Smith River is a tributary of the
McKenzie River in
Linn County 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 sove ...
of
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 ...
. It begins near Browder Ridge in the
Cascade Range and flows generally south through the
Willamette National Forest
The Willamette National Forest is a National Forest located in the central portion of the Cascade Range of the U.S. state of Oregon.
It comprises . Over 380,000 acres (694 mi2, 1,540 km2) are designated wilderness which include seve ...
to meet the larger river at Trail Bridge Reservoir, about upstream of the McKenzie's
mouth on the
Willamette River
The Willamette River ( ) is a major tributary of the Columbia River, accounting for 12 to 15 percent of the Columbia's flow. The Willamette's main stem is long, lying entirely in northwestern Oregon in the United States. Flowing northward b ...
.
Three named tributaries enter Smith River, all from the
right
Rights are legal, social, or ethical principles of freedom or entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people according to some legal system, social convention, or ethical ...
. From source to mouth, they are Gate, Browder, and Bunchgrass creeks.
Lakes End campground
About halfway through its course, Smith River enters Smith Reservoir, which covers when filled to capacity. A
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 in ...
campground near the head of the lake is accessible only by boat from a launch at the south end of the reservoir, away. The primitive campground, Lakes End, has 17 sites for tents. Amenities include toilets and picnic tables but no drinking water. The campground is generally open from May through September.
Power plants
Smith Reservoir functions as a holding tank for water used to generate electricity at two power plants along the McKenzie River. The Carmen–Smith Hydroelectric Project, owned by the
Eugene Water and Electric Board
The Eugene Water & Electric Board (EWEB) is Oregon's largest customer-owned utility. Founded in 1911, it provides electricity and water to more than 86,000 customers in or around Eugene, Oregon.
Chartered by the City of Eugene, a five-member ...
, shunts water through a tunnel from the Carmen Diversion Reservoir on the upper McKenzie to Smith Reservoir, which has a bigger holding capacity. From there, water is piped from Smith Reservoir to the Carmen Power Plant. Water from the plant discharges into the Trail Bridge Reservoir then generates more electricity at the Trail Bridge Power Plant before returning to the McKenzie below Trail Bridge Dam. The project, about east of Eugene, has a generating capacity of 114 megawatts (MW).
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
McKenzie Watershed Council
{{authority control
Rivers of Linn County, Oregon
Rivers of Oregon