Burnt River (Oregon) Explained

Burnt River
Name Etymology:Either burned timber along its banks or burned-looking rocks along its course[1]
Pushpin Map:USA#Oregon
Pushpin Map Size:250
Pushpin Map Caption:Location in the United States##Location of the mouth in Oregon
Subdivision Type1:Country
Subdivision Name1:United States
Subdivision Type2:State
Subdivision Name2:Oregon
Subdivision Type4:County
Subdivision Name4:Baker
Length:98miles
Discharge1 Avg:131cuft/s[2]
Source1:Blue Mountains
Source1 Location:near Unity, Oregon
Source1 Coordinates:44.5042°N -118.1808°W[3]
Source1 Elevation:3824feet[4]
Mouth:Snake River
Mouth Location:near Huntington, Oregon
Mouth Coordinates:44.365°N -117.2261°W
Mouth Elevation:2073feet
Basin Size:1090sqmi[5]

The Burnt River is a 98adj=midNaNadj=mid[6] tributary of the Snake River in eastern Oregon, United States. It enters the Snake near Huntington at a point upstream of the Powder River and downstream of the Malheur River, slightly more than 327miles from the Snake's confluence with the Columbia River.[7] Draining 1090mi2, it flows predominantly west to east.[8]

The river begins at Unity Reservoir at the confluence of the North, West, Middle, and South forks of the river. The reservoir is slightly east of the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest in the Blue Mountains and slightly north of Unity. Unity Lake State Recreation Site adjoins the reservoir. As it leaves the lake, the river flows under Oregon Route 245, then runs east through the upper Burnt River Valley past Hereford and Bridgeport and, through the Burnt River Canyon, to Durkee. Turning generally southeast at Durkee, the river runs along Interstate 84 past Weatherby, Dixie, and Lime before flowing under the Interstate and turning east again. Shortly thereafter, it passes Huntington and reaches the Snake.[8]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Book: McArthur, Lewis A. . Lewis A. McArthur . Lewis L. McArthur . Oregon Geographic Names . 1928 . 7th . 2003 . Oregon Historical Society Press . Portland. 0-87595-277-1 . 129.
  2. Book: Palmer, Tim. Field Guide to Oregon Rivers. Oregon State University Press. Corvallis. 2014. 275. 978-0-87071-627-0.
  3. Web site: Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). United States Geological Survey (USGS) . November 28, 1980 . [{{gnis3|1139008}} Burnt River]. February 28, 2011.
  4. Source elevation derived from Google Earth search using GNIS source coordinates.
  5. Web site: Bull Trout Recovery Plan: Columbia River/Klamath (2002), Chapter 13: Hells Canyon. United States Fish and Wildlife Service. PDF. 2. February 28, 2011.
  6. U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map, accessed May 3, 2011
  7. Web site: United States Geological Survey (USGS) . United States Geological Survey Topographic Map:Olds Ferry, Idaho, quadrangle. TopoQuest . February 28, 2011.
  8. DeLorme Mapping . Oregon Atlas & Gazetteer . 1991 . 82 - 83. 0-89933-235-8.