Champoeg Creek

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Champoeg Creek
Champoeg Creek at Champoeg Road.JPG
The creek near Champoeg Road, looking north
USA Oregon location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location of the mouth of Champoeg Creek in Oregon
Location
CountryUnited States
StateOregon
County Marion County
Physical characteristics
SourceFrench Prairie
 - coordinates 45°11′02″N122°55′49″W / 45.18389°N 122.93028°W / 45.18389; -122.93028 [1]
 - elevation121 ft (37 m) [2]
Mouth Willamette River
 - locationnear Champoeg
 - coordinates 45°15′14″N122°52′56″W / 45.25389°N 122.88222°W / 45.25389; -122.88222 Coordinates: 45°15′14″N122°52′56″W / 45.25389°N 122.88222°W / 45.25389; -122.88222 [1]
 - elevation62 ft (19 m) [1]
Length6 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]

Willamette River major river in northwest Oregon

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 State of the United States of America

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

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.

Contents

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 languages language family

Kalapuyan is a small extinct language family that was spoken in the Willamette Valley of Western Oregon, United States. It consists of three languages.

<i>Perideridia</i> genus of plants

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.

Course

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 (Marion County, Oregon) river in the United States of America

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, Oregon Ghost town in Oregon, United States

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.

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "Champoeg Creek". Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). United States Geological Survey. November 28, 1980. Retrieved November 28, 2009.
  2. Source elevation derived from Google Earth search using GNIS source coordinates.
  3. 1 2 3 Oregon Atlas and Gazetteer (Map) (2008 ed.). DeLorme Mapping. § 28. ISBN   978-0-89933-347-2.
  4. 1 2 United States Geological Survey. "United States Geological Survey Topographic Map: St. Paul and Newberg quadrants". TopoQuest. Retrieved November 28, 2009.
  5. Bright, William (2004). Native American placenames of the United States. University of Oklahoma Press. p. 87. ISBN   978-0-8061-3598-4 . Retrieved April 11, 2011.