| Fairview Creek | |
| Map: | Columbiasloughwatershed.png |
| Map Size: | 300 |
| Pushpin Map: | USA Oregon |
| Pushpin Map Size: | 300 |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location of the mouth of Fairview Creek in Oregon |
| Subdivision Type1: | Country |
| Subdivision Name1: | United States |
| Subdivision Type2: | State |
| Subdivision Name2: | Oregon |
| Subdivision Type4: | County |
| Subdivision Name4: | Multnomah |
| Length: | 5miles |
| Discharge1 Location: | Gresham, 3.5miles from the mouth[1] |
| Discharge1 Min: | 0.24cuft/s |
| Discharge1 Avg: | 5.78cuft/s[2] |
| Discharge1 Max: | 119cuft/s |
| Source1: | northeast side of Grant Butte |
| Source1 Location: | Gresham, Multnomah County, Oregon |
| Source1 Coordinates: | 45.5006°N -122.4603°W |
| Source1 Elevation: | 278feet[3] |
| Mouth: | Fairview Lake (Oregon) |
| Mouth Location: | Fairview, Multnomah County, Oregon |
| Mouth Coordinates: | 45.5503°N -122.4428°W[4] |
| Mouth Elevation: | 10feet |
Fairview Creek is a 5miles tributary of the Columbia Slough in the U.S. state of Oregon. The creek forms in a wetland near Grant Butte in Gresham and flows north for 5miles to Fairview Lake in Fairview. Grant Butte, rising to 602feet above sea level, is one of eight dormant volcanic formations near Gresham. Fairview Creek begins northeast of the butte at an elevation of 278feet and falls to an elevation of 10feet at the lake.[3] [4]
The creek is a former tributary of the Columbia River, which it reached by flowing north through wetlands in the Columbia's floodplain. In the early 20th century, an artificial channel diverted the water from these wetlands to the Columbia Slough, a tributary of the Willamette River. In 1960, water managers built a dam to create Fairview Lake for water storage and recreation. The lake covers about 100acres and is 5feet to 6feet deep. Fairview Creek has two named tributaries, No Name Creek, and Clear Creek. A smaller stream, Osburn Creek, also flows into Fairview Lake, which empties through a weir and culvert system on the west side of the lake into the upper slough.[5]
In 2002, the City of Gresham adopted a plan for a 5.2miles hiking and biking trail to run partly along the creek. The trail was designed to provide a north-south connection between the Springwater Corridor Trail along Johnson Creek to the south and the 40-Mile Loop trail along the Columbia River.[6] As of 2008, a 1.24miles segment of the trail between Northeast Halsey Street and Northeast Burnside Road was open to the public. Unfinished segments between Northeast Halsey and the Springwater Corridor are expected to be ready by autumn 2009. If so, at that point 3.49miles of the trail will be open to the public.[7]
Bureau of Environmental Services (BES) (2005). Columbia Slough: Current Characterization Documents, "Chapter 5, Streamflow and Hydrology Characterization" (pdf). Portland, Oregon: City of Portland. Retrieved on 2008-12-14.