Birch Creek (Umatilla River tributary)

For other uses, see Birch Creek (disambiguation).
Birch Creek
At Hoeft Road, south of Pendleton Country Club
Birch Creek (Umatilla River tributary) is located in Oregon
Birch Creek (Umatilla River tributary)
Location of the mouth of Birch Creek in Oregon
Location
CountryUnited States
StateOregon
CountyUmatilla
Physical characteristics
Sourceconfluence of east and west forks
 • locationnear Pilot Rock
 • coordinates45°29′06″N 118°50′04″W / 45.48500°N 118.83444°W / 45.48500; -118.83444[1]
 • elevation1,622 ft (494 m)[2]
MouthUmatilla River
 • location
near Rieth
 • coordinates
45°39′19″N 118°52′54″W / 45.65528°N 118.88167°W / 45.65528; -118.88167[1]
 • elevation
958 ft (292 m)[1]
Length16 mi (26 km)[3]
Basin size291 sq mi (750 km2)[4]

Birch Creek is a 16-mile (26 km) tributary of the Umatilla River in eastern Oregon in the United States.[3] It rises at the confluence of East and West Birch creeks south of Pilot Rock, Oregon, at the base of the Blue Mountains and flows north, slightly west of the city of Pendleton.[5] It enters the Umatilla River about 49 miles (79 km) from the larger stream's confluence with the Columbia River.[6]

Birch Creek is one of the rivers that drain Oregon's northwestern corner of the Blue Mountains, flowing alongside industrial waste ponds, and over two minor impoundments before reaching the Umatilla River. Lands in the Birch Creek drainage are used for logging, grazing, dairy farming, and factory farming. Birch Creek is a source of phosphates and the resulting eutrophication of the Umatilla River.[7]

Pendleton photographer Walter S. Bowman is believed to have been born by Birch Creek.

Peterson dam on the creek is supposed to be removed.[8]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "Birch Creek". Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). United States Geological Survey. November 28, 1980. Retrieved May 19, 2012.
  2. ^ Source elevation derived from Google Earth search using GNIS source coordinates.
  3. ^ a b "Basin Map". Umatilla Basin Watershed Council. Archived from the original on December 10, 2013. Retrieved May 20, 2012.
  4. ^ Luzon, K. Michele (2008). "Assessing the Hydrologic Network of the Umatilla Basin: A Water Resource Management Application of ArcGIS and ArcHydro" (PDF). Oregon State University. p. 5. Retrieved May 20, 2012.[permanent dead link‍]
  5. ^ Oregon Atlas & Gazetteer. Freeport, Maine: DeLorme Mapping. 1991. p. 86. ISBN 0-89933-235-8.
  6. ^ United States Geological Survey (USGS). "United States Geological Survey Topographic Map". TopoQuest. Retrieved May 20, 2012.
  7. ^ Cude, Curtis. "Oregon Water Quality Index Report for the Umatilla Basin: Water Years 1986–1995". Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. Archived from the original on February 19, 2012. Retrieved May 20, 2012.
  8. ^ "Effort to tear down Eastern Oregon dam nears finish line after 40 years - OPB". www.opb.org.