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24-642: The Little Zigzag River is a tributary, about 5 miles (8.0 km) long, of the Zigzag River in the U.S. state of Oregon . The Zigzag and Little Zigzag drain the Zigzag Glacier on Mount Hood , a high volcanic peak in the Cascade Range . Their combined waters flow westward to meet the Sandy River near the community of Zigzag . Little Zigzag Falls, a popular hiking destination, is on

48-473: A bluish back, yellowish lower flanks and fins, and display sparse spots. Cutthroats usually display distinctive red, pink, or orange linear marks along the undersides of their mandibles in the lower folds of the gill plates. These markings are responsible for the common name "cutthroat" given to the trout by outdoor writer Charles Hallock in an 1884 article in The American Angler ., although

72-601: A framework of four full species (with multiple subspecies), including the Coastal cutthroat trout. Freshwater forms of the coastal cutthroat trout are generally dark green to greenish-blue on back, olive-green on upper flank, silvery on lower flank and belly. They display more numerous flank spots below lateral line, irregular spots on dorsal, adipose and caudal fins and the anal, pectoral and pelvic fin bases. The gill covers are pinkish. Sea-run forms while in salt water and shortly after returning to fresh water are silvery with

96-607: A popular hiking destination, lies 0.3 miles (0.48 km) east of a parking lot at the end of Forest Road 39. Zigzag River The dramatic topography of the Mississippi Head escarpment dominates the upper Zigzag River, where the 41-mile (66 km) Timberline Trail crosses the Zigzag River and the Paradise Park Loop Trail crosses a tributary. Avalanches have necessitated rebuilding of

120-621: Is 108 feet per mile (20.5 m/km). Although the Zigzag River is closed to salmon and steelhead fishing, it offers catch-and-release fishing for coastal cutthroat trout . Coastal cutthroat trout The coastal cutthroat trout ( Oncorhynchus clarkii clarkii ), also known as the sea-run cutthroat trout , blue-back trout or harvest trout , is one of the four species of cutthroat trout found in Western North America. The coastal cutthroat trout occurs in four distinct forms. A semi- anadromous or sea-run form

144-624: Is a secure subspecies of the cutthroat trout. Although there has been a general population decline of the sea-run form throughout its native range since the 19th century, none of the populations in the United States or British Columbia are considered threatened or endangered. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service , in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency , National Marine Fisheries Service and state wildlife agencies has designated ten distinct population segments (DPS) from Alaska to California. A comprehensive status review of

168-473: Is on the right. Shortly thereafter, the river leaves the wilderness, turns west, and passes near U.S. Route 26 , which is on the river's left. Over its last stretch, the river flows by Mt. Hood Kiwanis Camp, which is on the left, passes under Kiwanis Camp Road (Forest Road 39), and enters the Zigzag River. Falling 3,918 feet (1,194 m) between source and mouth, the stream has an average gradient of about 800 feet per mile (150 m/km). Little Zigzag Falls,

192-732: Is the most well known. Freshwater forms occur in both large and small rivers and streams and lake environments. The native range of the coastal cutthroat trout extends south from the southern coastline of the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska to the Eel River in Northern California . Coastal cutthroat trout are resident in tributary streams and rivers of the Pacific basin and are rarely found more than 100 miles (160 km) from

216-497: The Atlantic basin . Thus, in 1989, taxonomic authorities moved the rainbow , cutthroat and other Pacific basin trout into the genus Oncorhynchus . Since diversion with the ancestor of the various cutthroat species 2.66 million years ago, the modern Coastal cutthroat trout has remained relatively unchanged. Formerly, Coastal cutthroat trout were lumped together as one species with multiple subspecies, but newer evidence supports

240-900: The alluvial or freestone streams that are typical tributaries of the Pacific Basin. They typically spawn from December through June, with peak spawning in February. Eggs begin to hatch within six to seven weeks of spawning. Spawning begins when water temperatures reach 43 to 46 °F (6 to 8 °C). Depending on temperature, alevins emerge as fry between March and June, with peak emergence in mid-April. Lake-resident coastal cutthroat trout are usually found in moderately deep, cool lakes with adequate shallows and vegetation for good food production. Lake populations generally require access to gravel-bottomed streams to be self-sustaining, but occasionally spawn on shallow gravel beds with good water circulation. Cutthroat trout naturally interbreed with

264-816: The Little Zigzag's left is the Palmer Glacier . From its source, the river flows southwest and crosses the Timberline Trail and the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) slightly west of Timberline Lodge . Downstream of the PCT, the river runs roughly parallel to the Hidden Lake Trail, which follows a ridge to the right of the canyon. Sand Canyon and its stream, to the left, enter the Little Zigzag as it passes near Hidden Lake, which

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288-657: The Timberline Trail switchbacks on the southeast side of the river; the Pacific Crest Trail also follows this route. Seventy-five-foot (23 m) Little Zigzag Falls on the Little Zigzag River is one of the three most popular off-road locations in the Zigzag basin, along with Mirror Lake on the Camp Creek tributary and the area just west of Timberline Lodge under three ski lifts which drains into

312-436: The closely related rainbow trout, producing fertile hybrids commonly called " cutbows " although this is a much rarer occurrence with the coastal cutthroat trout because of reproductive isolation as the coastal cutthroat trout is the only cutthroat subspecies to coevolve through its entire range with the coastal rainbow trout ( O. mykiss irideus ). As this hybrid generally bears similar coloration and overall appearance to

336-509: The cutthroat, retaining the characteristic orange-red slash, these hybrids often pose a taxonomic difficulty. The native range of the coastal cutthroat trout extends south from the southern coastline of the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska to the Eel River in Northern California . Coastal cutthroat trout are resident in tributary streams and rivers of the Pacific basin and are rarely found more than 100 miles (160 km) from

360-486: The expedition of 1804–1806 . One of Lewis and Clark's missions was to describe the flora and fauna encountered during the expedition. The type specimen of S. clarki was described by naturalist John Richardson from a tributary of the lower Columbia River , identified as the "Katpootl", which was perhaps the Lewis River as there was a Multnomah village of similar name at the confluence . This type specimen

384-488: The largest tributary, Still Creek. Other than 11,239-foot (3426 m) Mount Hood, the highest point in the Zigzag watershed is 5,045 feet (1,538 m) Devils Peak which has a fire tower now used by overnight hikers. This area is under consideration in the 2007 Oregon Wilderness Area bill before congress for addition to the Salmon-Huckleberry Wilderness . The northern part of the watershed and

408-402: The marine environment are usually within 6 miles (9.7 km) of land. Semi-anadromous coastal cutthroat typically spend two to five years rearing in fresh water before making their initial migration into saltwater. Generally, semi-anadromous coastal cutthroat trout spend short periods offshore during summer months and return to estuaries and fresh water by fall or winter. The coastal cutthroat

432-532: The ocean. Adults migrate from the ocean to spawn in fresh water. Juveniles migrate to the sea where they feed and become sexually mature before returning to fresh water to overwinter and spawn. Unlike steelhead and Pacific salmon , coastal cutthroat do not make lengthy migrations out to sea. Generally speaking, coastal cutthroat will remain in or near estuarine waters, usually within 5–10 miles (8.0–16.1 km) of their natal stream. Some cutthroat, however, have been shown to move as far as 70 miles (110 km) into

456-838: The ocean. Semi-anadromous, stream resident, fluvial and lake resident forms exist. The great majority of coastal cutthroat trout habitat coincides with the belt of Pacific coast coniferous rainforest that extends from Alaska southward into Northern California. Coastal cutthroat trout use a large variety of habitat types, including lower and upper reaches of both large and small river systems, urban environments, estuaries, sloughs, ponds, lakes, and near shore ocean waters. They spend more time in fresh water environments than other anadromous Pacific salmonids. In fresh water they prefer deeper pool habitat and cover, such as that formed by woody debris. The semi-anadromous forms of coastal cutthroat trout do not overwinter in saltwater and rarely make extended migrations across large bodies of water. Migrations in

480-538: The open ocean. There are also lacustrine and riverine populations that spend their entire lives in freshwater. One such population is the trout of Lake Crescent in Washington state that was formerly considered to be a separate subspecies called the Lake Crescent cutthroat trout , Oncorhynchus clarkii crescenti . Cutthroat trout were given the name Salmo clarkii in honor of William Clark , who co-led

504-472: The red slashes are not unique to the cutthroat trout and some coastal rainbow trout and redband trout also display throat slashes. The sea-run forms of coastal cutthroat average 2 to 5 lb (0.9 to 2.3 kg), while stream-resident forms attain much smaller sizes 0.4 to 3.2 oz (11 to 91 g). Coastal cutthroat trout usually inhabit and spawn in small to moderately large, clear, well- oxygenated , shallow rivers with gravel bottoms. They are native to

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528-661: The river near U.S. Route 26 east of Zigzag. The river begins at the head of Little Zigzag Canyon at the southern end of the Zigzag Glacier on Mount Hood. The upper stretches of the river lie within the Mount Hood Wilderness , which is part of the Mount Hood National Forest . To the river's right are the Mississippi Head escarpment , the head of Zigzag Canyon , and the source of the Zigzag River, which also drains Zigzag Glacier. To

552-580: The uppermost Zigzag River are in the Mount Hood Wilderness . Falling 5,738 feet (1,749 m) between source and mouth, the stream's average loss of elevation is about 475 feet per mile (90.0 m/km). According to American Whitewater , the last 3.2 miles (5.1 km) of the Zigzag River, from Tollgate to the Sandy River, has been rated Class III (difficult) to IV (very difficult) on the International Scale of River Difficulty for whitewater boating. The average gradient in this stretch

576-630: Was most likely the coastal cutthroat subspecies. In 1989, morphological and genetic studies by Gerald R. Smith, the Curator of Fishes at the Museum of Zoology, and Ralph F. Stearley, a doctoral candidate at Museum of Paleontology ( University of Michigan ) indicated trout of the Pacific basin were genetically closer to Pacific salmon ( Oncorhynchus species) than to the Salmo s– brown trout ( S. trutta ) or Atlantic salmon ( S. salar ) of

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