Chewaucan

The Chewaucan River descends from the mountains into a dry basin of the northern Great Basin, crossing marshes before reaching the shallow waters of Lake Abert. The lake has no outlet, and its water is salty. Northern Paiute bands have long made their home in the basin; Paiute and Klamath people came to the river and marshes to gather the edible tubers of wapato. In the Klamath language the plant was called chewa, a name carried by the surrounding country.