Cedar Valley (formerly Squaw Valley) is a

valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams ove ...

in the

Siskiyou Mountains The Siskiyou Mountains are a coastal subrange of the Klamath Mountains, and located in northwestern California and southwestern Oregon in the United States. They extend in an arc for approximately from east of Crescent City, California, northea ...

of Curry County,

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 ...

, United States, northeast of Gold Beach. The valley runs north from near the headwaters of Rumley Creek (a tributary of the Rogue River) along the course of Cedar Creek from its headwaters to its confluence with Miller Creek, about four miles south of

Ophir Ophir (; ) is a port or region mentioned in the Bible, famous for its wealth. King Solomon received a shipment from Ophir every three years (1 Kings 10:22) which consisted of gold, silver, sandalwood, pearls, ivory, apes, and peacocks. ...

. The area is served by a

volunteer fire department A volunteer fire department (VFD) is a fire department of volunteers who perform fire suppression and other related emergency services for a local jurisdiction. Volunteer and retained (on-call) firefighters are expected to be on call to respond ...

, which is known for its annual fundraising

fish fry A fish fry is a meal containing battered or breaded fried fish. It usually also includes french fries, coleslaw, macaroni salad, lemon slices, tartar sauce, hot sauce, malt vinegar and dessert. Some Native American versions are cooked by coatin ...

Name change

By 2001, the word "

squaw The English word ''squaw'' is an ethnic and sexual slur, historically used for Indigenous North American women. Contemporary use of the term, especially by non-Natives, is considered derogatory, misogynist, and racist.King, C. Richard,De/Sc ...

" was considered derogatory and a Senate joint memorial was passed by the

Oregon State Legislature The Oregon Legislative Assembly is the state legislature for the U.S. state of Oregon. The Legislative Assembly is bicameral, consisting of an upper and lower house: the Senate, whose 30 members are elected to serve four-year terms; and the H ...

directing the Oregon Geographic Names Board to rename approximately 140-150 geographic features in Oregon containing the word. In 2001 and again in 2005, state legislation was passed preventing public bodies from using the word "squaw" in the names of public properties, with some exceptions. In 2001, the deadline for the name changes was set as January 2, 2005, but the deadline was repealed in 2005. On January 1, 2005, Squaw Valley Road, which runs from the Rogue River along the valley to near Ophir, was renamed by the Curry County Commissioners to Cedar Valley Road. The Cedar Valley Fire Department was recorded by the

United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, ...

(USGS) as having changed its name from Squaw Valley Fire Department in 2010. On September 8, 2022 the USGS published an edit renaming the valley to Cedar Valley.

References

Valleys of Oregon Landforms of Curry County, Oregon {{CurryCountyOR-geo-stub