The Skipanon River is a tributary of the
Columbia River, approximately long, on the
Pacific
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...
coast of northwest
Oregon
Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...
in the United States. It is the last tributary of the Columbia on the Oregon side, draining an area of coastal bottom land bordered by
sand dunes and entering the river from the south at its mouth west of
Astoria.
The Skipanon River issues from
Cullaby Lake in western
Clatsop County, northeast of
Seaside and less than from the ocean. It flows north parallel to the coast and east of
U.S. Route 101
U.S. Route 101, or U.S. Highway 101 (US 101), is a north–south United States Numbered Highway that runs through the states of California, Oregon, and Washington, on the West Coast of the United States. It is also known as (The Royal Roa ...
. It enters the northwest end of
Youngs Bay
Youngs Bay, or Youngs River Bay, is located in the northwestern corner of the U.S. state of Oregon. The Youngs River meets the Columbia River at this point, which is situated between Astoria and Warrenton.
The bay is named for the Youngs River ...
at the mouth of the Columbia approximately northeast of
Warrenton. The mouth of the river is at
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 roa ...
of the Columbia upstream from its mouth.
The river's name comes from the
Clatsop
The Clatsop is a small tribe of Chinookan-speaking Native Americans in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. In the early 19th century they inhabited an area of the northwestern coast of present-day Oregon from the mouth of the Columbia R ...
language, originally referring to a point at the river's mouth rather than the river itself. The charts of the
Lewis and Clark Expedition
The Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition, was the United States expedition to cross the newly acquired western portion of the country after the Louisiana Purchase. The Corps of Discovery was a select gr ...
show the stream as Skipanarwin Creek. Another variant spelling, Skeppernawin, was common on maps into the 20th century.
[
]
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, as ...
References
External links
Skipanon Watershed Assessment Report (August, 2000) (PDF)
Fisheries, Missions, and Settlements
Bit of history: "We went up the Skipanon River frum Astoria, where father settled on a squatter's claim."
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Rivers of Oregon
Rivers of Clatsop County, Oregon
Tributaries of the Columbia River
Oregon placenames of Native American origin