Drift Creek (Siletz Bay)

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Drift Creek
Drift Creek Bridge, Spanning Drift Creek on Drift Creek County Road, Lincoln City vicinity (Lincoln County, Oregon).jpg
Drift Creek Bridge formerly spanned the creek near the Oregon Coast
USA Oregon location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location of the mouth of Drift Creek in Oregon
Location
CountryUnited States
StateOregon
County Lincoln
Physical characteristics
Sourcenear Stott Mountain
 - location Siuslaw National Forest, Central Oregon Coast Range
 - coordinates 44°56′53″N123°47′10″W / 44.94806°N 123.78611°W / 44.94806; -123.78611 [1]
 - elevation2,767 ft (843 m) [2]
Mouth Siletz River
 - location Siletz Bay
 - coordinates 44°54′40″N124°00′35″W / 44.91111°N 124.00972°W / 44.91111; -124.00972 Coordinates: 44°54′40″N124°00′35″W / 44.91111°N 124.00972°W / 44.91111; -124.00972 [1]
 - elevation7 ft (2.1 m) [1]
Length18 mi (29 km) [3]

Drift Creek is a tributary, about 18 miles (29 km) long, of Siletz Bay in the U.S. state of Oregon. [3] The creek begins near Stott Mountain in the Central Oregon Coast Range in Lincoln County and follows a winding course generally west through the Siuslaw National Forest to enter the bay south of Lincoln City on the Pacific Ocean. It passes under U.S. Route 101 just before reaching the bay. [4]

U.S. state constituent political entity of the United States

In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are currently 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory and shares its sovereignty with the federal government. Due to this shared sovereignty, Americans are citizens both of the federal republic and of the state in which they reside. State citizenship and residency are flexible, and no government approval is required to move between states, except for persons restricted by certain types of court orders. Four states use the term commonwealth rather than state in their full official names.

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.

Central Oregon Coast Range

The Central Oregon Coast Range is the middle section of the Oregon Coast Range, in the Pacific Coast Ranges physiographic region, and located in the west-central portion of the state of Oregon, United States roughly between the Salmon River and the Umpqua River and the Willamette Valley and the Pacific Ocean. This approximately 90-mile (140 km) long mountain range contains mountains as high as 4,097 feet for Marys Peak. Portions of the range are inside the Siuslaw National Forest and three wilderness areas exist as well: Drift Creek Wilderness, Cummins Creek Wilderness and Rock Creek Wilderness.

Contents

Named tributaries of Drift Creek from source to mouth are Nelson, Fowler, Barn, Smith, Sampson, Wildcat, and North creeks. Then Quarry, Odell, Bluff, Gordey, and Anderson creeks. [4]

Covered bridge

Until being dismantled and destroyed in 1997 and rebuilt over Bear Creek, a Salmon River tributary to the north and further inland, the Drift Creek Bridge was the state's closest covered bridge to the ocean. [5] Drift Creek Park, managed by Lincoln County, remains open at the former bridge site along South Drift Creek Road. It consists of posted information about the bridge and directions to its new location. [6]

Salmon River (Lincoln County, Oregon) river in Lincoln County, Oregon

The Salmon River flows from the Central Oregon Coast Range to the Pacific Ocean coast of northwest Oregon in the United States. About 24 miles (39 km) long, it begins and ends in Lincoln County but also flows briefly through western Polk and southern Tillamook counties. Much of its course lies within the Siuslaw National Forest.

Drift Creek Bridge former bridge in Lincoln County, Oregon, USA

The Drift Creek Bridge is a covered bridge in Lincoln County in the U.S. state of Oregon. Built in 1914, the structure originally carried Drift Creek County Road over Drift Creek. The creek flows into Siletz Bay of the Pacific Ocean south of Lincoln City.

Covered bridge wooden bridge with protective cover

A covered bridge is a timber-truss bridge with a roof, decking, and siding, which in most covered bridges, create an almost complete enclosure. The purpose of the covering is to protect the wooden structural members from the weather. Uncovered wooden bridges typically have a lifespan of only 20 years because of the effects of rain and sun, but a covered bridge could last 100 years.

Recreation

Hiking

Drift Creek Falls Trail leads 1.5 miles (2.4 km) from the Drift Creek Trailhead along Forest Road 17 to a 240-foot (73 m) suspension bridge overlooking Drift Creek Falls. The waterfall is 75 feet (23 m) high. [7]

Suspension bridge type of bridge

A suspension bridge is a type of bridge in which the deck is hung below suspension cables on vertical suspenders. The first modern examples of this type of bridge were built in the early 1800s. Simple suspension bridges, which lack vertical suspenders, have a long history in many mountainous parts of the world.

Drift Creek Falls is a waterfall formed west of Valley of the Giants, east side of the city of Lincoln City in Lincoln County, Oregon. Access to Drift Creek Falls is located along a trail constructed by the Forest Service in the 1990s and features a 240 foot long suspension bridge crossing Drift Creek.

Waterfall Place where water flows over a vertical drop in the course of a river

A waterfall is an area where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops in the course of a stream or river. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf.

Fishing

Drift Creek supports populations of cutthroat trout, steelhead, and Chinook salmon. According to Fishing in Oregon, this creek and a Drift Creek in the Alsea River watershed are important in efforts to restore anadromous fish runs in Oregon. The stream has limited road access, and angling in the upper reaches requires hiking via Drift Creek Trail or logging roads. Much of the angling is catch-and-release. [3]

Cutthroat trout species of fish

The cutthroat trout(Oncorhynchus clarkii) is a fish species of the family Salmonidae native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean, Rocky Mountains, and Great Basin in North America. As a member of the genus Oncorhynchus, it is one of the Pacific trout, a group that includes the widely distributed rainbow trout. Cutthroat trout are popular gamefish, especially among anglers who enjoy fly fishing. The common name "cutthroat" refers to the distinctive red coloration on the underside of the lower jaw. The specific name clarkii was given to honor explorer William Clark, coleader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

Rainbow trout species of trout

The rainbow trout is a trout and species of salmonid native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead is an anadromous (sea-run) form of the coastal rainbow trout(O. m. irideus) or Columbia River redband trout (O. m. gairdneri) that usually returns to fresh water to spawn after living two to three years in the ocean. Freshwater forms that have been introduced into the Great Lakes and migrate into tributaries to spawn are also called steelhead.

Chinook salmon species of fish

The Chinook salmon is the largest species in the Pacific salmon genus Oncorhynchus. The common name refers to the Chinookan peoples. Other vernacular names for the species include king salmon, Quinnat salmon, spring salmon, chrome hog, and Tyee salmon. The scientific species name is based on the Russian common name chavycha (чавыча).

See also

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Cavitt Creek river in the United States of America

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "Drift Creek". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. November 28, 1980. Retrieved January 23, 2016.
  2. ↑ Source elevation derived from Google Earth search using GNIS source coordinates.
  3. 1 2 3 Sheehan, Madelynne Diness. Fishing in Oregon: The Complete Oregon Fishing Guide (10th ed.). Scappoose, Oregon: Flying Pencil Publications. pp. 13–14. ISBN   0-916473-15-5.
  4. 1 2 "United States Topographic Map". United States Geological Survey. Retrieved January 23, 2016– via Acme Mapper.
  5. ↑ "Drift Creek (Bear Creek) Covered Bridge" (PDF). Oregon Department of Transportation. Retrieved January 24, 2016.
  6. ↑ "Drift Creek Park". Lincoln County, Oregon. Retrieved January 24, 2016.
  7. ↑ "Drift Creek Falls Trail #1378". United States Forest Service. Retrieved January 24, 2016.
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