Malheur River
Malheur River | |
---|---|
Blue Mountains | |
• location | Grant County, Oregon |
• coordinates | 44°8′5″N 118°37′14″W / 44.13472°N 118.62056°W[1] |
Mouth | Snake River |
• location | Malheur County, Oregon |
• coordinates | 44°3′33″N 116°58′31″W / 44.05917°N 116.97528°W[1] |
• elevation | 2,133 ft (650 m)[1] |
Length | 190 mi (310 km) |
Basin size | 4,700 sq mi (12,000 km2)[3] |
Discharge | |
• location | near Vale, Oregon |
• average | 203 cu ft/s (5.7 m3/s) |
• minimum | 0 cu ft/s (0 m3/s) |
• maximum | 20,800 cu ft/s (590 m3/s) |
Basin features | |
Tributaries | |
• left | North Fork Malheur River, Bully Creek, Willow Creek |
• right | South Fork Malheur River |
Type | Wild, Scenic |
Designated | October 28, 1988 |
The Malheur River (local pronunciation: "MAL-hyure") is a 190-mile-long (306 km)
In the past Malheur Lake (located in the enclosed Harney Basin to the southwest) outflowed into the river.
Course
The Malheur River rises in the southern Blue Mountains of southern Grant County, south of Strawberry Mountain in the Strawberry Mountain Wilderness. It flows south through Malheur National Forest, then southeast past Drewsey and through Warm Springs Reservoir. At Riverside in western Malheur County it receives the South Fork Malheur River from the south, then turns sharply back northward to Juntura, where it receives the North Fork Malheur River from the north. From Juntura it flows generally east past Vale, joining the Snake from the west approximately two miles (3 km) north of Ontario, Oregon. The mouth of the Malheur River is approximately at Snake river mile (RM) 370 or river kilometer (RK) 600.[3]
History
The name of the river is derived from the
The river lived up to its name a second time in 1845, when mountain man Stephen Meek, seeking a faster route along the Oregon Trail, led a migrant party up the river valley into the high desert along a route that has since become known as the Meek Cutoff. After leaving the river valley the party was unable to find a water supply and lost 23 people by the time they reached The Dalles on the Columbia River; gold was found, also see Lost Blue Bucket Mine.
In 1853, 1854 and 1859 the river was used more successfully as the route of the Elliott Cutoff. The emigrants followed the ruts of Stephen Meek until they reached Harney Basin. From here they sought more direct routes to the Deschutes River, where they turned south until reaching the Free Emigrant Road. The road was built over the Cascades through Willamette Pass and brought emigrants into Central Oregon.
River modifications
The lower Malheur River is used for irrigation in the agricultural potato-growing in the Snake River Plain along the Idaho-Oregon border.
There are approximately 370 miles (600 km) of irrigation-related canals and ditches in the lower basin of the Malheur River and its tributary Willow Creek. The streamflow of the Malheur and its tributaries is heavily influenced by a complex system of irrigation diversions, siphons, and canals, which begin near Malheur river mile 65, near Namorf and
Agricultural runoff has resulted in a phosphorus pollution problem in its lower reaches.
Natural history
The Malheur River watershed was once a major spawning ground for
Protected area
A 13.7-mile (22.0 km) segment of the Malheur River from Bosenberg Creek to the Malheur National Forest boundary became protected as wild and scenic in 1988 as part of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System.[6] The protected area includes 3,758 acres (15.21 km2) of land along the river.[7]
See also
References
- ^ a b c "Malheur River". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. November 28, 1980. Retrieved January 11, 2011.
- ISBN 0-87595-277-1.
- ^ a b c d Watershed Professionals Network, L.L.C. (2004). "Malheur River Subbasin Assessment and Management Plan for Fish and Wildlife Mitigation" (PDF). Northwest Power and Conservation Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 13, 2012. Retrieved January 11, 2011.
- ^ "National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data". United States Geological Survey. Archived from the original on March 29, 2012. Retrieved May 3, 2011.
- ^ Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 197.
- ^ "Malheur River, Oregon". National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. Retrieved January 1, 2016.
- ^ "Malheur National Forest: Wild and Scenic River". United States Forest Service. August 18, 2005. Retrieved January 11, 2011.