| Gilbert River | |
| Name Etymology: | For a Hudson's Bay Company employee said to have drowned in the river[1] |
| Map Size: | 300 |
| Pushpin Map: | USA Oregon |
| Pushpin Map Size: | 300 |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location of the mouth of the Gilbert River in Oregon |
| Subdivision Type1: | Country |
| Subdivision Name1: | United States |
| Subdivision Type2: | State |
| Subdivision Name2: | Oregon |
| Subdivision Type4: | County |
| Subdivision Name4: | Multnomah, Columbia |
| Source1: | Sauvie Island |
| Source1 Location: | near south end east of Burlington, Multnomah County |
| Source1 Coordinates: | 45.6494°N -122.8036°W |
| Source1 Elevation: | 19feet[2] |
| Mouth: | Multnomah Channel |
| Mouth Location: | near north end east of Scappoose, Columbia County |
| Mouth Coordinates: | 45.7892°N -122.7997°W[3] |
| Mouth Elevation: | 10feet |
The Gilbert River is a tributary of the Multnomah Channel on Sauvie Island in the U.S. state of Oregon. About 14miles long, it flows from near the south end of the island into Sturgeon Lake and then north from the lake into the channel, a distributary of the Willamette River.[4]
The river loses only 9feet of elevation between source and mouth.[3] It enters the channel about 6miles from its confluence with the Columbia River. Its three named tributaries from source to mouth are Ash, Jack, and Mud sloughs, and it connects by water to a complex of lakes across the island including Steelman, Round, Gay, Racetrack, Malarky, and McNary, as well as Sturgeon.[4]
The river is navigable by canoes and shallow-draft boats between Sturgeon Lake and the mouth. A mooring float with no shore access lies about a quarter mile from the mouth.[5]
The stream was named for a Hudson's Bay Company employee, a French Canadian named Gilbert, said to have drowned in the river. Gilbert was a trapper during the fur-trading era.[1]
. Lewis A. McArthur . McArthur. Lewis L.. Lewis L. McArthur . . 1928 . 7th . 2003 . Oregon Historical Society Press . . 0-87595-277-1 . 401.