Garoutte Creek

Last updated
Garoutte Creek
Name origin:For S. P. Garoutte, who found cinnabar on Black Butte in the 1890s [1]
Country United States
State Oregon
County Lane
Source Calapooya Mountains
 - locationnear the border with Douglas County
 - elevation1,743 ft (531 m) [2]
 - coordinates 43°32′47″N123°06′20″W / 43.54639°N 123.10556°W / 43.54639; -123.10556   [3]
Mouth Little River
 - locationnear Black Butte
 - elevation1,138 ft (347 m) [3]
 - coordinates 43°34′03″N123°04′34″W / 43.56750°N 123.07611°W / 43.56750; -123.07611 Coordinates: 43°34′03″N123°04′34″W / 43.56750°N 123.07611°W / 43.56750; -123.07611   [3]
USA Oregon location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location of the mouth of Garoutte Creek in Oregon

Garoutte Creek is a tributary of the Little River in the U.S. state of Oregon. Rising along the Calapooya Divide near the border between Lane and Douglas counties, it flows generally northeast to meet the larger stream near Black Butte. [3] The butte is a dark-colored mountain, the site of a former mine, and the site of a former post office. [1] Little River joins Big River a few miles downstream to form the Coast Fork Willamette River. [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 four states of the continental United States to have a coastline on the Pacific Ocean.

Lane County, Oregon County in the United States

Lane County is a county in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 census, the population was 351,715, making it the fourth-most populous county in Oregon. The county seat is Eugene. It is named in honor of Joseph Lane, Oregon's first territorial governor.

Contents

On older maps, Little River appears as a tributary of Garoutte Creek, also known as Saroutte Creek. [5] However, in 1988 the United States Board on Geographic Names renamed the lower reach of Garoutte Creek so that it became part of Little River. The change rendered the upper reach of Garoutte Creek a tributary of Little River. [4]

United States Board on Geographic Names US geographic naming government agency

The United States Board on Geographic Names (BGN) is a federal body operating under the United States Secretary of the Interior. The purpose of the board is to establish and maintain uniform usage of geographic names throughout the federal government of the United States.

The only named tributary of Garoutte Creek is Carlson Creek, which enters from the left. [5]

Post office

The Black Butte Mine, developed by S. P. Garoutte in the 1890s, led to the establishment of a post office at Black Butte. William Harris was the first postmaster, and the office, established in 1898, was known by his last name, Harris. The name was changed in 1901 to Blackbutte. It operated under that name until permanently closing in 1957. [1]

Pollution

In the 21st century, the former mine and the area around it have become a Superfund site. The Environmental Protection Agency is concerned about methylmercury contamination of streams including Garoutte Creek, the Little River, and the Coast Fork, as well as the Cottage Grove Reservoir on the Coast Fork. During its heyday, the mine was the second-largest mercury producer in Oregon. [6] From 1900 to 1957, it yielded a total of 16,904 flasks of elemental mercury; equivalent to about 13 million pounds (5,900,000 kg). [6]

Methylmercury cation

Methylmercury (sometimes methyl mercury) is an organometallic cation with the formula [CH3Hg]+. It is the major source of organic mercury for all humans. It is a bioaccumulative environmental toxicant.

Mercury (element) Chemical element with atomic number 80

Mercury is a chemical element with symbol Hg and atomic number 80. It is commonly known as quicksilver and was formerly named hydrargyrum. A heavy, silvery d-block element, mercury is the only metallic element that is liquid at standard conditions for temperature and pressure; the only other element that is liquid under these conditions is the halogen bromine, though metals such as caesium, gallium, and rubidium melt just above room temperature.

See also

Related Research Articles

Carson River river in Nevada, USA

The Carson River is a northwestern Nevada river that empties into the Carson Sink, an endorheic basin. The main stem of the river is 131 miles (211 km) long although addition of the East Fork makes the total length 205 miles (330 km), traversing five counties: Alpine County in California and Douglas, Storey, Lyon, and Churchill Counties in Nevada, as well as the Consolidated Municipality of Carson City, Nevada. The river is named for Kit Carson, who guided John C. Frémont's expedition westward up the Carson Valley and across Carson Pass in winter, 1844.

Owyhee River river in the United States of America

The Owyhee River is a tributary of the Snake River located in northern Nevada, southwestern Idaho and southeastern Oregon in the United States. It is 346 miles (557 km) long. The river's drainage basin is 11,049 square miles (28,620 km2) in area, one of the largest subbasins of the Columbia Basin. The mean annual discharge is 995 cubic feet per second (28.2 m3/s), with a maximum of 50,000 cu ft/s (1,400 m3/s) recorded in 1993 and a minimum of 42 cu ft/s (1.2 m3/s) in 1954.

Clark Fork River river in the United States of America

The Clark Fork, or the Clark Fork of the Columbia River, is a river in the U.S. states of Montana and Idaho, approximately 310 miles (500 km) long. The largest river by volume in Montana, it drains an extensive region of the Rocky Mountains in western Montana and northern Idaho in the watershed of the Columbia River. The river flows northwest through a long valley at the base of the Cabinet Mountains and empties into Lake Pend Oreille in the Idaho Panhandle. The Pend Oreille River in Idaho, Washington, and British Columbia, Canada which drains the lake to the Columbia in Washington, is sometimes included as part of the Clark Fork, giving it a total length of 479 miles (771 km), with a drainage area of 25,820 square miles (66,900 km2). In its upper 20 miles (32 km) in Montana near Butte, it is known as Silver Bow Creek. Interstate 90 follows much of the upper course of the river from Butte to northwest of Missoula. The highest point within the river's watershed is Mount Evans at 10,641 feet (3,243 m) in Deer Lodge County, Montana along the Continental Divide.

Smith River (Umpqua River tributary) tributary of the Umpqua River in the U.S. state of Oregon

The Smith River is a 90-mile (140 km) tributary of the Umpqua River in the U.S. state of Oregon. It drains 352 square miles (910 km2) of the Central Oregon Coast Range between the watershed of the Umpqua to the south and the Siuslaw River to the north.

Sixes River river in the United States of America

The Sixes River flows about 31 miles (50 km) through coastal forests in southwestern Oregon in the United States. It drains a rugged region of the Klamath Mountains along the Pacific north of Port Orford.

Big River (Oregon) river in Oregon, United States of America

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.

Eagle Creek (Multnomah County, Oregon) river in Oregon, United States of America

Eagle Creek is a creek located in Hood River County, Oregon, in the Columbia River Gorge. A tributary of the Columbia River, the creek flows for approximately 15 miles (24 km) from the Thrush Pond between Eagle Butte and Tanner Butte to its mouth near Bonneville Dam. The East Fork Eagle Creek is a major tributary that begins at Wahtum Lake and joins the main stem approximately 2/3 the way between the Thrush Pond and the Columbia River, separated by Indian Mountain.

Middle Fork Willamette River river in the United States of America

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.

Little Butte Creek river in the United States of America

Little Butte Creek is a 17-mile-long (27 km) tributary of the Rogue River in the U.S. state of Oregon. Its drainage basin consists of approximately 354 square miles (917 km2) of Jackson County and another 19 square miles (49 km2) of Klamath County. Its two forks, the North Fork and the South Fork, both begin high in the Cascade Range near Mount McLoughlin and Brown Mountain. They both flow generally west until they meet near Lake Creek. The main stem continues west, flowing through the communities of Brownsboro, Eagle Point, and White City, before finally emptying into the Rogue River about 3 miles (5 km) southwest of Eagle Point.

Big Butte Creek river in Oregon, United States of America

Big Butte Creek is a 12-mile-long (19 km) tributary of the Rogue River in the U.S. state of Oregon. It drains approximately 245 square miles (635 km2) of Jackson County. Its two forks, the North Fork and the South Fork, both begin high in the Cascade Range near Mount McLoughlin. Flowing predominantly west, they meet near the city of Butte Falls. The main stem flows generally northwest until it empties into the Rogue Falls was incorporated in 1911, and remains the only incorporated town within the watershed's boundaries.

Cow Creek (South Umpqua River) river in United States of America

Cow Creek is a medium-sized river in southwestern Oregon, a tributary of the South Umpqua River. It drains an area of over 400 square miles (1,000 km2) on the western foothills of the Cascade Range and within the Oregon Coast Range. Although the vast majority of the basin is within Douglas County, a tiny portion in the southeast extends into northern Jackson County.

Stony Creek (Sacramento River tributary) river in the United States of America

Stony Creek is a 73.5-mile (118.3 km)-long seasonal river in Northern California. It is a tributary of the Sacramento River, draining a watershed of more than 700 square miles (1,800 km2) on the west side of the Sacramento Valley in Glenn, Colusa, Lake and Tehama Counties.

Dead Indian Creek (Oregon) river in the United States of America

Dead Indian Creek is a tributary of South Fork Little Butte Creek in Jackson County, in the U.S. state of Oregon. It flows generally north through the Rogue River – Siskiyou National Forest in the Cascade Range east of Medford. The creek begins at 2,562 feet (781 m) above sea level near Howard Prairie Lake and enters the South Fork at Camp Latgawa. The South Fork flows northwest to meet the North Fork near Lake Creek; combined they form Little Butte Creek, a tributary of the Rogue River.

Mosby Creek (Oregon) river in the United States of America

Mosby Creek is a 21-mile (34 km) tributary of the Row River in Lane County, in the U.S. state of Oregon. It begins at the confluence of the east and west forks of the creek near the Calapooia Divide and the border with Douglas County. From its source it flows generally north-northwest to meet the river slightly east of Cottage Grove and about 4 miles (6 km) from the larger stream's confluence with the Coast Fork Willamette River.

Little River (Coast Fork Willamette River tributary)

The Little River is a tributary of the Coast Fork Willamette River in the U.S. state of Oregon. Rising along the Calapooya Divide near the border between Lane and Douglas counties, it flows generally west-northwest to meet the Big River. The combined Big and Little rivers form the Coast Fork near Black Butte. The butte is a dark-colored mountain, the site of a former mine, and the site of a former post office.

Beaver Creek (Crooked River)

Beaver Creek is a tributary of the Crooked River in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is formed by the confluence of its two forks in southeastern Crook County, a sparsely populated part of Central Oregon. North Fork Beaver Creek flows south and then west around Laughlin Table. South Fork Beaver Creek drains the slopes of Snow Mountain and Funny Butte in southwestern Grant County before joining the North Fork.

South Fork Umatilla River river in the United States of America

The South Fork Umatilla River is a tributary of the Umatilla River in Umatilla County in the U.S. state of Oregon. Its headwaters lie in the Umatilla National Forest in the Blue Mountains of northeastern Oregon near Pileup Saddle and Black Mountain. The South Fork flows generally north between Goodman Ridge and Bobsled Ridge to meet the North Fork Umatilla River near Graves Butte. Together the forks form the main stem Umatilla.

Black Butte was an unincorporated community in Lane County, Oregon, United States. It was located near Black Butte, a dark-colored mountain at the headwaters of the Coast Fork Willamette River, about 20 miles south of Cottage Grove, at the confluence of Garoutte Creek and the Little River. The Black Butte Mine, which operated from the 1890s to the 1960s, was one of the largest mercury mines in the state. Mercury contamination from abandoned mine tailings continues to be a health concern in the area, including mercury-contaminated runoff from Furnace Creek that has made its way to Cottage Grove Lake.

Lost Creek (South Fork Little Butte Creek)

Lost Creek is a tributary of the south fork of Little Butte Creek in Jackson County in the U.S. state of Oregon. Flowing north from near Lost Lake east of Medford, it enters the larger stream about 4 miles (6 km) upstream of the rural community of Lake Creek and about 20 miles (32 km) from the confluence of Little Butte Creek with the Rogue River. The only named tributary of Lost Creek is Coon Creek, which enters from the left.

References

  1. 1 2 3 McArthur, Lewis A.; McArthur, Lewis L. (2003) [1928]. Oregon Geographic Names (7th ed.). Portland, Oregon: Oregon Historical Society Press. pp. 86, 393. ISBN   0-87595-277-1.
  2. ↑ Source elevation derived from Google Earth search using GNIS source coordinates.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Garoutte Creek". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey (USGS). November 28, 1980. Retrieved November 28, 2015.
  4. 1 2 "Little River". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey (USGS). November 28, 1980. Retrieved November 28, 2015.
  5. 1 2 "United States Topographic Map". United States Geological Survey. Retrieved November 28, 2015– via ACME Mapper.
  6. 1 2 "Optimization Review: Black Butte Mine Superfund Site, Lane County, Oregon" (PDF). Environmental Protection Agency. July 13, 2012. pp. 6–7. Retrieved November 28, 2015.


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.