Birch Creek (Umatilla River tributary)

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
At Hoeft Road, south of Pendleton Country Club
Location of the mouth of Birch Creek in Oregon
Location
Country	United States
State	Oregon
County	Umatilla
Physical characteristics
Source	confluence of east and west forks
• location	near Pilot Rock
• coordinates	45°29′06″N 118°50′04″W[1]
• elevation	1,622 ft (494 m)[2]
Mouth	Umatilla River
• location	near Rieth
• coordinates	45°39′19″N 118°52′54″W[1]
• elevation	958 ft (292 m)[1]
Length	16 mi (26 km)[3]
Basin size	291 sq mi (750 km2)[4]

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.