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Salt Creek (Middle Fork Willamette River tributary)

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Salt Creek is a 30-mile (48 km) tributary of the Middle Fork Willamette River in Lane County in the U.S. state of Oregon.[1][3][2] It is named for salt springs along its banks that are used as licks by deer.[1][5] The stream originates as an outflow of Lower Betty Lake in the forested Cascade Range just southeast of Waldo Lake. It proceeds generally south, through Gold Lake, to Route 58, which it then follows mainly northwest for about 26 miles (42 km) to its mouth at the Middle Fork Willamette River just below Hills Creek Dam.[6][7][8] At Salt Creek Falls—roughly 4 miles (6.4 km) west of Willamette Pass and a little more than 22 miles (35 km) upstream from the mouth[7][9]—the stream plunges 286 feet (87 m),[10] discharging an average of 50,000 U.S. gallons (190,000 L) of water per minute, or 111 cubic feet per second (3.1 m3/s).[11] Below the falls, the creek enters a narrow canyon shaped by glaciation and basaltic lava flows from higher in the Cascades.[9][12] McCredie Hot Springs, at the former community of McCredie Springs, are natural hot springs along the lower half of Salt Creek beside Route 58.[13][14]

Salt Creek
Salt Creek in the canyon below Salt Creek Falls
Map
EtymologySalt springs along the creek that attract deer[1]
Location
CountryUnited States
StateOregon
CountyLane
Physical characteristics
SourceLower Betty Lake
 • locationsoutheast of Waldo Lake
 • coordinates43°40′09″N 122°01′17″W / 43.66917°N 122.02139°W / 43.66917; -122.02139[3]
 • elevation5,481 ft (1,671 m)[4]
MouthMiddle Fork Willamette River
 • location
just below Hills Creek Dam
 • coordinates
43°43′31″N 122°26′16″W / 43.72528°N 122.43778°W / 43.72528; -122.43778[3]
 • elevation
1,225 ft (373 m)[4]
Length30 mi (48 km)[2]

The Salt Creek watershed is a temperate coniferous forest. The primary tree species are Douglas fir, western hemlock, and mountain hemlock.[15][16][17] Fish species in Salt Creek are primarily trout,[18] especially coastal cutthroat trout, rainbow trout, and non-native brook trout.[19] The brook trout were introduced into lakes in and around the Salt Creek watershed, and many now live in upper Salt Creek. Bull trout formerly inhabited Salt Creek until damage to habitat throughout the Willamette River basin, such as dams, reduced their numbers in the Willamette's watershed.[20]

References

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  1. ^ a b c McArthur, Lewis A.; McArthur, Lewis L. (2003) [1928]. Oregon Geographic Names (7th ed.). Portland, Oregon: Oregon Historical Society Press. p. 843. ISBN 978-0875952772.
  2. ^ a b "National Hydrography Dataset". U.S. Geological Survey. Retrieved February 17, 2014.
  3. ^ a b c "Salt Creek". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. November 28, 1980. Retrieved February 17, 2014.
  4. ^ a b Source and mouth elevations derived from Google Earth search using GNIS coordinates.
  5. ^ "Indians, Surveyors, Incidents Gave Names to Streams, Lakes and Mountains". Eugene Register-Guard. January 4, 1942. p. 5. Retrieved April 23, 2015.
  6. ^ United States Geological Survey Topographic Map: Jo Ann Lake, Oregon, Quadrangle (Map). Cartography by U.S. Geological Survey. TopoQuest. Retrieved February 17, 2014.
  7. ^ a b Oregon (Map) (1993 ed.). 1:500,000. Cartography by Allan Cartography. Medford, Oregon: Raven Maps & Images. 1987. OCLC 41588689.
  8. ^ United States Geological Survey Topographic Map: Lower Marilyn Lake, Oregon, Quadrangle (Map). Cartography by U.S. Geological Survey. TopoQuest. Retrieved February 17, 2014.
  9. ^ a b United States Geological Survey Topographic Map: Salt Creek Tunnel 2539, Oregon, Quadrangle (Map). Cartography by U.S. Geological Survey. TopoQuest. Retrieved February 17, 2014.
  10. ^ "Salt Creek Falls Trail/Diamond Creek Falls Loop". U.S. Forest Service. Retrieved February 17, 2014.
  11. ^ "Salt Creek Falls Observation Site". U.S. Forest Service. Retrieved February 17, 2014.
  12. ^ "Salt Creek Falls: Lane County, Oregon". Northwest Waterfall Survey. July 27, 2011. Retrieved February 17, 2014.
  13. ^ "McCredie Hot Springs". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. May 22, 1986. Retrieved February 17, 2014.
  14. ^ Richard, Terry (January 12, 2014). "Snow isn't essential to enjoy Willamette Pass in Oregon". The Oregonian. Retrieved August 18, 2022.
  15. ^ Richardson, David M., ed. (1998). Ecology and Biogeography of Pinus (2000 ed.). New York, New York: Cambridge University Press. pp. 128–30. ISBN 0-521-78910-9. OCLC 43717786.
  16. ^ Alexander, Robert R.; Shearer, Raymond C.; Shepperd, Wayne D. "Subalpine Fir". U.S. Forest Service. Retrieved August 18, 2022.
  17. ^ Packee, E. C. "Western Hemlock". U.S. Forest Service. Retrieved August 18, 2022.
  18. ^ "Recreation Report: Willamette Zone: Fishing". Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. February 12, 2014. Retrieved February 17, 2014.
  19. ^ "Middle Fork Willamette & Tributaries" (PDF). Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 22, 2014.
  20. ^ "Chapter 5: Willamette River Recovery Unit". U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. pp. v–vii, 7, 17. Retrieved August 18, 2022.
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