Elk Creek (Rogue River)

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Elk Creek
Data
location Oregon (USA)
River system Rogue River
Drain over Rogue River  → Pacific Ocean
source Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest in the Cascade Range
42 ° 53 ′ 7 ″  N , 122 ° 35 ′ 34 ″  W
Source height 1504  m
muzzle in the Rogue River between Lost Creek Lake and Trail , Jackson County Coordinates: 42 ° 39 ′ 44 "  N , 122 ° 45 ′ 20"  W 42 ° 39 ′ 44 "  N , 122 ° 45 ′ 20"  W
Mouth height 445  m 
Height difference 1059 m
Bottom slope 37 ‰
length 29 km
Drain MNQ
MQ
MHQ
 0 l / s
6 m³ / s
545 m³ / s

The Elk Creek ( Elk = elk stag ) is a 29 km long tributary of the Rogue River in Jackson County in the US state of Oregon .

The river has its source in the cascade chain at an altitude of 1504  m . It flows in a southwesterly direction through the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest and flows eight kilometers downstream from Lost Creek Lake and just above Trail , Oregon. Elk Creek Dam is a partially completed flood control dam; it blocked fish migration for more than 20 years before being partially demolished in 2008 to restore the river's original course.

Run

On the first eight or nine kilometers of its run, Brush Creek flows into Elk Creek from the left, then Swanson Creek from the right, and Bitter Creek and Button Creek again from the left. From then on, Elk Creek Road runs parallel to the water on the right bank. Then Dodes Creek flows out from the left and Sugarpine, Jones, Shell and Flat Creek from the right. At the river mile  7 (11 km above the mouth) is the mouth of the Middle Creek and just below the Alco Creek also flows from the right. About five kilometers above the mouth of Elk Creek, the West Branch Elk Creek coming from the right flows together with the main trunk of the body of water, just above Elk Creek Dam. Below the dam is located on the right bank at river mile 1.3, a level of the United States Geological Survey (USGS). Shortly below, Berry Creek empties into Elk Creek, which then passes Rogue Elk County Park on the left bank and passes under Oregon State Route 62 before flowing into the Rogue River, 245 km above its confluence with the Pacific Ocean .

dam

The Elk Creek Dam is a dam located about five kilometers above the mouth of the river in the Rogue River. It was one of three dams approved by the United States Congress in 1982 for flood control in the Rogue River catchment area . The other two were the Lost Creek Dam (the dam was later veined into William L. Jess Dam) on the Rogue River itself and the Applegate Dam on the Applegate River . When around a third of the dam was completed, court rulings aimed at protecting salmon and other migratory fish led to the construction being discontinued in 1987. From 1992 onwards, fish that tried to pass the dam were caught, transported around the dam on trucks and released again. The legal battle and political debate lasted more than twenty years, and eventually a compromise was reached that called for the dam to be dismantled by around 15 percent. The rest was to remain, so that further construction was possible at a later date. The United States Army Corps of Engineers blew up parts of the dam in 2008 and restored the original course of the river. The dam, which was originally supposed to be around 73 m high, reached a height of 24.5 m before construction work ceased.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Elk Creek ( English ) In: Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey . Retrieved May 28, 2009.
  2. ↑ a b § 28 . In: Oregon Atlas & Gazetteer , 1991th edition, DeLorme Mapping ,, ISBN 0-89933-235-8 .
  3. ↑ Water-Data Report 2007: Elk Creek near Trail, OR (PDF; 212 kB) United States Geological Survey. Retrieved May 28, 2009.
  4. ↑ United States Geological Survey (USGS): United States Geological Survey Topographic Map: Abbott Butte, Whetstone Point, Sugarpine Creek, and McLeod, Oregon, quadrants ( English ) TopoQuest. Retrieved May 28, 2009. Markings for the river miles (RM) of the lower seven river miles of Elk Creek are drawn from the map.
  5. ↑ a b Matthew Preusch: Elk Creek Dam nears end of its life (English) . In: The Oregonian , Oregonian Publishing Company, July 15, 2008, p. D01. 
  6. ^ A b Ralph McKechnie: Corps complete notching of Elk Creek Dam (English) . In: Upper Rogue Independent , Upper Rogue Independent, October 20, 2008. Archived from the original on July 17, 2011. Retrieved May 28, 2009.