Blue River is a tributary of the McKenzie River in

Linn Linn may refer to: People * Linn (surname) * Linn (given name) * Linn da Quebrada, stage name of Brazilian singer, actress, screenwriter and television personality Lina Pereira dos Santos (born 1990) Places Germany * Linn (Gangkofen), a part ...

and

Lane In road transport, a lane is part of a roadway that is designated to be used by a single line of vehicles to control and guide drivers and reduce traffic conflicts. Most public roads (highways) have at least two lanes, one for traffic in each ...

counties 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 sover ...

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 ...

. From its source at the confluence of Mann and Wolf creeks in 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, ...

, it flows generally southwest to join the McKenzie near the community of Blue River. Map quadrangles show

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 ...

age for the first of the Blue River. The remaining distance is an estimate based on map scale and ruler. The relevant quadrangles are, from mouth to source, Blue River, McKenzie Bridge, and Carpenter Mountain. Saddle Dam and Blue River Dam block the river about from its

mouth In animal anatomy, the mouth, also known as the oral cavity, or in Latin cavum oris, is the opening through which many animals take in food and issue vocal sounds. It is also the cavity lying at the upper end of the alimentary canal, bounded on ...

to form

Blue River Reservoir Blue River Reservoir is an artificial impoundment, about long, of the Blue River in Lane County in the U.S. state of Oregon. The reservoir is about north of Oregon Route 126 in the Willamette National Forest about east of Eugene. In 1968 th ...

, a multipurpose impoundment built in 1968 by the

United States Army Corps of Engineers , colors = , anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day) , battles = , battles_label = Wars , website = , commander1 = ...

. The river's watershed lies almost entirely within the

Willamette National Forest The Willamette National Forest is a National Forest located in the central portion of the Cascade Range of the U.S. state of Oregon. It comprises . Over 380,000 acres (694 mi2, 1,540 km2) are designated wilderness which include seven ...

, dominated by

western hemlock ''Tsuga heterophylla'', the western hemlock or western hemlock-spruce, is a species of hemlock native to the west coast of North America, with its northwestern limit on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska, and its southeastern limit in northern Sonoma ...

and

Douglas-fir The Douglas fir (''Pseudotsuga menziesii'') is an evergreen conifer species in the pine family, Pinaceae. It is native to western North America and is also known as Douglas-fir, Douglas spruce, Oregon pine, and Columbian pine. There are three va ...

. Blue River was named for the striking blue color that apparently comes from its rocky bed.

Course

Blue River begins on the western slopes of the Cascade Range at the confluence of Mann and Wolf creeks in Linn County, slightly north of its border with Lane County. Descending from an elevation of about above sea level, the river flows generally southwest through the Willamette National Forest.

Forest Road Forest tracks or forest roads are roads or tracks intended to carry motorised vehicles or horse-drawn wagons being used mainly or exclusively for forestry purposes, such as conservation or logging. Forest tracks may be open to ramblers or mounta ...

15 follows the river along its

right bank In geography, a bank is the land alongside a body of water. Different structures are referred to as ''banks'' in different fields of geography, as follows. In limnology (the study of inland waters), a stream bank or river bank is the terrai ...

from its source to about

(RM) 9 or river kilometer (RK) 14. The upper river receives Quentin Creek from the right before crossing the border into Lane County. Just southwest of the border, the river receives Cook Creek, also from the right. Just beyond RM 9 (RK 14), the river passes under Forest Road 15 and receives Tidbits Creek from the right. At this point, the river turns sharply south, and Forest Road 15 runs along its

left bank In geography, a bank is the land alongside a body of water. Different structures are referred to as ''banks'' in different fields of geography, as follows. In limnology (the study of inland waters), a stream bank or river bank is the terrai ...

. Just before entering Blue River Reservoir, about from the

, the river receives Mona Creek from the right and passes under Forest Road 120, which leads to Mona Campground. A fraction of a mile beyond the mouth of Mona Creek, Lookout Creek enters from the left near the Lookout Campground and Boat Launch, and Mona Campground is on the right. Blue River and the reservoir curve to the southwest, and Scott Creek enters from the right at RM 5 (RK 8). On the opposite shore at this point is Saddle Dam and its boat launch, which lie outside the national forest. At this point, Forest Road 15 leaves the river and the reservoir and heads south to

Oregon Route 126 Oregon OR 126 (OR 126) is a state highway that connects coastal, western, and central parts of the U.S. state of Oregon. A short freeway section of OR 126 in Eugene and Springfield is concurrent with Interstate 105 (I-105). Route ...

. As Blue River nears Blue River Dam, about from the mouth, Quartz Creek and North Fork Quartz Creek enter from the right. Below the dam, Forest Road 125 runs parallel to the river along its right bank. The river passes a

United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, ...

stream gauge below the dam, and then Simmonds Creek enters from the right. Blue River joins the McKenzie River at the community of Blue River, from the McKenzie's confluence with 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 ...

References

External links

McKenzie Watershed Council
{{authority control Rivers of Oregon Rivers of Lane County, Oregon

Course

See also

References

External links