Donner und Blitzen River
| Donner und Blitzen River | |
|---|---|
 Donner und Blitzen River near Page Springs campground | |
  Location of the mouth of the Donner und Blitzen River in Oregon | |
| Etymology | German for thunder and lightning. Given in 1864 by soldiers who crossed the river during a thunderstorm.[2] |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Oregon |
| County | Harney |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | southwest of Steens Mountain |
| • location | Harney County, Oregon |
| • coordinates | 42°32′02″N 118°43′52″W / 42.53389°N 118.73111°W[1] |
| • elevation | 6,527 ft (1,989 m)[3] |
| Mouth | Malheur Lake |
• location | Harney County, Oregon |
• coordinates | 43°17′30″N 118°49′12″W / 43.29167°N 118.82000°W[1] |
• elevation | 4,101 ft (1,250 m)[1] |
| Length | 60 mi (97 km)[4] |
| Basin size | 791 sq mi (2,050 km2)[5] |
| Discharge | |
| • location | 3.5 miles (5.6 km) southeast of Frenchglen[6] |
| • average | 126 cu ft/s (3.6 m3/s)[6] |
| • minimum | 4.2 cu ft/s (0.12 m3/s) |
| • maximum | 4,270 cu ft/s (121 m3/s) |
| Type | Wild |
| Designated | October 28, 1988 |
The Donner und Blitzen River[dry lightning is an almost daily occurrence in the region during certain times of the year.
The Donner und Blitzen River arises as an intermittent stream on the lower slopes west of
United States Government in 1935.[11]
The Blitzen is home to a native species of
Great Basin Redband Trout amongst many other unique forms of flora and fauna. Over the last century, the fish population has decreased due to increased human activity in the surrounding areas.[12] As part of the 2000 Steens Mountain Protection Act, congress and President Clinton signed off on the creation of the Donner und Blitzen Red Band Trout Reserve.[13] The Reserve was designated “to conserve, protect, and enhance the Donner und Blitzen population of redband trout and the unique ecosystem of plants, fish, and wildlife of a river system.”[14]
In 1988, 72.7 miles (117.0 km) of rivers in its basin were designated
Wild and Scenic, and another 14.8 miles (23.8 km) were added in 2000.[7] The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) lists seven temperature impairments on the river system.[15] The maximum recorded flow of 4,270 cubic feet per second (121 m3/s) occurred on April 26, 1978, and was extrapolated from a calibrated value of 1,900 cu ft/s (54 m3/s). The minimum recorded flow 4.2 cu ft/s (0.12 m3/s) occurred December 9, 1972, caused by widespread freezing.[16]
See also
- Blitzen, Oregon
- List of rivers of Oregon
- List of longest streams of Oregon
- List of National Wild and Scenic Rivers
- Harney Basin
References
- ^ a b c d "Donner und Blitzen River". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. November 28, 1980. Retrieved December 18, 2008.
- ^ ISBN 978-0875952772.
- ^ a b Source elevation derived from Google Earth search using GNIS source coordinates.
- ^ "Donner und Blitzen River". The Columbia Gazetteer of North America. Columbia University Press via Bartleby.com. 2000. Archived from the original on July 2, 2004. Retrieved December 19, 2008.
- ^ National Resources Conservation Service (2006). "Donner und Blitzen – 17120003 8-Digit Hydrologic Unit Profile" (PDF). U.S. Department of Agriculture. Retrieved December 18, 2008.[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b "Water-data report 2007: USGS 10396000 Donner und Blitzen River near Frenchglen, OR" (PDF). United States Geological Survey (USGS). 2007. Retrieved December 18, 2008.
- ^ National Park System. January 7, 2005. Retrieved August 8, 2006.
- ISBN 978-0-7614-2022-4.
- ISBN 0-89815-649-1. Retrieved December 18, 2008.
- ^ The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) of the United States Geological Survey (USGS) lists source and mouth coordinates for the Donner und Blitzen River that include the South Fork as part of the main stem. In this article, Donner und Blitzen River refers to the full length of the river between those sets of coordinates.
- ^ Oster, Clarence A (2005). "Oregon Places: The P Ranch House Fire: An Eyewitness Account". Oregon Historical Quarterly. 106 (2): 284–293.
- CiteSeerX 10.1.1.482.9259.
- .
- ^ "16 U.S. Code § 460nnn–72.Donner und Blitzen River Redband Trout Reserve". Retrieved 28 March 2020.
- ^ "Total Maximum Daily Loads (Section 303(d) List Fact Sheet) for Watershed Donner und Blitzen". United States Environmental Protection Agency. 1998. Retrieved August 8, 2006.
- USGS. Retrieved August 8, 2006.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Donner und Blitzen River.
- Donner ünd Blitzen Wild and Scenic River - Bureau of Land Management
- Donner und Blitzen River - Oregon Natural Desert Association
- Little Blitzen River and Bridge Creek Remote Sensing Survey
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