Elk Creek is an tributary of the Rogue River in the

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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 ...

. Beginning at above

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in the western

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of the

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, it flows generally southwest through the

Rogue River – Siskiyou National Forest A rogue is a person or entity that flouts accepted norms of behavior. Rogue or rogues may also refer to: Companies * Rogue Ales, a microbrewery in Newport, Oregon * Rogue Arts, a film production company * Rogue Entertainment, a software comp ...

and the

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

Elk Creek Project lands to Rogue Elk Park in Jackson County. Here the creek enters the Rogue River downstream from

Lost Creek Lake Lost Creek Lake is a reservoir located on the Rogue River in Jackson County, Oregon, United States. The lake is impounded by William L. Jess Dam which was constructed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1977 for flood control and fisheries e ...

and river miles upstream of the small town of

Trail A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or small road usually passing through a natural area. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, a path or footpath is the preferred term for a pedestrian or hiking trail. Th ...

. Elk Creek Dam, an incomplete flood-control structure that blocked fish migration for more than 20 years, was partly demolished in 2008 to restore

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 inva ...

anadromous fish Fish migration is mass relocation by fish from one area or body of water to another. Many types of fish migrate on a regular basis, on time scales ranging from daily to annually or longer, and over distances ranging from a few metres to thousan ...

passage.

Course

In its first or so, Elk Creek receives Brush Creek from the

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, Swanson and Bitter Lick creeks from the

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, and Button Creek from the left. From here to the creek mouth, Elk Creek Road runs parallel to the stream along its right bank. Thereafter, Dodes Creek enters from the left and Sugarpine, Jones, Shell, and Flat creeks from the right. Near

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 ...

(RM) 7 or river kilometer (RK) 11, Middle Creek enters from the right, and shortly thereafter

Alco Creek Alco Creek is a stream in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is a tributary to Elk Creek (Rogue River), Elk Creek. Alco Creek was named after William Alcoe, a pioneer citizen. Course Alco Creek rises in a spring about 3 miles southeast of Alco Rock ...

also enters from the right. Elk Creek receives West Branch Elk Creek from the right about from the mouth, slightly upstream of the Elk Creek Dam. Below the dam, the creek passes a

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(USGS)

stream gauge A stream gauge, streamgage or stream gauging station is a location used by hydrologists or environmental scientists to monitor and test terrestrial bodies of water. Hydrometric measurements of water level surface elevation ("stage") and/or volu ...

, which is on the right at RM 1.3 (RK 2.1). Shortly thereafter, Berry Creek enters from the right. The creek then passes Rogue Elk County Park, which is on the left, flows under Crater Lake Highway /

Oregon Route 62 Oregon Route 62 is an Oregon state highway that runs between the city of Medford, and U.S. Route 97 between Chiloquin and Klamath Falls. The highway approaches Crater Lake National Park from the south, and is known as the Crater Lake Highway. W ...

, and enters the Rogue River 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 ...

on the

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. The maps include

(RM) markers for the lower of the creek.

Dam

Elk Creek Dam is about from the mouth of the creek. It was one of three dams authorized by

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...

in 1962 to help control flooding along the Rogue River. The other two were the Lost Creek Dam, later renamed the William L. Jess Dam, on the Rogue

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 ...

, and the

Applegate Dam Applegate Lake is a reservoir located in the Rogue River–Siskiyou National Forest about southwest of Medford in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is south of Oregon Route 238 along Applegate River Road and slightly north of the Oregon–Califo ...

on the

Applegate River The Applegate River is a -long tributary of the Rogue River in the U.S. state of Oregon. It drains approximately . Rising in northern California, it soon crosses the border and flows northeast then northwest to meet the Rogue about west of Gra ...

. When the Elk Creek Dam was about one-third finished, lawsuits to protect

salmon Salmon () is the common name for several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family (biology), family Salmonidae, which are native to tributary, tributaries of the ...

and other migratory fish led to a court

injunction An injunction is a legal and equitable remedy in the form of a special court order that compels a party to do or refrain from specific acts. ("The court of appeals ... has exclusive jurisdiction to enjoin, set aside, suspend (in whole or in pa ...

that stopped construction in 1987. After 1992, fish trying to swim past the dam were trapped and hauled around it in trucks. Litigation and political battles lasting more than 20 years led to the compromise of demolishing about 15 percent of the dam and leaving the rest intact so that it might be restored in the future. In 2008, the

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

dismantled part of the dam with explosives and restored the creek to its original channel. Originally scheduled to be high, the dam had reached a height of before work was stopped.

References

External links

Rogue Basin Partnership
{{authority control Rivers of Oregon Rogue River (Oregon) Rivers of Jackson County, Oregon Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest Dams in Oregon Wild and Scenic Rivers of the United States

Course

Dam

See also

References

External links