Champoeg Creek | |
---|---|
The creek near Champoeg Road, looking north | |
Location | |
Country | United States |
State | Oregon |
County | Marion County |
Physical characteristics | |
Source | French Prairie |
- coordinates | 45°11′02″N122°55′49″W / 45.18389°N 122.93028°W [1] |
- elevation | 121 ft (37 m) [2] |
Mouth | Willamette River |
- location | near Champoeg |
- coordinates | 45°15′14″N122°52′56″W / 45.25389°N 122.88222°W Coordinates: 45°15′14″N122°52′56″W / 45.25389°N 122.88222°W [1] |
- elevation | 62 ft (19 m) [1] |
Length | 6 mi (9.7 km) [3] |
Champoeg Creek is a tributary, roughly 6 miles (9.7 km) long, of the Willamette River in the U.S. state of Oregon. The creek is formed by the confluence of its two forks in the French Prairie region of the Willamette Valley and flows generally northeast to meet the Willamette 45 miles (72 km) from the river's confluence with the Columbia River. Its course lies entirely in Marion County. [3] [4]
The Willamette River is a major tributary of the Columbia River, accounting for 12 to 15 percent of the Columbia's flow. The Willamette's main stem is 187 miles (301 km) long, lying entirely in northwestern Oregon in the United States. Flowing northward between the Oregon Coast Range and the Cascade Range, the river and its tributaries form the Willamette Valley, a basin that contains two-thirds of Oregon's population, including the state capital, Salem, and the state's largest city, Portland, which surrounds the Willamette's mouth at the Columbia.
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region on the West Coast of the United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. The parallel 42° north delineates the southern boundary with California and Nevada. Oregon is one of only three states of the contiguous United States to have a coastline on the Pacific Ocean.
French Prairie is a prairie located in Marion County, Oregon, United States, in the Willamette Valley between the Willamette River and the Pudding River, north of Salem. It was named for some of the earliest settlers of that part of the Oregon Country, French Canadian/Métis people who were mostly former employees of the Hudson's Bay Company. French Prairie is also known as an early Métis settlement in the Pacific Northwest history.
The name "Champoeg" comes from the Kalapuyan word [čʰámpuik], which might be an abbreviation of [čʰa-čʰíma-púičuk], referring to the edible root [púičuk], or yampa. [5]
Kalapuyan is a small extinct language family that was spoken in the Willamette Valley of Western Oregon, United States. It consists of three languages.
Perideridia is a small genus of plants in the parsley family. Plants in this genus are known generally as yampah or yampa. They are native to western North America. Similar in appearance to other plants belonging to the family Apiaceae, they have umbels of white flowers.
The creek begins at the confluence of East Fork Champoeg Creek and West Fork Champoeg Creek in French Prairie and flows generally northeast. The East Fork is about 5 miles (8.0 km) long, and the West Fork is about 6 miles (9.7 km) long. Not far from its source, Champoeg Creek enters McKay Reservoir then Spada Reservoir, where it passes under St. Paul Highway Northeast. Shortly thereafter, it receives Murphy Creek from the left. It passes under McKay Road Northeast and Champoeg Road Northeast before receiving Case Creek from the right and Mission Creek from the left in Champoeg State Heritage Area. Less than 1 mile (1.6 km) later, it enters the Willamette River 45 miles (72 km) from the larger stream's mouth on the Columbia River. [3] [4]
Mission Creek is a tributary, roughly 9 miles (14 km) long, of Champoeg Creek in Marion County in the U.S. state of Oregon. The creek arises southwest of St. Paul in the French Prairie region of the Willamette Valley and flows generally northeast to meet Champoeg Creek near Champoeg. The combined streams then flow less than 1 mile (1.6 km) before entering the Willamette River, 45 miles (72 km) from its confluence with the Columbia River.
Champoeg is a former town in the U.S. state of Oregon. Now a ghost town, it was an important settlement in the Willamette Valley in the early 1840s. Located halfway between Oregon City and Salem, it was the site of the first provisional government of the Oregon Country.
The Santiam River is a tributary of the Willamette River, about 12 miles (19 km) long, in western Oregon in the United States. Through its two principal tributaries, the North Santiam and the South Santiam rivers, it drains a large area of the Cascade Range at the eastern side of the Willamette Valley east of Salem and Corvallis.
The Clackamas River is an approximately 83-mile (134 km) tributary of the Willamette River in northwestern Oregon, in the United States. Draining an area of about 940 square miles (2,435 km2), the Clackamas flows through mostly forested and rugged mountainous terrain in its upper reaches, and passes agricultural and urban areas in its lower third. The river rises in eastern Marion County, about 55 miles (89 km) east-southeast of Salem. The headwaters are on the slopes of Olallie Butte in the Mount Hood National Forest, about 10 miles (16 km) north of Mount Jefferson, at an elevation of 4,909 feet (1,496 m) in the Cascade Range. The Clackamas flows briefly north and then flows northwest through the mountains, passing through North Fork Reservoir and Estacada. It then emerges from the mountains southeast of Portland. It joins the Willamette near Oregon City and forms the boundary between Oregon City and Gladstone.
The Calapooia River is an 80-mile (130 km) tributary of the Willamette River in the U.S. state of Oregon.
The Big River is a tributary of the Coast Fork Willamette River, approximately 12 miles (19 km) long, in western Oregon in the United States. It drains an area of the Calapooya Mountains south of Eugene.
The Coast Fork Willamette River is one of two forks that unite to form the Willamette River in western Oregon in the United States. It is about 40 miles (64 km) long, draining an area of the mountains at the south end of the Willamette Valley south of Eugene.
The South Santiam River is a tributary of the Santiam River, about 69 miles (111 km) long, in western Oregon in the United States. It drains an area of the Cascade Range into the Willamette Valley east of Corvallis.
The Middle Santiam River is a tributary of the South Santiam River, 38.5 miles (62.0 km) long, in western Oregon in the United States. It drains a remote area of the Cascade Range east of Sweet Home in the watershed of the Willamette River.
The Umatilla River is an 89-mile (143 km) tributary of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Oregon. Draining a basin of 2,450 square miles (6,300 km2), it enters the Columbia near the city of Umatilla in the northeastern part of the state. In downstream order, beginning at the headwaters, major tributaries of the Umatilla River are the North Fork Umatilla River and the South Fork Umatilla River, then Meacham, McKay, Birch, and Butter creeks.
The Crooked River is a tributary, 125 miles (201 km) long, of the Deschutes River in the U.S. state of Oregon. The river begins at the confluence of the South Fork Crooked River and Beaver Creek. Of the two tributaries, the South Fork Crooked River is the larger and is sometimes considered part of the Crooked River proper. A variant name of the South Fork Crooked River is simply "Crooked River". The Deschutes River flows north into the Columbia River.
The Middle Fork Willamette River is one of several forks that unite to form the Willamette River in the western part of the U.S. state of Oregon. It is approximately 115 miles (185 km) long, draining an area of the Cascade Range southeast of Eugene, which is at the southern end of the Willamette Valley.
The Burnt River is a 98-mile-long (158 km) tributary of the Snake River in eastern Oregon, United States. It enters the Snake near Huntington, Oregon, at a point upstream of the Powder River and downstream of the Malheur River, slightly more than 327 miles (526 km) from the Snake's confluence with the Columbia River. Draining 1,090 square miles (2,800 km2), it flows predominately west to east.
Ash Creek is a short stream in Polk County, in the U.S. state of Oregon. Formed by the merger of its north and middle forks near Monmouth, it flows generally east to meet the Willamette River at Independence. The creek passes under Oregon Route 51 just before entering the river. The creek's mouth is about 95 miles (153 km) upstream of the Willamette's confluence with the Columbia River.
Blue River is a tributary of the McKenzie River in Linn and Lane counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. From its source at the confluence of Mann and Wolf creeks in the Cascade Range, it flows generally southwest to join the McKenzie near the community of Blue River. Saddle Dam and Blue River Dam block the river about 2 miles (3 km) from its mouth to form Blue River Reservoir, a multipurpose impoundment built in 1968 by the United States Army Corps of Engineers.
Dairy Creek is a 10.55-mile (16.98 km) tributary of the Tualatin River in the U.S. state of Oregon. It begins at the confluence of its east and west forks near the unincorporated community of Schefflin and meanders southeast across the Tualatin Valley to the Tualatin River near Hillsboro, in Washington County. East Fork Dairy Creek begins at 45.788446°N 123.041498°W in Columbia County, slightly north of its border with Washington County, and flows generally south for 22 miles (35 km). West Fork Dairy Creek, also about 22 miles (35 km) long, forms at 45.7553899°N 123.178168°W, near the unincorporated community of Tophill, and flows generally southeast. Before railroads displaced river boats on the Tualatin, some steamships also worked the lower section of Dairy Creek, with plans to go as far up stream as Centerville.
The North Fork Clackamas River is a tributary, about 11 miles (18 km) long, of the Clackamas River in the U.S. state of Oregon. Originating at nearly 4,000 feet (1,200 m) above sea level on the west side of the Cascade Range, it flows westward through Mount Hood National Forest. It joins the Clackamas at North Fork Reservoir, about 32 miles (51 km) from the larger river's confluence with the Willamette River. From source to mouth, the following tributaries enter the river: Dry Creek from the right bank, Boyer Creek from the left bank, then Whiskey, Bedford, Bee, and Fall creeks, all from the right.
The Willamette River is a 187-mile (301 km) tributary of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Oregon. The upper tributaries of the Willamette originate in mountains south and southeast of Eugene and Springfield. Formed by the confluence of the Middle Fork Willamette River and Coast Fork Willamette River near Springfield, the main stem meanders generally north from source to mouth. The river's two most significant course deviations occur at Newberg, where the stream turns sharply east, and about 18 miles (29 km) downriver from Newberg, where it turns north again. Near its mouth, the river splits into two channels that flow around Sauvie Island. The main channel enters the Columbia about 101 miles (163 km) from the larger stream's mouth on the Pacific Ocean, and the smaller Multnomah Channel enters the Columbia about 14.5 miles (23.3 km) further downstream near St. Helens in Columbia County.
The South Fork Breitenbush River is a 10-mile (16 km) tributary of the Breitenbush River in the U.S. state of Oregon. The river flows generally northwest from Russell Lake in the Mount Jefferson Wilderness of the Cascade Range to near Breitenbush Hot Springs, where it merges with the North Fork Breitenbush River to form the main stem.
The South Fork McKenzie River is a tributary, about 31 miles (50 km) long, of the McKenzie River in the U.S. state of Oregon. It begins at about 4,500 feet (1,400 m) above sea level near Mink Lake in the Three Sisters Wilderness of the Cascade Range. Flowing northwest within Lane County, it meets the McKenzie River about 60 miles (97 km) from the larger river's confluence with the Willamette River.