Illinois River (Oregon)

Illinois River
Rafting the Green Wall Rapids on the Illinois River
Illinois River (Oregon) is located in Oregon
Illinois River (Oregon)
Location of the mouth of the Illinois River in Oregon
EtymologyThe U.S. state of Illinois, the birthplace of three brothers named Althouse who emigrated to Oregon and mined for gold along Althouse Creek and the Illinois River[2]
Location
CountryUnited States
StateOregon
CountyJosephine and Curry
Physical characteristics
SourceConfluence of East Fork Illinois River and West Fork Illinois River
 • locationnear Cave Junction, Josephine County, Oregon
 • coordinates42°09′35″N 123°39′33″W / 42.15972°N 123.65917°W / 42.15972; -123.65917[1]
 • elevation1,271 ft (387 m)[3]
MouthRogue River
 • location
Agness, Curry County, Oregon
 • coordinates
42°33′00″N 124°03′58″W / 42.55000°N 124.06611°W / 42.55000; -124.06611[1]
 • elevation
102 ft (31 m)[1]
Length56 mi (90 km)[4][Note 1]
Basin size983 sq mi (2,550 km2)[5]
Discharge 
 • locationnear Kerby, 50.3 miles (81.0 km) from the mouth[6]
 • average1,262 cu ft/s (35.7 m3/s)[6]
 • minimum121 cu ft/s (3.4 m3/s)
 • maximum92,200 cu ft/s (2,610 m3/s)
TypeWild, Scenic, Recreational
DesignatedOctober 19, 1984

The Illinois River is a tributary, about 56 miles (90 km) long, of the Rogue River in the U.S. state of Oregon. It drains part of the Klamath Mountains in northern California and southwestern Oregon. The river's main stem begins at the confluence of its east and west forks near Cave Junction in southern Josephine County. Its drainage basin includes Sucker Creek, which rises in the Red Buttes Wilderness, near Whiskey Peak on the California state line. The main stem flows generally northwest in a winding course past Kerby and through the Siskiyou National Forest and Kalmiopsis Wilderness. It joins the Rogue River from the south at Agness on the Curry–Josephine county line, 27 miles (43 km) from the Pacific Ocean.

The river's lower 50.4 miles (81.1 km), from where it enters the Rogue River–Siskiyou National Forest downstream from Kerby to its confluence with the Rogue River, were designated Wild and Scenic in 1984. Of this, 28.7 miles (46.2 km) is protected as wild, 17.9 miles (28.8 km) as scenic, and 3.8 miles (6.1 km) as recreational.[4]

  1. ^ a b c "Illinois River". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. 28 November 1980. Retrieved 20 May 2009.
  2. ^ McArthur, Lewis A.; McArthur, Lewis L. (2003). Oregon Geographic Names (seventh ed.). Portland, Oregon: Oregon Historical Society Press. p. 495. ISBN 0-87595-277-1.
  3. ^ Source elevation derived from Google Earth search using Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) source coordinates.
  4. ^ a b "Illinois River, Oregon". National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. Retrieved 23 November 2013.
  5. ^ Hickman, O. Eugene. "Potential Natural (Historic?) Vegetation of the Central Illinois River Valley". Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. Retrieved 22 May 2009. The document is Appendix E of the Illinois Appendices in zipped PDF format.
  6. ^ a b "Water-Data Report 2007: 14377100 Illinois River near Kerby, OR" (PDF). United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 3 May 2013.


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