The Donner und Blitzen River is a river on the eastern

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 ...

high desert that drains a relatively arid basin, the southern portion of

Harney Basin The Harney Basin is an endorheic basin in southeastern Oregon in the United States at the northwestern corner of the Great Basin. One of the least populated areas of the contiguous United States, it is located largely in northern Harney County, ...

, from roughly 20 to 80 miles (30 to 130 km) south-southeast of

Burns Burns may refer to: * Burn, an injury (plural) People: * Burns (surname), includes list of people and characters Business: * Burns London, a British guitar maker Places: ;In the United States * Burns, Colorado, unincorporated community in Eagle ...

including

Malheur National Wildlife Refuge Malheur National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge located roughly south of the city of Burns in Oregon's Harney Basin. Administered by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the refuge area is roughly T-shaped with the southe ...

. Though much of its course is marsh, it offers scenic glaciated canyons, unique ecosystems, and exceptional wild trout fisheries. Named by soldiers of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

origin, the Donner und Blitzen River translates as "thunder and lightning". The name usually brings to mind two of

Santa Claus's reindeer In traditional festive legend and popular culture, Santa Claus's reindeer are said to pull a sleigh through the night sky to help Santa Claus deliver gifts to children on Christmas Eve. The number of reindeer characters, and the names given ...

, but the river is named for a thunderstorm the soldiers experienced as they crossed the river;

dry lightning A dry thunderstorm is a thunderstorm that produces thunder and lightning, but where most of its precipitation evaporates before reaching the ground. Dry lightning refers to lightning strikes occurring in this situation. Both are so common in the ...

is an almost daily occurrence in the region during certain times of the year. The Donner und Blitzen River arises as an intermittent stream on the lower slopes west of

Steens Mountain Steens Mountain is in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Oregon, and is a large fault-block mountain. Located in Harney County, it stretches some north to south, and rises from the west side the Alvord Desert at elevation of about to a ...

at the level at , roughly south-southeast of

and northwest of Alvord Lake and empties at into

Malheur Lake Malheur Lake is one of the lakes in the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Harney County in the U.S. state of Oregon. Located about southeast of Burns, the lake is marsh fed by the Donner und Blitzen River from the south and the Silvies River ...

. Numerous nearby springs create its tributaries including South Fork Blitzen River,

Little Blitzen River Little Blitzen River is a tributary of the Donner und Blitzen River in the U.S. state of Oregon. Little Blitzen River rises on the west flank of Steens Mountain about southeast of Frenchglen and about south of Burns in Harney County. Flowing w ...

, Big Indian Creek, Little Indian Creek, Fish Creek, Mud Creek, and Ankle Creek. It collects these and runs north or northwest, descending rapidly to the plateau floor, then turns northward to

, which has no outlet. It does not pass through any cities, though it comes within of Frenchglen. Much of the river runs through what was once the

P Ranch The P Ranch is a historic ranch in Harney County in southeastern Oregon, United States. The remaining ranch structures are located on the west bank of the Donner und Blitzen River in the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. The ranch was built by ...

, one of the largest ranches in the west until the ranch was purchased by the

United States Government The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a fede ...

in 1935. The Blitzen is home to a native species of

Great Basin Redband Trout The Great Basin redband trout (''Oncorhynchus mykiss newberrii'') is one of three redband trout subspecies of the rainbow trout in the western United States. The Great Basin redband trout is native to drainages in south central Oregon east of th ...

amongst many other unique forms of

flora and fauna In biology, an organism () is any living system that functions as an individual entity. All organisms are composed of cells (cell theory). Organisms are classified by taxonomy into groups such as multicellular animals, plants, and fungi; ...

. Over the last century, the fish population has decreased due to increased human activity in the surrounding areas. As part of the 2000

Protection Act, congress and President Clinton signed off on the creation of the Donner und Blitzen Red Band Trout Reserve. The Reserve was designated “to conserve, protect, and enhance the Donner und Blitzen population of redband trout and the unique ecosystem of plants, fish, and wildlife of a river system.” In 1988, of rivers in its basin were designated

Wild and Scenic The National Wild and Scenic Rivers System was created by the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968 (Public Law 90-542), enacted by the U.S. Congress to preserve certain rivers with outstanding natural, cultural, and recreational values in a free- ...

, and another were added in 2000. The

Oregon Department of Environmental Quality The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is the chief regulatory agency of the government of the U.S. state of Oregon responsible for protecting and enhancing the state's natural resources and managing sanitary and toxic waste disposal ...

(DEQ) lists seven temperature impairments on the river system. The maximum recorded flow of occurred on April 26, 1978, and was extrapolated from a calibrated value of . The minimum recorded flow occurred December 9, 1972, caused by widespread freezing.

References

External links

Donner ünd Blitzen Wild and Scenic River
- Bureau of Land Management
Donner und Blitzen River
- Oregon Natural Desert Association
Little Blitzen River and Bridge Creek Remote Sensing Survey
{{DEFAULTSORT:Donner Und Blitzen River Rivers of Oregon Wild and Scenic Rivers of the United States Rivers of Harney County, Oregon Rivers of the Great Basin

See also

References

External links