The Chinook is often referred to as the King salmon, Tyee salmon, Columbia River salmon, black salmon, chub salmon, hook bill salmon, winter salmon or blackmouth. Chinook salmon are blue-green on the back and top of the head with silvery sides and white bellies. Black spots on the upper half of their bodies with gray/black mouth coloration also differentiate them from other salmon.

Chinooks can grow up to 58 inches in length and weigh up to 129 pounds, but Chinook salmon generally only grow to 36 inches in length and weigh up to 30 pounds.

They may spend between one and eight years in the Pacific Ocean before returning to their natal streams to spawn, although the average is three to four years. Chinooks spawn in streams that are larger and deeper than other salmon utilize. Chinook salmon spawn from late summer to late fall, depending on the run. Fry and smolts usually stay in freshwater from one to eighteen months before travelling downstream to estuaries, where they remain up to 189 days.