The Tumtum River is a 9 miles (14.5 km) tributary

Tributary

A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean...

 of the Marys River

Marys River

Marys River is a tributary of the Willamette River in the U.S. state of Oregon. From its source at the confluence of its east and west forks near Summit, it flows generally southeast from the Central Oregon Coast Range to Corvallis.-Name:...

 in Benton

Benton County, Oregon

-National protected areas:*Siuslaw National Forest *William L. Finley National Wildlife Refuge-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 78,153 people, 30,145 households, and 18,237 families residing in the county. The population density was 116 people per square mile . There were 31,980...

 and Lincoln

Lincoln County, Oregon

-National protected areas:*Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge *Siletz Bay National Wildlife Refuge*Siuslaw National Forest -Demographics:...

 counties of the U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of 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...

, rising in the Central Oregon Coast Range

Central Oregon Coast Range

The Central Oregon Coast Range is the middle section of the Oregon Coast Range, in the Pacific Coast Ranges physiographic region, and located in the west-central portion of the state of Oregon, United States roughly between the Salmon River and the Umpqua River and the Willamette Valley and the...

 west of Burnt Woods and draining into the Marys River north of Alder

Alder, Oregon

Alder is an unincorporated community in Benton County, Oregon, United States. Alder lies near U.S. Route 20 southeast of Blodgett on the Marys River in the Central Oregon Coast Range...

. The creek passes through the communities of Burnt Woods

Burnt Woods, Oregon

Burnt Woods is an unincorporated community in Lincoln County, Oregon, United States. It is located about 16 miles west of Philomath on U.S. Route 20 in the Central Oregon Coast Range near the Tumtum River....

 and Blodgett

Blodgett, Oregon

Blodgett is an unincorporated community in Benton County, Oregon, United States, where Oregon Route 180 meets U.S. Route 20 in the Central Oregon Coast Range 15 miles west of Corvallis. It is near the confluence of the Tumtum and Marys rivers. The population was 58 at the 2010 census.Blodgett was...

.

The name Tumtum is a 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...

 word for "heart", and the river was so-named because it was considered to be the heart of the valley through which it flowed. When the Burnt Woods post office was to be named, one of the names proposed to the Post Office Department

United States Post Office Department

The Post Office Department was the name of the United States Postal Service when it was a Cabinet department. It was headed by the Postmaster General....

was Tumtum.