The Oregon Anti-Stream Pollution League brought a pollution-abatement measure before the 39th Oregon Legislative Assembly in 1937. Traveling such a short distance altogether makes for a super relaxing road trip with plenty of … [155], A map of the Willamette River, its drainage basin, major tributaries and major cities. [102][103], Further downstream is the oldest remaining highway structure over the Willamette, the Hawthorne Bridge, built in 1910. [22] During the Pleistocene, beginning roughly 2.5 million years ago, volcanic activity in the Cascades combined with a cool, moist climate to produce further heavy sedimentation across the basin; braided rivers created alluvial fans spreading down from the east. William Clark returned down the Columbia and entered the Willamette River in April 1806. "[73] He then discouraged tourism in the state and made it harder for companies to qualify for a permit to operate near the river. [35] Sixty-eight percent of the watershed is forested; agriculture, concentrated in the Willamette Valley, makes up 19 percent, and urban areas cover 5 percent. Sherar’s Falls, 33-mile loop map, map and cue sheet | Ride with gps Traverse a strikingly scenic high desert canyon and then ride along the Deschutes River en route to Sherar’s Falls. [65] They were first led off their traditional lands to the Willamette Valley, but soon were marched to the Coast Indian Reservation. Indigenous peoples lived throughout the upper reaches of the basin as well. (2006). [66][67] The natives were then relocated by the government to a part of the Coast Reservation that later became the Grande Ronde Reservation. [36], For at least 10,000 years, a variety of indigenous peoples populated the Willamette Valley. [11] The main stem of the Willamette varies in width from about 330 to 660 feet (100 to 200 m). [74] The Oregon State Legislature established the program in 1967. Linn City (originally Robins Nest) was established across the Willamette from Oregon City. Make your way through charming Dundee, Dayton and McMinnville for more wine-focused treasures. Skirmishes between natives and settlers in the Umpqua and Rogue valleys to the southwest of the Willamette River led the Oregon state government to remove the natives by military force. [149] The remaining forests close to the river include large stands of black cottonwood, Oregon ash, willow, and bigleaf maple. His work helped open the port of Portland to commerce. [19] The floods carried Montana icebergs well into the basin, where they melted and dropped glacial erratics on the land's surface. [77][78], A 1991 agreement between the City of Portland and the State of Oregon to dramatically reduce combined sewer overflows (CSOs)[79] led to Portland's Big Pipe Project. [30], About 2.5 million people lived in the Willamette River basin as of 2010, about 65 percent of the population of Oregon. [149] By 1990 only 37 percent of this zone was forested; the rest had been converted to farm fields or cleared for urban or suburban uses. [11], The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) operates five stream gauges along the river, at Harrisburg, Corvallis, Albany, Salem, and Portland. Although it is unclear exactly when, the territory of the Chinook once extended across the northern part of the watershed, through the Columbia River valley. At Salem (RM 84, RK 135), the score was 89, and good scores continued all the way to the Hawthorne Bridge in Portland (RM 13, RK 21) at 85. The Willamette Valley (/ w ɪ ˈ l æ m ɪ t /) is a 150-mile (240 km) long valley in Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States.The Willamette River flows the entire length of the valley, and it is surrounded by mountains on three sides – the Cascade Range to the east, the Oregon Coast Range to the west, and the Calapooya Mountains to the south. "[107], The Broadway Bridge, slightly downstream of the Steel Bridge, was the world's longest double-leaf bascule drawbridge at the time of its construction in 1913. [75] By 2007 the Greenway had grown to include more than 170 separate land parcels, including 10 state parks. West of Bend, the picturesque stretch is one of the most popular travel destinations in Oregon. FEATURED PARTNER. The river and its tributaries support 60 fish species, including many species of salmon and trout; this is despite the dams, other alterations, and pollution (especially on the river's lower reaches). [142] Reducing risk from the pollutants in this stretch will involve removing contaminated sediment from the river bottom and efforts to contain contaminated sediment by placing clean sediment on top (known as "capping"). Two trails from the Filbert Grove Day-use Area lead to a beach with a gravel bar popular for launching kayaks. [139] As a result, this section of the river was designated a Superfund site in 2000,[140] involving the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in cleanup of the river bottom. [93] Since then, work has proceeded slowly, and the Corps, citing engineering difficulties and cost, may not meet the original agreed-upon deadline of 2023 for a system of effective remedies. Unable to survive and reproduce as they once did, they have been "brought to the brink of extinction". The upper tributaries of the Willamette originate in the mountains south and southeast of Eugene, Oregon. You can make the trip as long or short as you like, since the trail system loops all around the park, though check the map for trails that are closed during the week for logging. Discover your local waterways by nonmotorized boat! [49], In 1805, the Lewis and Clark Expedition traveled thousands of miles across central North America in an attempt to map and explore the Louisiana Territory of the United States and the Oregon Country, which were then occupied mainly by Native Americans and settlers from Great Britain. The river was an important transportation route in the 19th century, although Willamette Falls, just upstream from Portland, was a major barrier to boat traffic. There are also ferries that convey cars, trucks, motorcycles, bicycles, and pedestrians across the river for a fare and provided river conditions permit. [62] Today, the lock system is little used. The expedition members noted extensive salmon fishing by natives at Willamette Falls, much like that at Celilo Falls on the Columbia River. By comparison, sites on the Winchuck River, the Clackamas, and the North Santiam all scored 95, and a site at a pump station on Klamath Strait Drain between Upper Klamath Lake and Lower Klamath Lake recorded the lowest score in Oregon at 19. [99][100], Tilikum Crossing is a 1,720-foot (520 m) cable-stayed bridge that carries public transit, bicycles, and pedestrians, but no cars or trucks, over the river. [4] Bounded by the Coast Range to the west and the Cascade Range to the east, the river basin is about 180 miles (290 km) long and 100 miles (160 km) wide. [46][71][85][88][89] In addition, a relatively small of amount of the water stored in the reservoirs is used for irrigation. Formed by the confluence of the Middle Fork Willamette River and the Coast Fork Willamette River near Springfield, the main stem Willamette meanders generally north for 187 miles (301 km) to the Columbia River. [133] An Associated Press journalist reported, "The river crested at one town after another—at Corvallis 3½ feet above flood stage, Oregon City 18 feet above, Portland 10.5 feet above—much like a meal moving through a boa constrictor. Water Division. [114], Rainstorms and warm temperatures in December 1861 combined with a well-above-average snowpack in the Cascades created the largest Willamette River flood in recorded history. ", "Linn City, Oregon: A Victim of Nature's Wrath", "Willamette River Is Nearing Crest of Flood Stage", "After the Flood: Portland State Pays Tribute to Vanport Pioneers", "River Flood Waters Reach Oregon Capital", "Flood Inundations/FEMA Floodplains: Floods and Floodplains in the Willamette River", "Floods Spoil Holiday in Oregon, California", "Portland Gets Reprieve from a Big Flood Threat", "1000 Flee Flood in Northwest; Nation Shivers", "Eastern Deep Freeze Eases, but Rain Brings Flood Fears to West", "The Great Flood of 1996: Its Causes and a Comparison to Other Climate Events", "Flood Spreads in Economy Like Muddy Water", "Flood Wall Comes Down Today in Portland", "Oregon Sets Pace in Improving Environment", "The Willamette River: A Renaissance in the Making", "Processes Controlling Dissolved Oxygen and pH in the Upper Willamette River Basin", "Drinking the Willamette: the Power of Public Education", "Oregon Water Quality Index Summary Report, Water Years 1998–2007", "Patterns and Controls on Historical Channel Change in the Willamette River, Oregon, USA", City of Portland River Renaissance Strategy, Historic river channels between Albany and Monmouth, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Willamette_River&oldid=995219283, Short description is different from Wikidata, Wikipedia articles with WorldCat-VIAF identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Morrison Bridge, Portland, 12.8 miles (20.6 km) from mouth, Benke, Arthur C., ed., and Cushing, Colbert E., ed. If you unfold a map of Oregon, the Willamette National Forest takes the shape of a sprawling evergreen patch to the east of the Willamette Valley — the lush heart of a state where conifer forests carpet nearly half the landscape. [125], Although the Willamette was, by the mid-20th century, heavily engineered and controlled by a complex system of dams, channels, and barriers, it experienced severe floods through the end of the century. [35] More than 81,000 miles (130,000 km) of roads criss-cross the watershed. They are the Buena Vista Ferry between Marion County and Polk County south of Independence and Salem, the Wheatland Ferry between Marion County and Polk County north of Salem and Keizer, and Canby Ferry in Clackamas County north of Canby. [15], Throughout the 1940s the Willamette continued to flood its valley. Built in 1913, it carries Oregon Route 34 (Corvallis–Lebanon Highway) over the river upstream of RM 131 (RK 211) in Corvallis. 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