The North Fork Umatilla River is a tributary of the

Umatilla River The Umatilla River is an tributary of the Columbia River in northern Umatilla County, Oregon, United States. Draining a basin of , it enters the Columbia near the city of Umatilla in the northeastern part of the state. In downstream order, begi ...

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

and Umatilla 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 ...

. Its headwaters lie in the

Umatilla National Forest The Umatilla National Forest, in the Blue Mountains of northeast Oregon and southeast Washington, covers an area of 1.4 million acres (5,700 km2). In descending order of land area the forest is located in parts of Umatilla, Grant, Columbi ...

in the Blue Mountains of northeastern Oregon. It flows generally northwest to meet the South Fork Umatilla River near Graves Butte. Together the two forks 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 ...

Umatilla. Near its headwaters, the North Fork flows north along Oregon Route 204 north of Elgin before flowing west through the

North Fork Umatilla Wilderness The North Fork Umatilla Wilderness is a wilderness area located inside the Umatilla National Forest, in the Blue Mountains (Oregon), Blue Mountains of northeastern Oregon. It is the smallest wilderness in northeast Oregon, encompassing only in U ...

. The river's named tributaries from source to mouth are Johnson Creek, which enters from the

left Left may refer to: Music * ''Left'' (Hope of the States album), 2006 * ''Left'' (Monkey House album), 2016 * "Left", a song by Nickelback from the album ''Curb'', 1996 Direction * Left (direction), the relative direction opposite of right * L ...

, then Woodward and Coyote creeks, which enter from the right. The South Fork enters from the left at the confluence of the forks.

Recreation

The North Fork Umatilla Wilderness, about east of Pendleton includes of trails for hiking and horseback riding. The lower section of the North Fork Umatilla Trail, one of the trails in the network, follows the river. The Umatilla Forks Campground and Day Use Area, managed by the

United States Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The Forest Service manages of land. Major divisions of the agency inc ...

, lies near the confluence of the forks. Open from June through September, it has campsites, picnic tables, toilets, drinking water, and parking spaces. In addition to hiking, activities in the area include fishing, hunting, and wildlife viewing. Woodland Campground, another Forest Service site, is near the river's headwaters along Route 204. Open through November, the campground has tent sites, toilets, picnic tables, and access to hiking trails but no drinking water. Slightly north of Woodland Campground along the highway is Woodland Sno-Park, also operated by the Forest Service. Local clubs help maintain the park, including its

snowmobile A snowmobile, also known as a Ski-Doo, snowmachine, sled, motor sled, motor sledge, skimobile, or snow scooter, is a motorized vehicle designed for winter travel and recreation on snow. It is designed to be operated on snow and ice and does not ...

trails. The park, generally open from November through April, is frequented by

snowshoe Snowshoes are specialized outdoor gear for walking over snow. Their large footprint spreads the user's weight out and allows them to travel largely on top of rather than through snow. Adjustable bindings attach them to appropriate winter footwe ...

rs and Nordic skiers as well as snowmobilers. Amenities include parking and one vault toilet. The

Oregon Department of Transportation The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) is a department of the state government of the U.S. state of Oregon responsible for systems of transportation. It was first established in 1969. It had been preceded by the Oregon State Highway Depar ...

oversees snow plowing in the park.

References

{{authority control Rivers of Oregon Rivers of Umatilla County, Oregon Rivers of Union County, Oregon

Recreation

See also

References