Crooked Creek (Wenaha River tributary)

Crooked Creek
Map of the Wenaha river watershed, including Crooked Creek
Crooked Creek (Wenaha River tributary) is located in Oregon
Crooked Creek (Wenaha River tributary)
Location of the mouth of Crooked Creek in Oregon
Location
CountryUnited States
StateWashington, Oregon
Physical characteristics
SourceBlue Mountains
 • locationColumbia County, Washington
 • coordinates46°05′16″N 117°40′09″W / 46.08778°N 117.66917°W / 46.08778; -117.66917[1]
 • elevation5,240 ft (1,600 m)[2]
MouthWenaha River
 • location
Wallowa County, Oregon
 • coordinates
45°58′37″N 117°33′11″W / 45.97694°N 117.55306°W / 45.97694; -117.55306[1]
 • elevation
1,906 ft (581 m)[1]
Length13.4 mi (21.6 km)[3]

Crooked Creek is a 13.4-mile (21.6 km)[3] tributary of the Wenaha River, flowing through southeast Washington and northeast Oregon in the United States. Beginning at McBain Spring in the Blue Mountains of Columbia County, Washington,[2] it flows south then turns east, entering Garfield County.[4] It then turns south again, entering Wallowa County, Oregon, and joins the Wenaha River about 5 miles (8.0 km) upstream of Troy.[5]

The creek and its tributaries form a network of canyons cut into the horizontal basalt layers of the Blue Mountains. The entirety of the creek flows within the Wenaha-Tucannon Wilderness of the Umatilla National Forest. Its major tributaries, listed from upstream to downstream, are Third, Second, Cherry, Melton and First Creeks, all joining from the left.[2][4] The 19-mile (31 km) Crooked Creek Trail begins at the crest of the Blue Mountains at Indian Corral, and descends to the Wenaha River via Trout, Third and Crooked Creeks. Much of the area was burned during the 2015 Grizzly Bear Complex fire.[6][7]

It was historically called the "Crooked Fork" of the Wenaha River.[8]: 114 

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "Crooked Creek". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. November 28, 1980. Retrieved February 18, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c U.S. Geological Survey. "U.S. Geological Survey Topographic Map: Oregon Butte, Washington quad". TopoQuest. Retrieved February 18, 2024.
  3. ^ a b United States Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map, accessed February 2, 2024
  4. ^ a b U.S. Geological Survey. "U.S. Geological Survey Topographic Map: Diamond Peak, Washington quad". TopoQuest. Retrieved February 18, 2024.
  5. ^ U.S. Geological Survey. "U.S. Geological Survey Topographic Map: Eden Ridge, Oregon quad". TopoQuest. Retrieved February 18, 2024.
  6. ^ "Crooked Creek Trail". U.S. Forest Service. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
  7. ^ "Crooked Creek". Washington Trails Association. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
  8. ^ Landes, Henry (1917). A Geographic Dictionary of Washington. Frank M. Lanborn. ISBN 9780722247266.