The Dry River is an
intermittent tributary, long,
of the
Crooked River 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 stream arises near
Hampton Buttes north of
Hampton
Hampton may refer to:
Places Australia
*Hampton bioregion, an IBRA biogeographic region in Western Australia
*Hampton, New South Wales
*Hampton, Queensland, a town in the Toowoomba Region
* Hampton, Victoria
Canada
* Hampton, New Brunswick
*Ha ...
and
U.S. Route 20
U.S. Route 20 or U.S. Highway 20 (US 20) is an east–west United States Numbered Highway that stretches from the Pacific Northwest east to New England. The "0" in its route number indicates that US 20 is a major coast-to-coast route. S ...
between
Brothers
A brother is a man or boy who shares one or more parents with another; a male sibling. The female counterpart is a sister. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to non-familia ...
and
Riley in the
Oregon High Desert. Beginning in eastern
Deschutes County near its border with
Crook County, it flows generally northwest along the Deschutes–Crook county line, crossing briefly into Crook County before turning slightly south and returning to Deschutes County. Along these upper reaches, it flows roughly parallel to the highway, under which it passes several times before turning sharply north near the
Horse Ridge Research Natural Area, southeast of
Bend. Continuing north and re-entering
Crook County, it passes under Powell Butte Highway,
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 ...
(Ochoco Highway), and
Oregon Route 370 (O'Neil Highway) before entering the Crooked River from the larger stream's confluence with the
Deschutes River Deschutes River may refer to:
*Deschutes River (Oregon)
The Deschutes River in central Oregon is a major tributary of the Columbia River. The river provides much of the drainage on the eastern side of the Cascade Range in Oregon, gathering many ...
.
[ The relevant map quadrants from mouth to source are: O'Neil, Powell Butte, Alfalfa, Horse Butte, Millican, Pine Mountain, West Butte, Millican SE, Brothers SW, Brothers, and Imperial Valley North, all in Oregon.]
''Oregon Geographic Names'' says that the dry channel of the river, which runs in places between walls of
basalt
Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...
, is clearly marked for more than , from the west end of the desert to the Crooked River.
Dry River Canyon, a deeply incised stretch of the river bed near
Millican, is used as a hiking path, about long.
The canyon was carved during the wetter climate of the
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological Epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fina ...
epoch by water flowing from a now-vanished lake in the Millican Valley.
Canyon walls in this stretch rise above the sandy bed of the river.
Other sights include large boulders,
juniper
Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' () of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere, from the Arcti ...
trees, and Native American
petroglyph
A petroglyph is an image created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, picking, carving, or abrading, as a form of rock art. Outside North America, scholars often use terms such as "carving", "engraving", or other descriptions ...
s.
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, a ...
*
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 ...
References
{{authority control
Rivers of Oregon
Rivers of Crook County, Oregon
Rivers of Deschutes County, Oregon