Powder River (Oregon)
Encyclopedia
The Powder River is a tributary of the Snake River
, approximately 153 miles (246.2 km) long, in northeast Oregon
in the United States
. It drains an area of the Columbia Plateau
on the eastern side of the Blue Mountains
. It is almost entirely contained within Baker County
but includes a portion of Union County
.
without notation of the origin of the name. Explorer Donald Mackenzie likely named the river. Dr. William C. McKay (grandson of John Jacob Astor
's partner Alexander MacKay
) says that the origin of the name is from the powdery and sandy soil along the shores of the river, from the Chinook Jargon
polalle illahe. It appears on Lewis and Clark
's maps as Port-pel-lah.
In 1988, 11.7 miles (18.8 km) of the Powder River was designated Wild and Scenic
. Between the Thief Valley Dam
and the Oregon Route 203
bridge, this stretch flows through a rugged canyon with spectacular geologic formations.
, who tried to create a "fur desert" to discourage Americans from coming to the far western states, benefits of beaver in arid eastern Oregon include creating ponds which along young salmonids to grow, raising the water table as their ponds recharge groundwater supplies and creating wetlands which trap sediment and pollutants.
The Powder River was once an important spawning stream for Chinook salmon
(Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and Steelhead trout (Oncorhyncus mykiss) coming from the Pacific Ocean
. Chinook salmon once migrated by the thousands to spawn in the Powder River and many of its tributaries from its headwaters to the lower end of the North Powder Valley, but that stopped when the Thief Valley Dam
was built near North Powder
in 1931. The building of two later dams in Hells Canyon
on the Snake River – Hells Canyon Dam (1967) and Brownlee Dam
also permanently block salmon passage. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
often release Chinook salmon on the Powder River for sportfishing at Mason Dam below Phillips Reservoir.
, and also the Powder arm of Brownlee Reservoir
at the Oregon-Idaho border at the confluence of the Powder and Snake Rivers.
The Powder River's tributaries arise in the southern Blue Mountains
in the Umatilla National Forest
. The river's mainstem
begins in Sumpter
, where McCully Fork, Cracker Creek and several smaller tributaries join, and flows east-southeast through the tailings of past dredge mining and into Phillips Reservoir. After exiting Phillips Reservoir, the river continues east for about 7 miles (11.3 km) before turning sharply north through the Bowen Valley and Baker City, Oregon. From here the river meanders the floor of the Baker Valley and passes by the cities of Haines
and North Powder
where it is joined by the North Powder River. Here the river turns again sharply east-southeast, flowing through Thief Valley Reservoir, in a valley along the southern edge of the Wallowa Mountains
. The river then transits the Lower Powder Valley and enters the Snake River on the Idaho
–Oregon state line from the west, upstream from the Brownlee Dam
at the Powder Arm of Brownlee Reservoir 11 miles (17.7 km) downstream from Richland
.
Major streams flowing into the Powder are Eagle, Wolf, and Rock creeks and the North Powder River.
Snake River
The Snake is a major river of the greater Pacific Northwest in the United States. At long, it is the largest tributary of the Columbia River, the largest North American river that empties into the Pacific Ocean...
, approximately 153 miles (246.2 km) long, in northeast Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It drains an area of the Columbia Plateau
Columbia Plateau
The Columbia Plateau is a geologic and geographic region that lies across parts of the U.S. states of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. It is a wide flood basalt plateau between the Cascade Range and the Rocky Mountains, cut through by the Columbia River...
on the eastern side of the Blue Mountains
Blue Mountains (Oregon)
The Blue Mountains are a mountain range in the western United States, located largely in northeastern Oregon and stretching into southeastern Washington...
. It is almost entirely contained within Baker County
Baker County, Oregon
Baker County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is included in the 8 county definition of Eastern Oregon. It is named for Edward Dickinson Baker, a senator from Oregon who was killed at Ball's Bluff, a battle of the Civil War in Virginia in 1861. It was split from the eastern part...
but includes a portion of Union County
Union County, Oregon
Union County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is included in the 8 county definition of Eastern Oregon. The county is named for the town of Union, which is located within its boundaries; in 2010, the county population was 25,748. The county seat is La Grande.-History:Union County...
.
History
The name Powder River is first recorded in the journals of Peter Skene OgdenPeter Skene Ogden
Peter Skene Ogden , was a fur trader and a Canadian explorer of what is now British Columbia and the American West...
without notation of the origin of the name. Explorer Donald Mackenzie likely named the river. Dr. William C. McKay (grandson of John Jacob Astor
John Jacob Astor
John Jacob Astor , born Johann Jakob Astor, was a German-American business magnate and investor who was the first prominent member of the Astor family and the first multi-millionaire in the United States...
's partner Alexander MacKay
Alexander MacKay (fur trader)
Alexander MacKay was a Canadian fur trader and explorer who worked for the North West Company and the Pacific Fur Company...
) says that the origin of the name is from the powdery and sandy soil along the shores of the river, from the Chinook Jargon
Chinook Jargon
Chinook Jargon originated as a pidgin trade language of the Pacific Northwest, and spread during the 19th century from the lower Columbia River, first to other areas in modern Oregon and Washington, then British Columbia and as far as Alaska, sometimes taking on characteristics of a creole language...
polalle illahe. It appears on Lewis and Clark
Lewis and Clark Expedition
The Lewis and Clark Expedition, or ″Corps of Discovery Expedition" was the first transcontinental expedition to the Pacific Coast by the United States. Commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson and led by two Virginia-born veterans of Indian wars in the Ohio Valley, Meriwether Lewis and William...
's maps as Port-pel-lah.
In 1988, 11.7 miles (18.8 km) of the Powder River was designated Wild and Scenic
National Wild and Scenic River
National Wild and Scenic River is a designation for certain protected areas in the United States.The National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act was an outgrowth of the recommendations of a Presidential commission, the Outdoor Recreation Resources Review Commission...
. Between the Thief Valley Dam
Thief Valley Reservoir
Thief Valley Reservoir is a large reservoir on the Powder River in Eastern Oregon, United States. Primarily used for irrigation purposes, it lies at an elevation of approximately 3,000 feet. It provides good angling opportunities for rainbow trout in years of high water....
and the Oregon Route 203
Oregon Route 203
Oregon Route 203 is an Oregon state highway running from Interstate 84 near La Grande to I-84 near Baker City. OR 203 is composed of part of the La Grande-Baker Highway No. 66 and the Medical Springs Highway No. 340. It is a combined long and runs north–south.- Route description :OR 203...
bridge, this stretch flows through a rugged canyon with spectacular geologic formations.
Ecology
Beaver (Castor canadensis) populations are increasing along the river, with an excellent viewing area just off Oregon Route 7 below Mason Dam, about 14 miles (22.5 km) from Baker City. There, a colony of beavers constructed a large dam easily viewed below the footbridge adjacent to the paved parking area. Recovered from near extirpation by the Hudson's Bay CompanyHudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...
, who tried to create a "fur desert" to discourage Americans from coming to the far western states, benefits of beaver in arid eastern Oregon include creating ponds which along young salmonids to grow, raising the water table as their ponds recharge groundwater supplies and creating wetlands which trap sediment and pollutants.
The Powder River was once an important spawning stream for Chinook salmon
Chinook salmon
The Chinook salmon, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha, is the largest species in the pacific salmon family. Other commonly used names for the species include King salmon, Quinnat salmon, Spring salmon and Tyee salmon...
(Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and Steelhead trout (Oncorhyncus mykiss) coming from the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
. Chinook salmon once migrated by the thousands to spawn in the Powder River and many of its tributaries from its headwaters to the lower end of the North Powder Valley, but that stopped when the Thief Valley Dam
Thief Valley Reservoir
Thief Valley Reservoir is a large reservoir on the Powder River in Eastern Oregon, United States. Primarily used for irrigation purposes, it lies at an elevation of approximately 3,000 feet. It provides good angling opportunities for rainbow trout in years of high water....
was built near North Powder
North Powder, Oregon
North Powder is a city in Union County, Oregon, United States. The population was 489 at the 2000 census.-History:North Powder was platted in 1885 or 1886 along the Oregon Railway and Navigation Company rail line, having been a stage stop before then....
in 1931. The building of two later dams in Hells Canyon
Hells Canyon
Hells Canyon is a wide canyon located along the border of eastern Oregon and western Idaho in the United States. It is North America's deepest river gorge at and part of the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area....
on the Snake River – Hells Canyon Dam (1967) and Brownlee Dam
Brownlee Dam
Brownlee Dam is a hydroelectric earth fill embankment dam on the Snake River on the Idaho-Oregon border, in Hells Canyon . It impounds the Snake River in the long Brownlee Reservoir...
also permanently block salmon passage. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is an agency of the government of the U.S. state of Oregon responsible for programs protecting Oregon fish and wildlife resources and their habitats....
often release Chinook salmon on the Powder River for sportfishing at Mason Dam below Phillips Reservoir.
Watershed
The Powder River watershed is located in the northwest portion of the Middle Snake Ecological Province and drains 1750 square miles (4,532.5 km²) of northeastern Oregon. There are three man-made reservoirs on the Powder River: Phillips Reservoir, Thief Valley ReservoirThief Valley Reservoir
Thief Valley Reservoir is a large reservoir on the Powder River in Eastern Oregon, United States. Primarily used for irrigation purposes, it lies at an elevation of approximately 3,000 feet. It provides good angling opportunities for rainbow trout in years of high water....
, and also the Powder arm of Brownlee Reservoir
Brownlee Dam
Brownlee Dam is a hydroelectric earth fill embankment dam on the Snake River on the Idaho-Oregon border, in Hells Canyon . It impounds the Snake River in the long Brownlee Reservoir...
at the Oregon-Idaho border at the confluence of the Powder and Snake Rivers.
The Powder River's tributaries arise in the southern Blue Mountains
Blue Mountains (Oregon)
The Blue Mountains are a mountain range in the western United States, located largely in northeastern Oregon and stretching into southeastern Washington...
in the Umatilla National Forest
Umatilla National Forest
The Umatilla National Forest, in the Blue Mountains of northeast Oregon and southeast Washington, covers an area of 1.4 million acres . In descending order of land area the forest is located in parts of Umatilla, Grant, Columbia, Morrow, Wallowa, Union, Garfield, Asotin, Wheeler, and Walla Walla...
. The river's mainstem
Main Stem
"Main Stem" is 1942 instrumental by Duke Ellington and His Famous Orchestra. Although recorded in 1942, the single would not be released until 1944 where it was Duke Ellington's last of four number one's on the Harlem Hit Parade. "Main Stem" would also peak at number twenty on the pop chart"Main...
begins in Sumpter
Sumpter, Oregon
Sumpter is a city in Baker County, Oregon, United States. The population was 171 at the 2000 census. Sumpter is named after Fort Sumter by its founders.- History :...
, where McCully Fork, Cracker Creek and several smaller tributaries join, and flows east-southeast through the tailings of past dredge mining and into Phillips Reservoir. After exiting Phillips Reservoir, the river continues east for about 7 miles (11.3 km) before turning sharply north through the Bowen Valley and Baker City, Oregon. From here the river meanders the floor of the Baker Valley and passes by the cities of Haines
Haines, Oregon
Haines is a city in Baker County, Oregon, United States. The population was 426 at the 2000 census.-History:Haines was platted in 1885 or 1886 along the Oregon Railway and Navigation Company rail line, having been a stage stop before then.-Geography:...
and North Powder
North Powder, Oregon
North Powder is a city in Union County, Oregon, United States. The population was 489 at the 2000 census.-History:North Powder was platted in 1885 or 1886 along the Oregon Railway and Navigation Company rail line, having been a stage stop before then....
where it is joined by the North Powder River. Here the river turns again sharply east-southeast, flowing through Thief Valley Reservoir, in a valley along the southern edge of the Wallowa Mountains
Wallowa Mountains
The Wallowa Mountains are a mountain range located in the Columbia Plateau of northeastern Oregon in the United States. The range runs approximately 40 mi northwest to southeast in southwestern Wallowa County between the Blue Mountains to the west and the Snake River to the east. The range is...
. The river then transits the Lower Powder Valley and enters the Snake River on the Idaho
Idaho
Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
–Oregon state line from the west, upstream from the Brownlee Dam
Brownlee Dam
Brownlee Dam is a hydroelectric earth fill embankment dam on the Snake River on the Idaho-Oregon border, in Hells Canyon . It impounds the Snake River in the long Brownlee Reservoir...
at the Powder Arm of Brownlee Reservoir 11 miles (17.7 km) downstream from Richland
Richland, Oregon
Richland is a city in Baker County, Oregon, United States. The population was 147 at the 2000 census.-History:Richland was platted in 1897 due to needs from nearby mining and railroad interests...
.
Major streams flowing into the Powder are Eagle, Wolf, and Rock creeks and the North Powder River.
See also
- List of rivers of Oregon
- List of longest streams of Oregon
- List of National Wild and Scenic Rivers