| Official Name: | Clarno, Oregon |
| Settlement Type: | Unincorporated community |
| Pushpin Map: | USA Oregon#USA |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location within the state of Oregon |
| Named For: | Andrew Clarno |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | United States |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Name1: | Oregon |
| Subdivision Type2: | County |
| Coordinates: | 44.9133°N -120.4733°W |
| Timezone: | PST |
| Utc Offset: | -8 |
| Timezone Dst: | PDT |
| Utc Offset Dst: | -7 |
| Elevation Ft: | 1306 |
| Postal Code Type: | ZIP codes |
| Postal Code: | 97001 |
| Area Code: | 541 |
| Blank Name: | GNIS feature ID |
| Blank Info: | 1136154 |
Clarno is an unincorporated community in Wasco County, Oregon, United States. It is located along Oregon Route 218 near the John Day River.
The community was named after Andrew Clarno, an early settler. The Clarno post office was established in 1894 in what was then Gilliam County, from which Wheeler County was later carved. After that, the post office was sometimes in Wheeler County, on the east side of the river, or in Wasco County, on the west side, depending on who was postmaster. The office closed in 1949.[1]
Charles Clarno, Andrew's son, built a miniature steamboat, The John Day Queen, used as a ferry and for pleasure trips. Propelled by steam from a wood-fired boiler, the 40feet craft plied the river from 10miles upstream of Clarno to about 4miles below. After a bridge was constructed at Clarno in 1897, the younger Clarno decided to float the boat down the John Day River to the Columbia River and then down the Columbia to Portland..[2] The attempt ended in failure at Clarno Rapids, slightly beyond where the boat normally traveled. There The John Day Queen broke free from guide ropes held by Charles Clarno and his friends and smashed on the rocks downstream. The spark arrestor from the boat was later rescued and donated to the city museum in Fossil.[3]
For whitewater enthusiasts, the long and complicated Clarno Rapids is rated at class 3 (difficult) on the International Scale of River Difficulty or class 4 (very difficult) in high water.[4]