Umpqua River
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Umpqua River with tributaries |
The
Umpqua River (UHMP-kwah) is a river on the
Pacific coast of
Oregon in the
United States, approximately 111 mi (179 km) long. One of the prinicipal rivers of the Oregon coast, it drains an expansive network of valleys in the mountains west of the
Cascade Range and south of the
Willamette Valley, from which it is separated by the
Calapooya Mountains. The "Hundred Valleys of the Umpqua" form the
timber-producing heart of southern Oregon centered on
Roseburg. The river flows entirely within
Douglas County, which encompasses most of the watershed of the river from the Cascades to the coast.
It is formed by the confluence of the
North Umpqua and
South Umpqua rivers, both of which rise in the Cascades, approximately 6 mi (10 km) northwest of Roseburg. In modern terminology, the "Umpqua Valley" is sometimes taken to refer to the populated lower reaches of the South Umpqua south of Roseburg, along the route of
Interstate 5. The North Umpqua rises from snowmelt and is considered one of the premier summer
steelhead streams in the West. The combined river flows generally northwest through the
Coast Ranges in a serpentine course past
Umpqua and
Elkton. At Elkton it turns to flow west past
Scottsburg. It enters
Winchester Bay on the Pacific at
Reedsport. It receives the
Smith River from the north near its
estuary on Winchester Bay. The
Umpqua River Lighthouse protects the mouth of the river.
In the early
19th century the river valley was largely inhabited by the
Coquille tribe of
Native Americans. The tribe ceded most of its land to the U.S. government in the
1854 Kalapuya Treaty, agreeing to move to a reservation in
Lincoln County as part of the
Confederated Tribes of Siletz. The river itself is named for the Umpqua, a band of the Coquille.
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Rogue RiverThe Umpqua River valley was inhabited by several different bands of Indians; primarily the Athabaskan speaking Upper Umpqua, Takelman speaking Cow Creek Band of Umpqua, the Yoncalla (a Kalapuyan people) in the north, and the Quich (Lower Umpqua) from Scottsburg/Wells Creek to the coast. The Quich spoke a language distantly related to Alsea/Yakonan and the Coos Bay languages.
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Oregon Coastal Atlas: Umpqua River Estuary
