Abiqua Creek ( ) is a tributary of the

Pudding River The Pudding River is a tributary of the Molalla River in the U.S. state of Oregon. Its drainage basin covers . Among its tributaries are Silver Creek, Butte Creek, Abiqua Creek, and the Little Pudding River. Historically, the Pudding River flo ...

in the U.S. state of

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

. The creek originates near Lookout Mountain in the foothills of the

Cascade Range The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as the North Cascades, ...

in the northwestern part of the state. It flows northwest for about to its

confluence In geography, a confluence (also: ''conflux'') occurs where two or more flowing bodies of water join to form a single channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main stem); o ...

with the Pudding, about west of Silverton, in the

Willamette Valley The Willamette Valley ( ) is a long valley in Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. The Willamette River flows the entire length of the valley and is surrounded by mountains on three sides: the Cascade Range to the east, ...

. About north of Silverton, the Pudding River meets the

Molalla River The Molalla River is a tributary of the Willamette River in the northwestern part of Oregon in the United States. Flowing northwest from the Cascade Range through Table Rock Wilderness, it passes the city of Molalla before entering the larger r ...

, which meets the

Willamette River The Willamette River ( ) is a major tributary of the Columbia River, accounting for 12 to 15 percent of the Columbia's flow. The Willamette's main stem is long, lying entirely in northwestern Oregon in the United States. Flowing northward b ...

less than later near

Canby Canby may refer to: People * Canby (surname) Places

;In the United States * Canby, California * Canby, Iowa * Canby, Minnesota * Canby, Oregon * Canby Creek, a stream in Minnesota * Canby Mountains, Oregon {{disambiguation, geo ...

. The creek is the main source of drinking water for Silverton, which operates a diversion dam upstream. The city, the Pudding River Watershed Council, and the

Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) is a government agency of the U.S. state of Oregon responsible for programs protecting Oregon fish and wildlife resources and their habitats. The agency operates hatcheries, issues hunting and ...

are working to improve fish passage on the creek and are studying the effectiveness of the dam's

fish ladder A fish ladder, also known as a fishway, fish pass, fish steps, or fish cannon is a structure on or around artificial and natural barriers (such as dams, locks and waterfalls) to facilitate diadromous fishes' natural migration as well as movemen ...

. Abiqua Creek has historically supported the largest steelhead spawning populations in the Pudding River watershed.

Course

The creek begins in the Abiqua Basin about north-northeast of

Silver Falls State Park Silver Falls State Park is a state park in the U.S. state of Oregon, located near Silverton, about east-southeast of Salem. It is the largest state park in Oregon with an area of more than , and it includes more than of walking trails, of h ...

and flows down a canyon. Ridges on the north and south separate its watershed from Silver Creek on the south and Butte Creek on the north. Named tributaries include Sweet Spring Creek, entering from the

left Left may refer to: Music * ''Left'' (Hope of the States album), 2006 * ''Left'' (Monkey House album), 2016 * "Left", a song by Nickelback from the album ''Curb'', 1996 Direction * Left (direction), the relative direction opposite of right * L ...

about

river mile A river mile is a measure of distance in miles along a river from its mouth. River mile numbers begin at zero and increase further upstream. The corresponding metric unit using kilometers is the river kilometer. They are analogous to vehicle road ...

(RM) 26 or river kilometer (RK) 42; Wildcat Creek, from the left about later; Trinity Falls Creek from the

right Rights are law, legal, social, or ethics, ethical principles of Liberty, freedom or entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people according to some legal system, social convent ...

about from the mouth, and over the next Bucket Creek from the right, Homestead Creek from the left, Johnson Creek from the right, and Goober Creek from the right, in that order.

Abiqua Falls

Just below Goober Creek near Santiam State Forest, the stream plunges over Abiqua Falls. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) places the falls at coordinates at an elevation of above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardised g ...

. Downstream of the falls, the creek runs close by Milk Ranch Road and then Abiqua Road, both on the right. At about RM 12 (RK 19), Abiqua Creek receives Hammond Creek, and shortly thereafter Echo Creek, and about later, Powers Creek, all from the left.

Gallon House Bridge

About from the mouth, the stream passes under

Oregon Route 213 Oregon Route 213 (OR 213) is an Oregon state highway that serves the eastern Willamette Valley between Portland and Salem. It is a north–south route. The route (except for its southernmost segment) is known as the Cascade Highway, thou ...

between Silverton and Molalla, and about from the mouth it goes under

Oregon Route 214 Oregon Route 214 is an Oregon state highway which runs from the city of Woodburn, southeast into Silver Falls State Park in the Cascade foothills, and then loops back west towards Salem. The northern segment of the highway (between Silverton ...

between Silverton and Mount Angel. Shortly thereafter, it passes under Gallon House Road, which is carried by the covered

Gallon House Bridge Gallon House Bridge (also Gallonhouse Bridge) is a wooden covered bridge spanning Abiqua Creek in rural Marion County, Oregon, United States, built in 1916. The bridge derived its name during prohibition when it was a meeting place for bootlegg ...

. It crosses under Mount Angel Highway before reaching the Pudding River, by river from its confluence with the Molalla River.

Discharge

The Marion Soil and Water Conservation District operates a stream monitor on Abiqua Creek at Gallon House Road about from the mouth. District calculations based on data from the monitor suggest that the flow of the creek there varies from near zero to about . These figures do not include readings near flood stage because the district's monitor cannot safely measure the highest flows.

Reservoir and fish ladder

Abiqua Creek is the main water supply for the city of Silverton, which also gets water from Silver Creek and stores water in

Silverton Reservoir Silver Creek Reservoir also known as Silverton Reservoir is a impoundment on Silver Creek located in the Cascade foothills southeast of the city of Silverton, Oregon, United States on Oregon Route 214. The reservoir serves the purpose of fl ...

. The Abiqua Creek water reaches the city from a diversion dam in the Cascade Range foothills at RM 10.4 (RK 16.7). The diversion dam's higher elevation above sea level allows water to flow to the Silverton

water treatment Water treatment is any process that improves the Water quality, quality of water to make it appropriate for a specific end-use. The end use may be drinking water, drinking, industrial water supply, irrigation, river flow maintenance, water recrea ...

plant without pumping. In 2007, the city of Silverton, the Pudding River Watershed Council, and the

(ODFW) began a project to improve fish passage on Abiqua Creek. The first stage of the project involves evaluating the effectiveness of the

on the city's diversion dam, built in 1916. The creek supports native populations of winter

steelhead Steelhead, or occasionally steelhead trout, is the common name of the anadromous form of the coastal rainbow trout or redband trout (O. m. gairdneri). Steelhead are native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific basin in Northeast Asia and N ...

and has the potential to support spring

chinook salmon The Chinook salmon (''Oncorhynchus tshawytscha'') is the largest and most valuable species of Pacific salmon in North America, as well as the largest in the genus ''Oncorhynchus''. Its common name is derived from the Chinookan peoples. Other ve ...

. Abiqua Creek has historically supported the largest steelhead

spawn Spawn or spawning may refer to: * Spawn (biology), the eggs and sperm of aquatic animals Arts, entertainment, and media * Spawn (character), a fictional character in the comic series of the same name and in the associated franchise ** '' Spawn: ...

ing populations in the Pudding River watershed. A catch-and-release fishing season for

coastal cutthroat trout The coastal cutthroat trout (''Oncorhynchus clarkii clarkii''), also known as the sea-run cutthroat trout, blue-back trout or harvest trout, is one of the several subspecies of cutthroat trout found in Western North America. The coastal cutthroa ...

begins at the end of May, but the creek is closed to salmon and steelhead fishing.

References

External links

Photos of the creek
from Flickr {{authority control Rivers of Oregon Rivers of Marion County, Oregon