The Siuslaw River ( ) is a

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

, about long, that flows to the

Pacific Ocean 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 continen ...

coast 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 ...

in the United States. It drains an area of about in the

Central Oregon Coast Range The Central Oregon Coast Range is the middle section of the Oregon Coast Range, in the Pacific Coast Ranges physiographic region, and located in the west-central portion of the state of Oregon, United States roughly between the Salmon River and t ...

southwest of the

Willamette Valley The Willamette Valley ( ) is a long valley in Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. The Willamette River flows the entire length of the valley and is surrounded by mountains on three sides: the Cascade Range to the east, ...

and north of the watershed of the

Umpqua River The Umpqua River ( ) on the Pacific coast of Oregon in the United States is approximately long. One of the principal rivers of the Oregon Coast and known for bass and shad, the river drains an expansive network of valleys in the mountains west ...

. It rises in the mountains of southwestern Lane County, about west of Cottage Grove. It flows generally west-northwest through the mountains, past Swisshome, entering the Pacific at

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

. The

head of tide Head of tide, tidal limit or tidehead is the farthest point upstream where a river is affected by tidal fluctuations, or where the fluctuations are less than a certain amount. This applies to rivers which flow into tidal bodies such as oceans, ...

is upstream. It is part of the homeland of the

Siuslaw people Siuslaw is one of the tribes comprising the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians and a portion of the off-reservation population forms part of the three Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians located on the southwest Oregon ...

, after whom it is named. Citizens of the Siuslaw nation lived in villages along the river until 1860 when they were forcibly removed to an

Indian reservation An Indian reservation is an area of land held and governed by a federally recognized Native American tribal nation whose government is accountable to the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs and not to the state government in which it ...

Yachats Yachats ( ) is a small coastal city in the southernmost area of Lincoln County, Oregon, United States. According to ''Oregon Geographic Names'', the name comes from the Siletz language and means "dark water at the foot of the mountain". There is ...

whereupon their homes, farms, gardens and villages were destroyed and occupied by U.S. settler-colonists. The valley of the river has been one of the productive timber regions in Oregon. The lower course of the river passes through

Siuslaw National Forest The Siuslaw National Forest ( ) is a national forest in western Oregon in the United States. Established in 1908, the Siuslaw is made up of a wide variety of ecosystems, ranging from coastal forests to sand dunes. Geography The Siuslaw Nati ...

. The

Coos Bay Coos Bay is an estuary where the Coos River enters the Pacific Ocean, the estuary is approximately 12 miles long and up to two miles wide. It is the largest estuary completely within Oregon state lines. The Coos Bay watershed covers an area of abou ...

branch of the

Coos Bay Rail Link The Coos Bay Rail Line is a railroad line from the Willamette Valley to the Port of Coos Bay on the Oregon Coast and Coquille, Oregon, in the United States. It is owned and operated by the Oregon International Port of Coos Bay. The rail is operated ...

crosses many bridges as it follows the narrow, winding valley of the Siuslaw River to the swing bridge at Cushman. The river has historically been a spawning ground for Chinook and

coho The coho salmon (''Oncorhynchus kisutch;'' Karuk: achvuun) is a species of anadromous fish in the salmon family and one of the five Pacific salmon species. Coho salmon are also known as silver salmon or "silvers". The scientific species name is ...

salmon. Although the Chinook population is substantial, coho numbers have declined from an annual average of 209,000 fish between 1889 and 1896 to just over 3,000 fish between 1990 and 1995. The

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environment ...

of the river is surrounded by extensive

wetlands A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...

that are a significant habitat for migratory birds along the coast. It is one of the very few Western Oregon rivers where all major forks are undammed.

References

External links

*
Oregon Coastal Atlas: Siuslaw River estuary
{{Authority control Rivers of Oregon Rivers of Lane County, Oregon

See also

References

External links