Tualatin River
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Tualatin River | |
|---|---|
| The Tualatin River in northwest Oregon | |
| Origin | Northern Oregon Coast Range |
| Mouth | Willamette River |
| Basin countries | United States |
| Length | 83 miles (134 km) |
| Source elevation | 450 feet (140 m) |
| Mouth elevation | 85.61 feet above sea level |
| Avg. discharge | Annual at mouth: 6940 cu ft/s (200 m3/s)[1] |
| Basin area | 706 sq mi (1,800 km²)[2] |
The Tualatin River is a tributary of the Willamette River located in Oregon, USA. The river is approximately 83 miles (125 km) in length. It drains a fertile farming region called the Tualatin Valley southwest and west of Portland at the northwest corner of the Willamette Valley.
Contents |
[edit] Description
The river originates in the Northern Oregon Coast Range in southwestern Washington County, near the town of Cherry Grove and flows northward, passing south of Forest Grove, then generally eastward, passing south of Hillsboro, then southeastward through the town of Tualatin. Its confluence with the Willamette River is located to the south of West Linn. The drainage area of the river is approximately 712 square miles with 27 creeks feeding into the Tualatin.[3] Its watershed is 15% urbanized, 35% agricultural, and 50% forested.[4]
The river drops 1,800 feet in elevation during its first 12 miles, and then only an additional 250 feet for the remained of its course.[3] This creates a slow river for the majority of the course, creating problems with pollution.[3] Pollution reached a point that in 1989 local agencies were forced to begin cleaning up the river after the Tualatin failed water quality standards outlined in the Clean Water Act of 1972.[5] It was the first river in the state to fail overall pollution limits.[3]
The valley of the Tualatin was an important early farming region in the settlement of Oregon. The building of a plank road to the Tualatin Valley from Portland in 1860 is considered by historians to be one of the principal reasons for the rise of Portland as the dominant city in the region. The valley contains numerous natural wetlands, some of which have been designated the Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge and others are protected at Jackson Bottom Wetlands Preserve.
The Tualatin River bears the name of a local Native American tribe that lived in the Tualatin river valley. Early settlers called it the Quality River.[6]
[edit] Tributaries
Its largest tributary, Dairy Creek, flows into the river from the north near Hillsboro. It receives Chicken Creek from the south near Sherwood.
Creeks flowing into the river:[7][8]
- Gales Creek
- Scoggins Creek
- Wapato Creek
- Dairy Creek
- McFee Creek
- Rock Creek
- Christensen Creek
- Burris Creek
- Johnson Creek
- Butternut Creek
- Fanno Creek
- Chicken Creek
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ USGS Surface-Water Annual Statistics for Oregon: USGS 14207501 TUALATIN R AT WEST LINN,OREG.+ OSWEGO CANAL. USGS. Retrieved on 2007-08-30.
- ^ USGS Surface-Water Annual Statistics for Oregon: USGS 14207500 TUALATIN RIVER AT WEST LINN, OR. USGS. Retrieved on 2007-08-30.
- ^ a b c d Walth, Brent. Cleaner Tualatin faces new limits. The Oregonian, December 25 1998.
- ^ Tualatin Watershed Council - Tualatin Basin Information. Tualatin Watershed Council. Retrieved on 2006-12-14.
- ^ Kohler, Vince. County joins large project to clean up Tualatin River. The Oregonian, September 1 1989.
- ^ Joel Palmer, Palmer's Journal of Travels Over the Rocky Mountains, 1845–1846 (1847), Library of Congress catalog F592 .T54 vol. 30., pp. 168 (viewable online)
- ^ Tualatin River Watershed Council: Middle Tualatin – Rock Creek
- ^ Tualatin River Watershed Council: Lower Tualatin
