Chinook salmon
Oncorhynchus tshawytscha (Walbaum, 1792)
Status not recordedbony fish
The chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) is a bony fish in the family Salmonidae, subfamily Salmoninae, and order Salmoniformes. It is a large fish, with a representative adult body mass of 61.4 kg and a body length from 70 cm to 1.5 m, with a representative value of 1.1 m.
Quick facts about the chinook salmon
Its main food is terrestrial insects, and its habitats are freshwater, marine and riverine. Other English names for it are Tyee, Chinook, King salmon, Tyee salmon and Spring salmon, and its lifespan is up to 9 years.
- Weight
- 61.4 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- 70 cm – 1.5 msrc for Length
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 9 years
- Main food
- terrestrial insectssrc for Main food
- Habitat
- freshwater, marine, riverinesrc for Habitat
- Young per litter or clutch
- Not recorded
- Conservation status
- Not recorded
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the chinook salmon?
Photos of the chinook salmon
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the chinook salmon live?
Not recorded
What is the chinook salmon?
The Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) is the largest and most valuable species of Pacific salmon. Its common name is derived from the Chinookan peoples. Other vernacular names for the species include king salmon, quinnat salmon, tsumen, spring salmon, blackmouth, and tyee salmon. The scientific species name is based on the Russian common name chavycha (чавыча).
Chinook are anadromous fish native to the North Pacific Ocean and the river systems of western North America, ranging from California to Alaska, as well as Asian rivers ranging from northern Japan to the Palyavaam River in Arctic northeast Siberia. They have been introduced to other parts of the world, including New Zealand and Patagonia. Introduced Chinook salmon are thriving in Lake Michigan and Michigan's western rivers. A large Chinook is a prized and sought-after catch for a sporting angler. The flesh of the salmon is also highly valued for its nutritional content, which includes high levels of important omega-3 fatty acids. Some populations are endangered; however, many are healthy. The Chinook salmon has not been assessed for the IUCN Red List. According to NOAA, the Chinook salmon population along the California coast is declining from factors such as overfishing, loss of freshwater and estuarine habitat, hydropower development, poor ocean conditions, and hatchery practices.
From the Wikipedia article “Chinook salmon” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Chinook_salmon&oldid=1376309908), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the chinook salmon endangered?
No conservation assessment is recorded for this species in our sources. That is not the same as being safe: it has not been matched to an assessment.
How is the chinook salmon classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classTeleostei
- orderSalmoniformes
- familySalmonidae
- genusOncorhynchus
- SpeciesOncorhynchus tshawytscha (Walbaum, 1792)
Synonyms Fario argyreus, Oncorhynchus chouicha, Oncorhynchus cooperi, Oncorhynchus tschawytscha, Oncorhynchus tshawytsha, Salmo cooperi, Salmo orientalis, Salmo quinnat, Salmo richardi, Salmo richardii, Salmo tschawytscha, Salmo tschawytscha, Salmo tshawytscha, Salmo warreni
Other names and names in other languages (38)
- ChinookEnglish
- King salmonEnglish
- King salmonEnglish
- Quinnat salmonEnglish
- Spring salmonEnglish
- TyeeEnglish
- Tyee salmonEnglish
- salmón realAsturian
- losos čavyčaCzech
- KongelaksDanish
- QuinnatGerman
- KönigslachsGerman
- Pazifik KöningslachsGerman
- salmon realSpanish
- salmón boquinegraSpanish
- Salmón chinookSpanish
- tarsarpaqCentral Yupik
- taryaqvakCentral Yupik
- kuningaslohiFinnish
- saumon royalFrench
- saumon chinookFrench
- saumon quinnatFrench
- saumon royal du PacifiqueFrench
- Kraljevski lososCroatian
- salmone realeItalian
- マスノスケJapanese
- 왕연어Korean
- ChinookDutch
- Californische zalmDutch
- chinook zalmDutch
- Pacific koningszalmDutch
- czawyczaPolish
- Salmão-realPortuguese
- ЧавычаRussian
- tshawytschaRussian
- činučaSlovenian
- KungslaxSwedish
- 帝王鮭Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistITISTAXREFWikidataWoRMS
Relatives of the chinook salmon
Other species in the same genus Oncorhynchus.
Rainbow trout
Oncorhynchus mykiss
Pink salmon
Oncorhynchus gorbuscha
Chum salmon
Oncorhynchus keta
Sockeye salmon
Oncorhynchus nerka
Coho salmon
Oncorhynchus kisutch
Clark's trout
Oncorhynchus clarkii
CompareChinook salmon vs Rainbow troutChinook salmon vs Pink salmonChinook salmon vs Chum salmonChinook salmon vs Sockeye salmon
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the chinook salmon?
The chinook salmon is a bony fish in the family Salmonidae and the order Salmoniformes.
How big is a chinook salmon?
The chinook salmon has a representative body length of 1.1 m, with reported values from 70 cm to 1.5 m. Its representative adult body mass is 61.4 kg.
What does the chinook salmon eat?
The main food of the chinook salmon is terrestrial insects.
What habitats does the chinook salmon live in?
The chinook salmon lives in freshwater, marine and riverine habitats.
How long does a chinook salmon live?
The chinook salmon has a lifespan of up to 9 years.
What is the scientific name of the chinook salmon?
The scientific name of the chinook salmon is Oncorhynchus tshawytscha, with the authority (Walbaum, 1792).
What are other names for the chinook salmon?
Other English names for the chinook salmon are Tyee, Chinook, King salmon, Tyee salmon and Spring salmon.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/chinook-salmon
“Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/chinook-salmon.
@misc{chinook_salmon_2026,
title = {Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/chinook-salmon},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}