Rogue River (Pacific Ocean)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Rogue River
Map of the Rogue River between Grants Pass and Gold Beach

Map of the Rogue River between Grants Pass and Gold Beach

Data
Water code US :  1148698
location Oregon , United States
River system Rogue River
source at Boundary Springs in Crater Lake National Park in Klamath County
43 ° 3 ′ 57 ″  N , 122 ° 13 ′ 56 ″  W
Source height 1623  m
muzzle in the Pacific Ocean at Gold Beach , Curry County Coordinates: 42 ° 25 ′ 21 "  N , 124 ° 25 ′ 45"  W 42 ° 25 ′ 21 "  N , 124 ° 25 ′ 45"  W
Mouth height 0  m 
Height difference 1623 m
Bottom slope 4.7 ‰
length 346 km
Catchment area 13,400 km²
Drain MNQ
MQ
MHQ
 17 m³ / s
188 m³ / s
8200 m³ / s
Left tributaries Illinois River
Medium-sized cities Grants Pass
Mouth of the Rogue River

Mouth of the Rogue River

The Rogue River is a river in the southwest of the US state Oregon . The river is 346 km long and flows into the Pacific at Gold Beach . The largest tributary is the Illinois River .

The Rogue River is one of the original eight rivers that were protected under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act in 1968 . The Rogue River was originally classified on a section of 135 km between west of Grants Pass and 17 km above the mouth. In 1988, an approximately 65 km long section was added on the upper reaches between Crater Lake National Park and the unincorporated settlement of Prospect .

The river takes its name from early French explorers who used the word Coquins (the French expression for the English word rogues , German svw. Spitzbuben ) for the Indians who lived there .

Run

The Rogue River has its origin in the Cascade Range at Boundary Springs in Crater Lake National Park . It flows south and later west through the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest , the confluent tributaries draining the Rogue-Umpqua Divide Wilderness in the west and the Sky Lakes Wilderness in the southeast.

Below the confluence with its South Fork, the Rogue River is dammed by the William L. Jess Dam to Lost Creek Lake . Below the reservoir, other tributaries flow into Elk Creek and Bear Creek , the latter flowing through Medford . The river then strives westward through the mountains towards the town of Grants Pass. A few kilometers below the city, the Applegate River and then Wolf Creek flow in , after which the river winds northwards and later westwards before flowing in a south-westerly direction through the Klamath Mountains and the Wild Rogue Wilderness . The Illinois River flows into this section . Eventually the Rogue River empties into the Pacific Ocean at Gold Beach .

The river has a length of 346 km, of which two sections with a total length of 200 km are designated as the National Wild and Scenic River . It is one of three rivers that originate in Oregon within or east of the Cascade Range and flow into the Pacific Ocean - the other two are the Umpqua River and Klamath River . These three rivers drain the mountains of Oregon south of the Willamette River , which drains north of it to the Columbia River .

Flow rate

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) operates a gauge at five points on the Rogue River . The measuring point three kilometers below Prospect at river mile 169.4 showed an average annual runoff of 41 m³ / s between 1969 and 2007. Fluctuations are caused by a hydropower plant about 200 m upstream, and by small withdrawals for irrigation . The highest flow rate at this point was recorded on January 17, 1997 with 346 m³ / s, the lowest value recorded on September 29, 1992 with 4.7 m³ / s and was due to regulatory measures further upstream. The highest flow rate since at least 1890 reached the river here on December 22nd, 1964. This value is based on high water marks and records of other water gauge stations downstream and was calculated at 700 m³ / s. The catchment area of ​​the river covers an area of ​​981 km² and corresponds to about 7% of the entire catchment area of ​​the river.

The gauge at Dodge Bridge near Eagle Point recorded an average annual runoff of 75 m³ / s between 1939 and 1977 and 68 m³ / s between 1978 and 2007. The difference is caused by the damming of Lost Creek Lake after 1977. The highest recorded flow rate at this measuring station was recorded on December 22, 1964 with 2485 m³ / s, the lowest value on February 18, 1977 with 16 m³ / s was caused by the closure of the dam at Lost Creek, previously the lowest value was 17 m³ / s and was observed on August 6, 14 and 29 and on September 9, 1940. This gauge, about seven kilometers northwest of Eagle Point at river mile 138.6, measures the runoff over an area of ​​3,145 km² and covers about 23% of the entire Rogue River catchment area.

Directly below the Gold Ray Dam, nine kilometers northwest of Central Point, there is another gauge at the river mile 125.8 - that is, 202.5 km above the mouth. Between 1906 and 1976 the average annual runoff at this point was 85 m³ / s and between 1977 and 2007 it was 79 m³ / s. Again, the difference is caused by the dam at Lost Creek Lake, and to a lesser extent by Fish Lake and Emigrant Lake . Above this level, which faces a catchment area of ​​5315 km² or about 40% of the total catchment area, water is drawn off for irrigation in many places. The highest flow rate at this measuring point was recorded on December 23, 1964, around 3700 m³ / s. The lowest flow rate on September 19, 1968 at 12 m³ / s was a result of regulatory measures.

The level in Grants Pass is at river mile 101.9 (around 164 km above the estuary) and corresponds to a catchment area of ​​6366 km², around 48% of the total catchment area of ​​the river. The annual average runoff rate between 1939 and 1977 was 100 m³ / s, from 1978 to 2007 it was 92 m³ / s. The largest amount of water was determined on December 23, 1964 with around 4300 m³ / s, the lowest discharge with 5.5 m³ / s occurred on January 30, 1961.

The lowest level on the river is about 2,400 m north of Agness , about 4.2 km above the confluence of the Illinois River at the river mile 29.7 and 47.8 km above the mouth. The average annual runoff is 188 m³ / s. The maximum value of 8200 m³ / s was determined on December 23, 1964, the lowest value was measured on July 9 and 10, 1968 with 17 m³ / s. At this point the Rogue River drains an area of ​​10,198 km², which corresponds to around 76% of its entire catchment area.

history

According to the United States Geological Survey's (USGS) Geographical Names Information System , the river has historically been known by a number of different names, including Gold River, La Riviere aux Coquins, Les Coquins, North Fork Rogue River, River Coquin, Trashit , Clamet River, McLeods River, Rouge Clamet River and Too-to-nez.

Writer Zane Gray bought a miner's cabin in Winkle Bar in 1926, where he wrote several Wild West novels, including Rogue River Feud in 1929 . Another book of his, Tales of Fresh Water Fishing published in 1928, contains a chapter based on a trip on a Doriboat he took on the lower reaches of the river in 1925. The Trust for Public Land bought the property in Winkle Bar and transferred it to the Bureau of Land Management in 2008 , which made it public.

Dams

The first dam in the course of the river below its headwaters is a dam in Prospect, at river mile 172 (277 km above the mouth). This 15 m high and 117 m long concrete dam dams the water of the Rogue River and several other watercourses that flow into it and leads it to a hydroelectric power station , from which the water is fed back into the river a little further downstream. This system called The Prospect Nos. 1, 2, and 4 Hydroelectric Project brings together several dams on the Middle Fork Rogue River and Red Blanket Creek, connected in a 15 km system of canals , pipes and downcomers. According to PacifiCorp , the owner of the facilities, the three turbine houses generated a total of 280,657 megawatt hours of electrical energy in 2003 , which was sold to customers in northern Jackson County and southern Douglas County. The project was implemented in stages between 1911 and 1944. The facility was licensed by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in 1980 and approved for another 30 years in 2008.

The William L. Jess Dam dams Lost Creek Lake.

Further downstream is the William L. Jess Dam, built by the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), which is used to generate electrical energy and regulate floods. This dam is 253 km above the estuary and backs up the water from the river to Lost Creek Lake. For most of the 20th century, there were three other dams on the middle reaches of the Rogue River between this reservoir and Grants Pass. After several decades of controversy over water rights, costs, the migration of fish to their spawning grounds, and the impact on the environment, the removal or modification of these dams and the partially completed dam on Elk Creek, a major tributary of the Rogue River, began in 2008. These are the Gold Ray Dam and a little further downstream the Gold Hill Dam at Gold Hill and the Savage Rapids Dam at Grants Pass. These modifications were intended to improve the salmon population by allowing more of these fish to visit suitable spawning grounds.

By October 2008, USACE had dismantled Elk Creek Dam and restored the Elk Creek's original bed. The construction of the controversial dam was forced by a court decision more than 20 years earlier, when it had reached about 24 m of the originally planned height of 72 m. Legal disputes prevented the dismantling until 2008. The Elk Creek flows into the Rogue River 8 km below the Lost Creek Lakes and above the other three dams.

The brothers CR and Frank Ray built the original Gold Ray Dam from felled tree trunks in 1904. They diverted the water to a turbine to generate electrical energy. They installed a fish ladder to allow the salmon to cross the dam. The California-Oregon Power Company, which later became Pacific Power , acquired the dam in 1921. In 1941, the structure made of tree trunks was replaced by a concrete structure. At that time a new fish ladder and a counting station were installed. The company shut down electricity in 1972, but biologists at the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife continued to use the counting station to monitor salmon and rainbow trout migration . The dam is now owned by Jackson County, which plans to demolish it in 2010.

In July 2008 the town of Gold Hill removed the remains of a dam a little further downstream. This was originally built to generate energy for a cement factory , was 2.5 m high and 275 m long. The dam and a drainage canal supplied Gold Hill with water even when electricity production ceased in the 1970s. In 2006 Gold Hill built a new pumping station for water supply.

The Savage Rapids Dam is 5 miles above Grants Pass. It was built in 1921 for irrigation and was 12 m high. This created a reservoir that, depending on the season, was up to 4 km in length, but was only slightly wider than the river below the dam itself. The dismantling of this dam began in April 2009. Twelve newly installed pumps supply the Irrigation canals of the approximately 3,000  acre Grants Pass Irrigation District (GPID) with water. The dispute over the dam and the associated water rights began in 1988 when environmental groups opposed the intention of drawing more water from the river for irrigation. Added to this was disagreement about the cost of the removal, the decline in fish migration and the reluctance to destroy the structure.

leisure

Popular recreational activities on and near the Rogue River include rafting , hiking, salmon and rainbow trout fishing, jet boat rides , viewing wildlife and nature picnics. Wildlife species in the area include the American black bear , otter , bald eagle , osprey, and dipper .

There are several stretches of whitewater along the river , the longest northwest of Grants Pass being one of the most famous whitewater stretches in the United States. The section, which is much frequented by kayakers and rafters, is around 55 km in length and consists of several class III and higher rapids on the white water difficulty scale , which are separated by quieter sections with deep water.

The Rogue River Gorge above Prospect, Oregon

The Upper Rogue River Trail, a National Recreation Trail , follows the river for approximately 40 miles from the edge of Crater Lake National Park to the border of the Rogue River National Forests at Prospect. One of the highlights of a hike on this trail is crossing the Rogue River Gorge. This cut through the pumice that was deposited in the explosion of Mount Mazama around 8,000 years ago. At the Natural Bridge, the Rogue River flows through a 75 m long lava tube . Between Farewell Bend and this natural bridge, the path passes through the Union Creek Historic District , a site of early 20th century vacation homes and a former ranger station listed on the National Register of Historic Places .

The Lower Rogue River Trail is also a National Recreation Trail. It accompanies the lower reaches of the river for a length of around 65 km between the mouth of the Grave Creek and Illahe, i.e. within the Wild Rogue Wilderness and begins 43 km northwest of Grants Pass. The remote region, where there are no roads, covers an area of ​​580 km². It includes the Siskiyou National Forest and the Medford District of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). In addition to the landscape and wildlife, the sights include the log cabins in Illahe, Clay Hill Rapids, Paradise Creek and Marial as well as Rogue River Ranch with the museum and the Whiskey Creek Cabin , a lumberjack's hut.

swell

  • Benke, Arthur C. and Cushing, Colbert E., Eds .; Carter, James L .; Resh, Vincent H. (2005). "Chapter 12: Pacific Coast Rivers of the Coterminous United States" in Rivers of North America . Burlington, Massachusetts: Elsevier Academic Press. ISBN 0-12-088253-1 .
  • Sullivan, William L. (2002). Exploring Oregon's Wild Areas , 3rd Edition. Seattle: The Mountaineers Press. ISBN 0-89886-793-2 .

Web links

Commons : Rogue River (Oregon)  - Collection of pictures, videos, and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Rogue River ( English ) In: Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey . November 28, 1980. Retrieved April 16, 2009.
  2. ↑ Benke, page 568f.
  3. ↑ a b Water-data report 2007: 14372300 Rogue River near Agness, OR (PDF; 213 kB) United States Geological Survey. Retrieved April 21, 2009.
  4. ↑ United States Geological Survey (USGS): United States Geological Survey Topographic Map: Hamaker Butte, Oregon quad . TopoQuest. Retrieved April 15, 2009. The map shows River Mile (RM) 211 almost exactly at the confluence of Mazama Creek and Rogue River.
  5. ↑ a b c The Rogue River ( English ) US Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management. Retrieved May 9, 2009.
  6. ↑ a b c Recreation: Wild and Scenic Rogue River (Upper) ( English ) United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service, Rogue River – Siskiyou National Forest. 2006. Retrieved May 9, 2009.
  7. ^ Lewis A. McArthur, McArthur, Lewis L .: Oregon Geographic Names, Seventh Edition . Oregon Historical Society Press, Portland, Oregon 2003, ISBN 0-87595-277-1 , p. 822.
  8. ^ A b Oregon Atlas and Gazetteer , 1991. Edition, DeLorme Mapping ,, ISBN 0-89933-235-8 , pp. 17, 18, 20, 25-29, 37.
  9. ↑ a b William G. Loy, Allan, Stuart; Buckley, Aileen R .; Meacham, James E. Atlas of Oregon . University of Oregon Press, Eugene, Oregon 2001, ISBN 0-87114-102-7 , pp. 162-63.
  10. ↑ Water-data report 2007: 14330000 Rogue River below Prospect, OR ( English , PDF; 211 kB) United States Geological Survey. Retrieved April 25, 2009.
  11. ↑ Water-data report 2007: 14339000 Rogue River at Dodge Bridge, near Eagle Point, OR ( English , PDF; 322 kB) United States Geological Survey. Retrieved April 24, 2009.
  12. ↑ Water-data report 2007: 14359000 Rogue River at Raygold, near Central Point, OR ( English , PDF; 102 kB) United States Geological Survey. Retrieved April 24, 2009.
  13. ↑ Water-data report 2007: 14361500 Rogue River at Grants Pass, OR ( English , PDF; 102 kB) United States Geological Survey. Retrieved April 24, 2009.
  14. ↑ a b Sullivan, pp. 187-193
  15. ↑ a b Pete Giordano: Soggy Sneakers: A Paddler's Guide to Oregon's Rivers ( English ), 4th edition, The Mountaineers Books, Seattle 2004, ISBN 978-0-89886-815-9 , pp. 120-122.
  16. ↑ Jeff LaLande: Zane Gray (1872-1939) ( English ) In: The Oregon Encyclopedia . Portland State University. 2009. Archived from the original on May 20, 2011. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved April 20, 2009. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.oregonencyclopedia.org
  17. ↑ a b c United States Department of Energy, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission: Notice of Application Accepted for Filing and Soliciting Motions to Intervene and Protests . In: Federal Register . Office of the Federal Register, United States National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). September 25, 2003. Retrieved October 8, 2012.
  18. ↑ United States Department of Energy, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission: Order Issuing New License: PacifiCorp Project No. 2630-004 (PDF) April 8, 2008. Retrieved May 5, 2009.
  19. ↑ a b Matthew Preusch: Rogue River dams to come down . In: The Oregonian , Oregon Live LLC, June 8, 2008. Archived from the original on June 20, 2008. Retrieved April 26, 2009. 
  20. ^ 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 9, 2009. 
  21. ↑ a b c Mark Freeman: Stimulus spurs county on Gold Ray Dam removal (English) . In: Mail Tribune , Southern Oregon Media Group, March 22, 2009. Archived from the original on June 10, 2011. Retrieved May 9, 2009. 
  22. ^ Restoring Freeways For Fish: Project: Gold Hill Diversion Dam, Rogue River, Gold Hill, Oregon ( English ) National Center for Conservation Science and Policy. July 2008. Archived from the original on November 19, 2008. Retrieved on May 9, 2009.
  23. ↑ Bureau of Reclamation: Savage Rapids Dam, Rogue River near Grants Pass, Oregon ( English ) United States Department of the Interior. Archived from the original on June 17, 2015. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved May 9, 2009. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.usbr.gov
  24. ↑ Associated Press: Rogue River dam to be removed (English) . In: The Seattle Times , The Seattle Times Company, April 7, 2009. Retrieved May 9, 2009.