[3] The river's name comes from the Upper Chehalis word náwaqwəm, meaning "big prairie".

[4] The removal of salmon culverts on the Middle Fork of the Newaukum River were completed in 2019.

[5] The United States Geological Survey (USGS) monitors the river via calibrated "base flow" gauges.

Due to reduced waterflow in summer 2023, the USGS could not use its gauge system to compare against historic lows of the water levels of the Newaukum.

It exits the mountains and enters broad valleys and prairie lands, flowing by the community of Onalaska.