Ash Creek is a short stream in

Polk County Polk County is the name of twelve counties in the United States, all except two named after president of the United States James Knox Polk: * Polk County, Arkansas * Polk County, Florida * Polk County, Georgia * Polk County, Iowa * Polk Count ...

, 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 ...

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 ...

. Formed by the merger of its north and middle forks near Monmouth, it flows generally east to meet 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 ...

Independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...

. The creek passes under

Oregon Route 51 Oregon Route 51 is an Oregon state highway running between Monmouth, Oregon and an intersection with Oregon Route 22 west of Salem. OR 51 traverses several highways of the Oregon state highway system: the Monmouth–Independence Highway N ...

just before entering the river. The creek's mouth is about upstream of the Willamette's confluence with the Columbia River. The map includes mile markers along the Willamette. North Fork Ash Creek begins at the eastern edge of the

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 ...

near

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

at and flows generally southeast to meet the Middle Fork. Middle Fork Ash Creek begins at near Mount Pisgah and flows generally east. Both forks pass under

Oregon Route 99W Oregon Route 99W is a state-numbered route in Oregon, United States, that runs from OR 99 and OR 99E in Junction City north to I-5 in southwestern Portland. Some signage continues it north to US 26 near downtown, but most signage agrees with ...

shortly before they merge to form the

main stem In hydrology, a mainstem (or trunk) is "the primary downstream segment of a river, as contrasted to its tributaries". Water enters the mainstem from the river's drainage basin, the land area through which the mainstem and its tributaries flow.. A ...

. Ash Creek is joined by a third fork, South Fork Ash Creek, in Independence. The South Fork begins at slightly south of the Middle Fork and flows generally east to meet the main stem at The South Fork passes under Route 99W south of Monmouth and under Route 51 in Independence. None of the three forks has a named tributary. Before alterations by

settler A settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established a permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. A settler who migrates to an area previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited may be described as a pioneer. Settl ...

s in the 19th century, the basin was a "boggy, 'braided' marsh with many small creeks spilling into Ash Creek" and the river. European-Americans drained and leveled wetlands and

riparian zone A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. Riparian is also the proper nomenclature for one of the terrestrial biomes of the Earth. Plant habitats and communities along the river margins and banks a ...

s for farming, logging, housing, and urban development.

References

External links

Luckiamute Watershed Council
{{authority control Tributaries of the Willamette River Rivers of Oregon Rivers of Polk County, Oregon

See also

References

External links