The Wenaha River is a tributary of the

Grande Ronde River The Grande Ronde River ( or, less commonly, ) is a tributary of the Snake River, long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed May 3, 2011 in northeastern Oregon and southeastern ...

, about long, 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 ...

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 ...

. The river begins at the confluence of its north and south forks in the Blue Mountains and flows east through the Wenaha–Tucannon Wilderness to meet the larger river at the small settlement of

Troy Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in present-day Turkey, south-west of Ç ...

. A designated

Wild and Scenic River The National Wild and Scenic Rivers System was created by the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968 (Public Law 90-542), enacted by the U.S. Congress to preserve certain rivers with outstanding natural, cultural, and recreational values in a free- ...

for its entire length, the stream flows wholly within

Wallowa County Wallowa County () is the northeastern most county in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 7,391, making it Oregon's fifth-least populous county. Its county seat is Enterprise. According to '' Oregon Geographic Nam ...

Course

The source of the North Fork Wenaha River is near at in

Washington state Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington ...

, while the South Fork Wenaha River source is near at the same elevation in Oregon. From the confluence of the forks at in the Wenaha–Tucannon Wilderness within

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, Columbia ...

, the Wenaha River flows generally east through the Blue Mountains of northeastern Oregon. The map quadrangles include

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 ...

(RM) markers along the Grande Ronde. In the wilderness, tributaries enter the river in the following order headed downstream: Beaver Creek, Slick Ear Creek, and Rock Creek, all from the left; Big Hole Canyon 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 ...

; Butte Creek, left; Swamp Creek, right; Weller Creek, left; Cross Canyon, right; Fairview Creek, left; Burnt Canyon, right; Crooked Creek, left. Below Crooked Creek, the river leaves the wilderness, turns southeast and exits the national forest. Turning east again, the Wenaha River empties into the Grande Ronde River at Troy, about from the larger river's confluence with the Snake River.

Recreation

The Wenaha River Trail, about long, parallels the river and its south fork between

and Timothy Springs, near the Union County border. Weather permitting, the trail is open for hiking and backpacking. The trail, rated "more difficult" 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 in ...

, varies in elevation from at

to at Timothy Springs. Fishing along the secluded river is good. Wild rainbow trout ranging in size from are abundant. Modest numbers of steelhead (seagoing rainbow trout) swim upriver from the Grande Ronde, though fishing for them is limited.

Bull trout The bull trout (''Salvelinus confluentus'') is a char of the family Salmonidae native to northwestern North America. Historically, ''S. confluentus'' has been known as the " Dolly Varden" (''S. malma''), but was reclassified as a separate speci ...

, which also frequent the river, are protected, subject to

catch-and-release Catch and release is a practice within recreational fishing where after capture, often a fast measurement and weighing of the fish is performed, followed by posed photography as proof of the catch, and then the fish are unhooked and returned ...

regulations.

References

External links

Wenaha River Packrafting
Video produced by

Oregon Field Guide ''Oregon Field Guide'' is a weekly television program produced by Oregon Public Broadcasting focusing on recreation, the outdoors, and environmental issues in the state of Oregon. The show has become part of the Oregon zeitgeist. Steve Amen is th ...

{{authority control Rivers of Oregon Tributaries of the Snake River Rivers of Wallowa County, Oregon Wild and Scenic Rivers of the United States Oregon placenames of Native American origin

Course

Recreation

See also

References

External links