D River Explained

D River
Name Etymology:	Winning entry in a 1940 naming contest
Map Size:	300
Pushpin Map:	USA Oregon
Pushpin Map Size:	300
Pushpin Map Caption:	Location of the mouth of the D River in Oregon
Subdivision Type1:	Country
Subdivision Name1:	United States
Subdivision Type2:	State
Subdivision Name2:	Oregon
Subdivision Type4:	County
Subdivision Name4:	Lincoln
Source1:	Devils Lake
Source1 Location:	Lincoln City
Source1 Coordinates:	44.9672°N -124.0153°W^[1]
Source1 Elevation:	9feet^[2]
Mouth:	Pacific Ocean
Mouth Location:	Lincoln City
Mouth Coordinates:	44.968°N -124.0173°W
Mouth Elevation:	7feet

The D River is a river in Lincoln City, Oregon, United States. The once-nameless river was at one time the "shortest river in the world"^{[3] [4]} in the Guinness World Records at 440feet.

World record dispute

The world's shortest title was lost in 1989 when Guinness named the Roe River in Montana as the world's shortest. Attempting to reclaim the title, the people of Lincoln City submitted a new measurement to Guinness of about 120feet marked at "extreme high tide".^[5] At that time, Lincoln City's Chamber of Commerce described the Roe as a "drainage ditch surveyed for a school project". Montana supporters shot back that the D was merely an "ocean water backup," pointed out that there was an alternative fork to the Roe which was only long, and suggested that a new survey be conducted. Guinness apparently never ruled on the dispute, leaving the claim by the Roe to stand, but instead, starting in 2006, chose to no longer list the shortest river, possibly because of this ongoing dispute.^[6]

Geography

The D River flows from Devils Lake, under U.S. Route 101, and into the Pacific Ocean, entirely within the city limits of Lincoln City. The D River State Recreation Site off Highway 101 is home to two of the world's largest kite festivals in the summer and fall.^[3]

This area was originally settled as the town of Delake, which was later incorporated with other nearby towns to form Lincoln City in 1965. The river had been known by several names, including simply "the outlet", and earned its short name in a contest.^[7]

See also

• List of rivers of Oregon
• Roe River, in the United States, also claimed to be the shortest river in the world at 61 m (200 ft)
• Ombla, in Croatia, claimed to be the shortest river in the world at 30 m (98 ft)
• Reprua River, in Abkhazia, also claimed to be the shortest river in the world at 18 m (59 ft)

External links

• • Devils Lake Water Improvement District

Notes and References

1. Web site: Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) . United States Geological Survey . May 22, 1986 . [{{Gnis3|1132089}} D River ]. July 28, 2010.
2. Source elevation derived from Google Earth search using GNIS source coordinates.
3. Web site: D River State Recreation Site . Oregon Parks and Recreation Department . February 28, 2012.
4. News: Seeks Name for River . The News-Sentinel . July 4, 1940 . February 28, 2012.
   - News: Shortest River? Well, Maybe . . February 18, 1953 . February 2, 2012.
   - News: Oregon Has Squabble Over Shortest River . The Times-News . October 12, 1963 . February 28, 2012.
5. News: Carmel . Finley . D River Reclaims 'Lost' Title . . May 4, 1988 . Ginther said he determined that the D River flows from a fish control structure at the entrance of the lake west to where a huge driftwood log marks the point of extreme high tide, give or take five feet, and depending on sand elevation. That is 120 feet..
6. Web site: Jennings. Ken. What's the World's Shortest River?. Conde Nast Traveler. October 1, 2017. June 18, 2012.
7. Web site: The World's Shortest River Is Long on Controversy . Price . Niki . Oregon Coast Today . January 18, 2007 . March 5, 2009 . In 1940, the Delake Chamber of Commerce sponsored a nationwide contest to come up with a new, shorter name for the world's shortest river. The winning moniker, 'D,' a perfectly succinct name submitted by Mrs. Johanna Beard of Albany, Ore., was officially accepted by the U.S. Geographic Board of Names. . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090203153845/http://www.oregoncoasttoday.com/thedriver.html . February 3, 2009 .