The Applegate River is a -long
tributary
A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drai ...
of the
Rogue River in the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...
of
Oregon
Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...
. It
drains approximately . Rising in northern
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
, it soon crosses the border and flows northeast then northwest to meet the Rogue about west of
Grants Pass
Grants Pass is the county seat of Josephine County, Oregon, United States. The city is located on Interstate 5 in Oregon, Interstate 5, northwest of Medford, Oregon, Medford, along the Rogue River (Oregon), Rogue River. The population was 39,189 ...
. It drains forested foothills of the
Siskiyou Mountains
The Siskiyou Mountains are a coastal subrange of the Klamath Mountains, and located in northwestern California and southwestern Oregon in the United States. They extend in an arc for approximately from east of Crescent City, California, northea ...
along the Oregon–California border.
Course
The Applegate River's
headwaters
The headwaters of a river or stream is the farthest place in that river or stream from its estuary or downstream confluence with another river, as measured along the course of the river. It is also known as a river's source.
Definition
The ...
are located in the
Siskiyou Mountains
The Siskiyou Mountains are a coastal subrange of the Klamath Mountains, and located in northwestern California and southwestern Oregon in the United States. They extend in an arc for approximately from east of Crescent City, California, northea ...
in California, part of the
Rogue River–Siskiyou National Forest
The Rogue River–Siskiyou National Forest is a United States National Forest in the U.S. states of Oregon and California. The formerly separate Rogue River and Siskiyou National Forests were administratively combined in 2004. Now, the Rogue R ...
. The water collects from
snowmelt
In hydrology, snowmelt is surface runoff produced from melting snow. It can also be used to describe the period or season during which such runoff is produced. Water produced by snowmelt is an important part of the annual water cycle in many par ...
and
springs. The Siskiyou area receives from of
precipitation
In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravitational pull from clouds. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, ice pellets, graupel and hail. ...
annually.
[
]
The river then flows north through a steep
canyon past the Oregon-California border, receiving water from Elliot Creek.
[
][
]
Elliot Creek begins near
Dutchman Peak Dutchman Peak is a summit in the U.S. state of Oregon. The elevation is .
The word "Dutchman" does not refer to the Dutch people or Dutch language, but to the original German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (histo ...
in Oregon, before flowing southwest into California, roughly paralleling the border. It joins the Applegate just before it enters Oregon.
This area saw major floods in
1964
Events January
* January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved.
* January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarc ...
and 1974, before the Applegate Dam was constructed.
The river is
impounded by Applegate Dam several miles into Oregon, forming the
Applegate Lake.
[
]
The
began construction of the dam in 1974, and it was completed in 1980.
The lake nearly extends to California. The purpose of the lake is to provide
irrigation
Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has been devel ...
and
flood control
Flood control methods are used to reduce or prevent the detrimental effects of flood waters."Flood Control", MSN Encarta, 2008 (see below: Further reading). Flood relief methods are used to reduce the effects of flood waters or high water level ...
for the
Applegate Valley.
[
]
The community of
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...
was inundated by the rising waters of the lake, and is now over below lake level.
[
]
From Applegate Dam, the river flows north and slightly east. About from California, it flows under the McKee Bridge.
[
]
The
covered bridge
A covered bridge is a timber-truss bridge with a roof, decking, and siding, which in most covered bridges create an almost complete enclosure. The purpose of the covering is to protect the wooden structural members from the weather. Uncovered woo ...
was built in 1917 for
miners and
loggers
Lumberjacks are mostly North American workers in the logging industry who perform the initial harvesting and transport of trees for ultimate processing into forest products. The term usually refers to loggers in the era (before 1945 in the Unite ...
. It was closed in 1956, deemed unsafe for
motor vehicles. Restored in 1965 and 1985, the bridge is now open for
pedestrians.
Several miles past McKee Bridge is the confluence with the
Little Applegate River.
Near
Ruch, the Applegate turns and flows northwest through the
unincorporated communities
An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...
of
Applegate and
Provolt. Near Provolt it passes from
Jackson County to
Josephine County. Tributaries in this area include Thompson Creek and Williams Creek, and both flow north.
Williams Creek was named after Captain Robert Williams, who fought the
Rogue River Indians along the creek during the
Rogue River Wars.
It flows through
Williams, also named for the captain.
From Williams Creek the Applegate turns west and flows through
Murphy. It then turns north through
Wilderville.
The river empties into the
Rogue River west of
Grants Pass
Grants Pass is the county seat of Josephine County, Oregon, United States. The city is located on Interstate 5 in Oregon, Interstate 5, northwest of Medford, Oregon, Medford, along the Rogue River (Oregon), Rogue River. The population was 39,189 ...
, just above the start of the
Wild and Scenic section of the Rogue.
It discharges an average of , however as high as was recorded in 1953, and as low as was recorded in 1979, when Applegate Lake was being filled.
Watershed
The Applegate River
drains approximately .
Approximately 35 percent of the watershed is owned by the
United States Forest Service
The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The Forest Service manages of land. Major divisions of the agency in ...
(as part of the
Rogue River–Siskiyou National Forest
The Rogue River–Siskiyou National Forest is a United States National Forest in the U.S. states of Oregon and California. The formerly separate Rogue River and Siskiyou National Forests were administratively combined in 2004. Now, the Rogue R ...
), and another 35 percent by the
Bureau of Land Management. Private
property
Property is a system of rights that gives people legal control of valuable things, and also refers to the valuable things themselves. Depending on the nature of the property, an owner of property may have the right to consume, alter, share, r ...
covers 20 percent, while the remaining 10 percent is commercial forests.
About 12,000 people live in the river's watershed in multiple
town
A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world.
Origin and use
The word "town" shares an ori ...
s and
farm
A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is used ...
s, although none of the towns are
incorporated.
Flora and fauna
The most common trees within the Applegate River's watershed include
Douglas fir and
madrone
''Arbutus'' is a genus of 12 accepted speciesAct. Bot. Mex no.99 Pátzcuaro abr. 2012.''Arbutus bicolor''/ref> of flowering plants in the family Ericaceae, native to warm temperate regions of the Mediterranean, western Europe, the Canary Islan ...
.
[
]
Oregon white oak
''Quercus garryana'' is an oak tree species of the Pacific Northwest, with a range stretching from southern California to southwestern British Columbia. It is commonly known as the Oregon white oak or Oregon oak or, in Canada, the Garry oak. It ...
and
big-leaf maple grow in the
loam soil found on the higher slopes.
[
]
Shrubs such as
vine maple and
manzanita
Manzanita is a common name for many species of the genus ''Arctostaphylos''. They are evergreen shrubs or small trees present in the chaparral biome of western North America, where they occur from Southern British Columbia and Washington to Or ...
grow beneath the trees.
Animals that live along the Applegate River include the
endangered
An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and in ...
Siskiyou Mountains salamander, and the
near threatened
A near-threatened species is a species which has been categorized as "Near Threatened" (NT) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as that may be vulnerable to endangerment in the near future, but it does not currently qualify f ...
spotted owl
The spotted owl (''Strix occidentalis'') is a species of true owl. It is a resident species of old-growth forests in western North America, where it nests in tree hollows, old bird of prey nests, or rock crevices. Nests can be between high a ...
.
See also
*
List of rivers of Oregon
This is a partial listing of rivers in the state of Oregon, United States. This list of Oregon rivers is organized alphabetically and by tributary structure. The list may also include streams known as creeks, brooks, forks, branches and prongs, as ...
*
List of longest streams of Oregon
Seventy-seven rivers and creeks of at least 50 miles (80 km) in total length are the longest streams of the U.S. state of Oregon. All of these streams originate in the United States except the longest, the Columbia, which begins in the ...
*
Northern California
*
Southern Oregon
Southern Oregon is a region of the U.S. state of Oregon south of Lane County and generally west of the Cascade Range, excluding the southern Oregon Coast. Counties include Douglas, Jackson
Jackson may refer to:
People and fictional charac ...
References
External links
USGS 2005 statistics on the Applegate River(PDF)
Applegate River Watershed Council*
{{authority control
Rivers of Northern California
Rivers of Oregon
Rogue River (Oregon)
Rivers of Siskiyou County, California
Rivers of Jackson County, Oregon
Rivers of Josephine County, Oregon