name Forks Prairie. A new road passable for automobiles opened from Lake Crescent to Forks in 1927 and was replaced by the Olympic Loop Highway (US 101) in 1931. The city gained popularity for being a key setting in Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series (2005 to 2008) and related film adaptations (2008 to 2012).

Geography

The city lies on Forks Prairie just east of the confluence of the Calawah River with the Bogachiel River. U.S. Route 101 passes through the town. The Olympic rainforest surrounds the town. Forks has an oceanic climate (Cfb) in a temperate rainforest with high rainfall, above per year. Although there is a drying trend in summer, rain is still abundant, just not as wet as the rest of the year. Forks averages 212 days per year with measurable precipitation. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  1,918
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  1,388
• Bald Eagle

  Haliaeetus leucocephalus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  1,192
• Brown Pelican

  Pelecanus occidentalis Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  1,136
• Pacific Wren

  Troglodytes pacificus S.F.Baird, 1864 · Aves
  1,090
• Song Sparrow

  Melospiza melodia (A.Wilson, 1810) · Aves
  1,026
• Steller's Jay

  Cyanocitta stelleri (Gmelin, 1788) · Aves
  987
• Chestnut-backed Chickadee

  Poecile rufescens (J.K.Townsend, 1837) · Aves
  933

Most recent

• M 2.53 — 2026-08-09
  11 km SSW of River Road, Washington
• M 2.85 — 2025-10-22
  8 km SW of Port Angeles, Washington
• M 2.84 — 2025-10-09
  21 km NW of Hoodsport, Washington
• M 2.6 — 2025-09-18
  14 km SW of Cowichan Bay, Canada
• M 3.7 — 2025-08-19
  17 km NNW of Sekiu, Washington
• M 2.82 — 2025-08-10
  16 km SSW of River Road, Washington