The Yamhill River is an tributary of 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 ...
, in the
U.S. state 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 Idah ...
. Formed by the confluence of the
South Yamhill River
The South Yamhill River is a tributary of the Yamhill River, approximately long, in northwest Oregon in the United States. It drains an area of the Northern Oregon Coast Range, as well as part of the Willamette Valley west of the Willamette Rive ...
and the
North Yamhill River about east of
McMinnville, it drains part of the
Northern Oregon Coast Range. The river meanders east past
Dayton
Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Da ...
to join the Willamette River at its
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 roadw ...
(RM) 55 or river kilometer (RK) 89, south of
Newberg.
It is likely that Yamhill was the 19th century white settlers' name for a tribe of
Native Americans, a
Kalapuya people
The Kalapuya are a Native American people, which had eight independent groups speaking three mutually intelligible dialects. The Kalapuya tribes' traditional homelands were the Willamette Valley of present-day western Oregon in the United St ...
who inhabited the region.
The Yamhill people were among 27 bands and tribes moved to the
Grand Ronde Indian Reservation, formally established in 1857.
Course
Formed by the confluence of the South Yamhill and North Yamhill rivers about east of McMinnville, the main stem Yamhill River flows generally east for about to the Willamette River, a tributary of the
Columbia River. At about RM 9 (RK 14), Hawn Creek and then Millican Creek enter from the
left as the Yamhill nears
Lafayette, which lies to the river's left. Beyond Lafayette, Henry Creek enters from the left. Near Dayton, the river passes under
Oregon Route 18 before skirting the city, which lies to its
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 th ...
at RM 5 (RK 8). Here
Palmer Creek enters from the right. Below Dayton, the river enters the Willamette at its RM 55 (RK 89) south of Newberg.
Lock and dam
In 1900 a
Yamhill River lock and dam lock and dam was completed about 1.5 miles downriver from
Lafayette, Oregon. The lock was decommissioned in 1954. The dam was deliberately destroyed in 1963 to allow better passage for
salmon
Salmon () is the common name
In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of ...
on the river. The site of the lock and dam is now a county park.
See also
*
List of Oregon rivers
References
External links
*
Yamhill Basin Council
{{authority control
Tributaries of the Willamette River
Rivers of Yamhill County, Oregon
Rivers of Oregon