| Gales Creek | |
| Name Etymology: | Joseph Gale, a pioneer member of the Provisional Government of Oregon who settled for a while near the creek[1] |
| Map Size: | 300 |
| Pushpin Map: | USA Oregon |
| Pushpin Map Size: | 300 |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location of the mouth of Gales Creek in Oregon |
| Subdivision Type1: | Country |
| Subdivision Name1: | United States |
| Subdivision Type2: | State |
| Subdivision Name2: | Oregon |
| Subdivision Type4: | County |
| Subdivision Name4: | Washington County |
| Length: | 23.5miles |
| Discharge1 Location: | Route 47 bridge at Forest Grove; 2.36miles from the mouth[2] |
| Discharge1 Min: | 6.4cuft/s |
| Discharge1 Avg: | 202cuft/s[3] |
| Discharge1 Max: | 1880cuft/s |
| Source1: | near Round Top |
| Source1 Location: | Northern Oregon Coast Range |
| Source1 Coordinates: | 45.6825°N -123.3636°W[4] |
| Source1 Elevation: | 2387feet[5] |
| Mouth: | Tualatin River |
| Mouth Location: | 1.6miles south of Forest Grove |
| Mouth Coordinates: | 45.4914°N -123.1022°W |
| Mouth Elevation: | 154feet |
| Basin Size: | 77.9sqmi[6] |
Gales Creek, is a tributary, 23.5miles long, of the Tualatin River in Washington County, Oregon, United States. The headwaters of Gales Creek are on the north side of the mountain Round Top in the Northern Oregon Coast Range. The community of Gales Creek, Oregon, is near the creek, which further downstream forms the southwest border of the city of Forest Grove.
Gales Creek arises at an elevation of 2387feet above sea level and falls 2233feet between source and mouth to an elevation of 154feet.[5] [4] The stream begins at river mile (RM) 23.5 or river kilometer (RK) 37.8 on the north side of Round Top, a mountain in the Northern Oregon Coast Range. Lying entirely within Washington County, the creek at first flows west, then south, then east just before reaching Gales Creek Forest Park, on the left, and receiving Low Divide Creek from the right at RM 22.76 (RK 36.63). Downstream of the park, Oregon Route 6 is on the right as the stream receives North Fork Gales Creek from the left and shortly thereafter South Fork Gales Creek from the right 20.7miles from the mouth.
Finger Creek and Coffee Creek enter in quick succession before Gales Creek passes under Route 6 and flows by Gales Creek Children's Camp, passes under Route 6 again and then County Road 374 before reaching the community of Glenwood and receiving Beaver Creek from the left 18miles from the mouth. Turning south, the creek receives Bateman Creek from the right about 2miles below Glenwood. Gales Creek turns to the southeast, and Lyda Creek enters from the right before Gales Creek passes under Route 6 for the third time and receives White Creek from the right. At this point, Gales Creek is flowing parallel to Oregon Route 8, which is on the stream's right.
Passing under Parson Road Bridge, the creek receives Little Beaver Creek from the left before passing under Clapshaw Hill Road Bridge and receiving Fir Creek from the right and passing under Route 8 at the community of Gales Creek. Here Iller Creek enters from the right at RM 11.44 (RK 18.41). Flowing south, Gales Creek receives Clear Creek from the right, Kelley Creek from the left, and Godfrey Creek from the right in quick succession. It then passes under Roderick Road Bridge and receives Roderick Creek from the right 7.7miles from the mouth.
Trending southeast again, the creek passes under Stringtown Road Bridge before receiving Prickett Creek from the right and passing under Ritchey Road Bridge at RM 3.66 (RK 5.89). It then flows along the southwest side of Forest Grove, passing an Oregon Water Resources Department (OWRD) stream gauge 2.36miles from the mouth at the Oregon Route 47 Bridge. Shortly thereafter, the creek flows under a Southern Pacific Railroad bridge, continues about another 1.5miles, and empties into the Tualatin River about 57miles from its confluence with the Willamette River.[7] [8]
The OWRD monitors the flow of Gales Creek at a stream gauge at the Route 47 bridge in Forest Grove. The gauge is 2.36miles upstream of the mouth of the creek.[9] The average flow of the creek at this station in 2008, the only full calendar year for which data was available in 2010, was 202cuft/s.[2] The maximum flow recorded there was 1880cuft/s on January 11, 2008,[10] and the minimum flow was 6.4cuft/s on September 17, 2008.[10]