Quartzville Creek

Quartzville Creek is a 28-mile (45 km) tributary of the Middle Santiam River in Linn County in the U.S. state of Oregon.[4] It is paralleled by the Quartzville Back Country Byway and used for recreation, including camping, fishing, hunting, kayaking, and gold panning.[6] The lower 12 miles (19 km) of the creek, from the Willamette National Forest boundary to Green Peter Reservoir, was designated Wild and Scenic in 1988.[7]

Quartzville Creek
Flowing through the forest
Quartzville Creek is located in Oregon
Quartzville Creek
Location of the mouth of Quartzville Creek in Oregon
Etymologyformer gold-mining town in the creek's watershed[1]
Location
CountryUnited States
StateOregon
CountyLinn
Physical characteristics
Source 
 • locationWillamette National Forest, Cascade Range
 • coordinates44°34′20″N 122°07′38″W[2]
 • elevation4,094 ft (1,248 m)[3]
MouthMiddle Santiam River
 • location
Green Peter Reservoir
 • coordinates
44°28′34″N 122°30′04″W[2]
 • elevation
1,014 ft (309 m)[2]
Length28 mi (45 km)[4]
Basin size171 sq mi (440 km2)[4]
Discharge 
 • location10 miles (16 km) north of Cascadia at river mile 6.6[5]
 • average652 cu ft/s (18.5 m3/s)[5]
 • minimum14 cu ft/s (0.40 m3/s)
 • maximum23,700 cu ft/s (670 m3/s)
TypeRecreational
DesignatedOctober 28, 1988

Course

The creek, beginning at an elevation of about 4,100 feet (1,200 m) between Pinnacle and Gordon peaks in the Cascade Range, flows generally west and southwest through Willamette National Forest. In its upper reaches, it receives Butte and Bruler creeks from the right, Freezeout Creek from the left, Beabe Creek from the left, Little Meadows Creek from the right, Gregg and McQuade creeks from the left, then Gold Creek from the right. In the next stretch, Green, Savage, and Galena creeks enter from the left. Below Galena Creek, Quartzville Creek leaves the national forest and Canal Creek enters from the right. One of Canal Creek's tributaries, Dry Gulch, drains the former Quartzville townsite for which Quartzville Creek is named.[8]

Downstream of Canal Creek, the creek is followed on the right by Quartzville Road. Along this stretch, Yellowbottom Creek enters from the right at Yellowbottom Campground. Shortly thereafter, the creek turns sharply south and receives Packers Gulch from the right. Further downstream, Boulder Creek enters from the left, then Yellowstone and Four Bit creeks, both from the right. Thereafter, Quartzville Creek reaches the Dogwood Picnic Area, on the right, and Cascade Falls, on a minor tributary to the left. The creek then flows by a stream gauge maintained by the United States Geological Survey 6.6 miles (10.6 km) from the mouth. Here Panther Creek enters from the right.[8]

Continuing generally southwest, the creek receives Trout Creek and Moose Creek from the right as it enters a northern arm of Green Peter Reservoir. Foots Canyon, which drains part of Green Peter Peninsula, enters from the left before the creek reaches Whitcomb Creek Park, on the right. About 1 mile (1.6 km) beyond the park, the creek merges with the Middle Santiam River, 9 miles (14 km) from its confluence with the South Santiam River at Foster Reservoir.[8]

Discharge

The United States Geological Survey operates a stream gauge 6.6 miles (10.6 km) upstream from the mouth. The average flow at this station between 1966 and 2011 was 652 cubic feet per second (18.5 m3/s). The maximum flow was 23,700 cubic feet per second (670 m3/s) on February 7, 1996, and the minimum flow was 14 cubic feet per second (0.40 m3/s) on August 19–23, 1973. The drainage area above this gauge is 99.2 square miles (257 km2), about 58 percent of the whole watershed.[5]

A maximum flow larger than the recorded maximum has been estimated at 36,500 cubic feet per second (1,030 m3/s) on December 22, 1964.[5] This flow occurred during the floods of December 1964 and January 1965, rated by the National Weather Service as one of Oregon's top 10 weather events of the 20th century.[9]

See also

References
  1. McArthur, Lewis A.; Lewis L. McArthur (2003) [1928]. Oregon Geographic Names (7th ed.). Portland, Oregon: Oregon Historical Society Press. p. 792. ISBN 0-87595-277-1.
  2. "Quartzville Creek". Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). United States Geological Survey. November 28, 1980. Retrieved May 8, 2012.
  3. Source elevation derived from Google Earth search using GNIS source coordinates.
  4. "South Santiam Subbasin TMDL, Chapter 9" (PDF). Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. 2006. pp. 6–7. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 30, 2011. Retrieved May 8, 2012.
  5. "Water-Data Report 2011: 14185900 Quartzville Creek Near Cascadia, OR" (PDF). United States Geological Survey. Retrieved May 8, 2012.
  6. "Quartzville Wild and Scenic River". Bureau of Land Management. Retrieved May 8, 2012.
  7. "Quartzville Creek". National Wild & Scenic Rivers. 2011. Archived from the original on June 10, 2010. Retrieved May 8, 2012.
  8. United States Geological Survey (USGS). "United States Geological Survey Topographic Map". TopoQuest. Retrieved May 8, 2012. The map quadrangles include river mile (RM) markers along the Middle Santiam River.
  9. "Oregon's Top 10 Weather Events of 1900s". National Weather Service. Retrieved May 8, 2012.
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