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119-490: The Willamette River Greenway is a cooperative state and local government effort to maintain and enhance the scenic, recreational, historic, natural and agricultural qualities of the Willamette River and its adjacent lands . A number of trails exist along the greenway, but significant gaps still exist. During his 1966 run for Governor, Oregon State Treasurer Robert Straub proposed public ownership of lands along

238-562: A flood in 1861 . This and many other large flows preceded the Flood Control Act of 1936 and dam construction on the Willamette's major tributaries. The river below Willamette Falls, 26.5 miles (42.6 km) from the mouth, is affected by semidiurnal tides , and gauges have detected reverse flows (backwards river flows) below Ross Island at RM 15 (RK 24). The National Weather Service issues tide forecasts for

357-451: A female householder with no husband present, and 46.1% were non-families. 31.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 2.87. In the city, the population was 20.3% under the age of 18, 17.3% from 18 to 24, 28.5% from 25 to 44, 21.8% from 45 to 64, and 12.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age

476-567: A large semiconductor plant in west Eugene. In late September 2009, Uni-Chem of South Korea announced its intention to purchase the Hynix site for solar cell manufacturing. However, this deal fell through and as of late 2012, is no longer planned. In 2015, semiconductor manufacturer Broadcom purchased the plant with plans to upgrade and reopen it. The company abandoned these plans and put it up for sale in November 2016. Luckey's Club Cigar Store

595-637: A local focus; the city is surrounded by wineries. The most notable fungi here is the truffle; Eugene hosts the annual Oregon Truffle Festival in January. In 2012, the Eugene metro region was dubbed the Silicon Shire for its growing tech industry. According to Eugene's 2017 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the city's top employers are: Eugene has a growing problem with homelessness. The problem has been referenced in popular culture, including in

714-470: A plan to improve fish passage and take other actions to help native fish recover in 2008. Since then, work has proceeded slowly, and the Corps of Engineers, citing engineering difficulties and cost, may not meet the original agreed-upon deadline of 2023 for a system of effective remedies. Other major dams in the Willamette watershed are owned by other interests; for example, several hydroelectric facilities on

833-404: A power plant. The locks at Willamette Falls were completed in 1873. Elsewhere on the main stem, numerous minor flow-regulation structures force the river into a narrower and deeper channel to facilitate navigation and flood control . The dams on the Willamette's major tributaries are primarily large flood-control, water-storage, and power-generating dams. Thirteen of these dams were built from

952-708: A proposed freeway and lobbied for the construction of the Washington Jefferson Park beneath the Washington-Jefferson Street Bridge. Community Councils soon began to form as a result of these efforts. A notable impact of the turn to community-organized politics came with Eugene Local Measure 51 , a ballot measure in 1978 that repealed a gay rights ordinance approved by the Eugene City Council in 1977 that prohibited discrimination by sexual orientation. Eugene

1071-523: A system of parks, trails, and wildlife refuges along the river. In 1998, the Willamette became one of 14 rivers designated an American Heritage River by U.S. President Bill Clinton . By 2007 the Greenway had grown to include more than 170 separate land parcels, including 10 state parks. Public uses of the river and land along its shores include camping, swimming, fishing, boating, hiking, bicycling, and wildlife viewing. In 2008, government agencies and

1190-467: A temporary lake, Lake Allison , that stretched from Lake Oswego to near Eugene. The ancestral Tualatin Valley, part of the Willamette basin, flooded as well; water depths ranged from 200 feet (61 m) at Lake Oswego to 100 feet (30 m) as far upstream (west) as Forest Grove . Flood deposits of silt and clay, ranging in thickness from 115 feet (35 m) in the north to about 15 feet (4.6 m) in

1309-534: Is Amazon Creek , whose headwaters are near Spencer Butte. The creek discharges into the Long Tom River north Fern Ridge Reservoir , maintained for winter flood control by the Army Corps of Engineers . The Eugene Yacht Club hosts a sailing school and sailing regattas at Fern Ridge during summer months. Eugene has 21 neighborhood associations: The River Road and Santa Clara sections, which make up

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1428-405: Is 40.83 inches (1,040 mm), with the wettest "rain year" being from July 1973 to June 1974 with 75.59 inches (1,920.0 mm) and the driest from July 2000 to June 2001 with 20.40 inches (518.2 mm). Measurements taken by NOAA over the past four decades have indicated a significant decline in average annual precipitation. From 1981 to 2010 inclusive, the reported annual average precipitation

1547-433: Is December, with a mean temperature of 40.6 °F (4.8 °C), and there are 52 mornings per year with a low at or below freezing, and 2 afternoons with highs not exceeding the freezing mark. The coldest daytime high of the year averages 32 °F (0 °C), reaching the freezing point. Eugene's average annual temperature is 53.1 °F (11.7 °C), and annual precipitation at 40.83 inches (1,040 mm). Eugene

1666-400: Is Portland, with more than 500,000 residents. Not all of these cities draw water in part or exclusively from the Willamette for their municipal water supply. Other cities in the watershed (but not on the main-stem river) with populations of 20,000 or more are Gresham, Hillsboro, Beaverton, Tigard, McMinnville, Tualatin, Woodburn , and Forest Grove. Sixty-four percent of the watershed

1785-709: Is a prominent landmark south of the city. Mount Pisgah is southeast of Eugene and includes the Mount Pisgah Arboretum and the Howard Buford Recreation Area , a Lane County Park. Eugene is surrounded by foothills and forests to the south, east, and west, while to the north the land levels out into the Willamette Valley and consists of mostly farmland. The Willamette and McKenzie Rivers run through Eugene and its neighboring city, Springfield . Another important stream

1904-474: Is also home to Beyond Toxics , a nonprofit environmental justice organization founded in 2000. One hotspot for protest activity since the 1990s has been the Whiteaker district, located in the northwest of downtown Eugene. The Whiteaker is primarily a working-class neighborhood that has become a cultural hub, center of community and activism and home to alternative artists. It saw an increase of activity in

2023-473: Is despite the dams, other alterations, and pollution (especially on the river's lower reaches). Part of the Willamette Floodplain was established as a National Natural Landmark in 1987, and the river was named as one of 14 American Heritage Rivers in 1998. The upper tributaries of the Willamette originate in the mountains south and southeast of Eugene, Oregon . Formed by the confluence of

2142-512: Is from Albany to Oregon City. At Willamette Falls , between West Linn and Oregon City, the river plunges about 40 feet (12 m). For the rest of its course, the river is extremely low-gradient and is affected by Pacific Ocean tidal effects from the Columbia. The main stem of the Willamette varies in width from about 330 to 660 feet (100 to 200 m). With an average flow at the mouth of about 37,400 cubic feet per second (1,060 m /s),

2261-560: Is named, arrived in the Willamette Valley in 1846 with 1,200 other settlers that year. Advised by the Kalapuyans to build on high ground to avoid flooding, he erected the first pioneer cabin on south or west slope of what the Kalapuyans called Ya-po-ah. The "isolated hill" is now known as Skinner's Butte . The cabin was used as a trading post and was registered as an official post office on January 8, 1850. At this time

2380-635: Is of indigenous origin, deriving from the French pronunciation of the name of a Clackamas Native American village. However, Native American languages in Oregon were very similar, so the name may also be derived from Kalapuya dialects. Around the year 1850, the Kalapuya numbered between 2,000 and 3,000 and were distributed among several groups. These figures are only speculative; there may have been as few as eight subgroups or as many as 16. In that time period,

2499-493: Is one of the oldest bars in Oregon. Tad Luckey Sr. purchased it in 1911, making it one of the oldest businesses in Eugene. The "Club Cigar", as it was called in the late 19th century, was for many years a men-only salon. It survived both the Great Depression and Prohibition , partly because Eugene was a " dry town " before the end of Prohibition. The city has over 25 breweries, offers a variety of dining options with

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2618-509: Is privately owned, while 36 percent is publicly owned. The U.S. Forest Service manages 30 percent of the watershed, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management 5 percent, and the State of Oregon 1 percent. Sixty-eight percent of the watershed is forested; agriculture, concentrated in the Willamette Valley, makes up 19 percent, and urban areas cover 5 percent. More than 81,000 miles (130,000 km) of roads criss-cross

2737-667: Is slightly cooler on average than Portland . Despite being located about 100 miles (160 km) south and at an only slightly higher elevation, Eugene has a more continental climate than Portland, less subject to the maritime air that blows inland from the Pacific Ocean via the Columbia River. Eugene's normal annual mean minimum is 41.9 °F (5.5 °C), compared to 46.2 °F (7.9 °C) in Portland; in August,

2856-535: Is sporadic and rarely accumulates in large amounts: the normal seasonal amount is 4.9 inches (12 cm), but the median is zero. The record snowfall was 41.7 inches (106 cm) of accumulation due to a pineapple express on January 25–29, 1969. Ice storms, like snowfall, are rare, but occur sporadically. The hottest months are July and August, with a normal monthly mean temperature of 67.8 to 67.9 °F (19.9 to 19.9 °C), with an average of 16 days per year reaching 90 °F (32 °C). The coolest month

2975-848: The Buena Vista Ferry between Marion County and Polk County south of Independence and Salem, the Wheatland Ferry between Marion County and Polk County north of Salem and Keizer, and Canby Ferry in Clackamas County north of Canby. Since 1900, more than 15 large dams and many smaller ones have been built in the Willamette's drainage basin, 13 of which are operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). The dams are used primarily to produce hydroelectricity , to maintain reservoirs for recreation, and to prevent flooding. The river and its tributaries support 60 fish species, including many species of salmon and trout ; this

3094-886: The Clackamas River are owned by Portland General Electric . These include the River Mill Hydroelectric Project , the Oak Grove project, and the dam at Timothy Lake . The 50 or so crossings of the Willamette River include many historic structures, such as the Van Buren Street Bridge , a swing bridge . Built in 1913, it carries Oregon Route 34 (Corvallis–Lebanon Highway) over the river upstream of RM 131 (RK 211) in Corvallis. The machinery to operate

3213-570: The Coast Fork Willamette River , and Dorena on the Row River . Due to these tall dams, Chinook salmon and steelhead are blocked from roughly half of their historic habitat and spawning grounds on the Willamette's major tributaries. Unable to live and reproduce as they once did, they have been "brought to the brink of extinction". Endangered species listings and a subsequent lawsuit by Willamette Riverkeeper led to

3332-612: The Farallon Plate beneath the North American Plate , creating the forearc basin that would later become the Willamette Valley. The valley was initially part of the continental shelf , rather than a separate inland sea. Many layers of marine deposits formed in the forearc basin and cover the older Siletz River Volcanics. About 20 to 16 million years ago, uplift formed the Coast Range and separated

3451-572: The Middle Fork Willamette River and the Coast Fork Willamette River near Springfield , the main stem Willamette meanders generally north for 187 miles (301 km) to the Columbia River . The river's two most significant course deviations occur at Newberg , where it turns sharply east, and about 18 miles (29 km) downstream from Newberg, where it turns north again. Near its mouth north of downtown Portland ,

3570-522: The Missoula Floods —a series of large outpourings originating at Glacial Lake Missoula in Montana—swept down the Columbia River and backfilled the Willamette watershed. Each flood produced "discharges that exceeded the annual discharge of all the present-day rivers of the world combined". Filling the Willamette basin to depths of 400 feet (120 m) in the Portland region, each flood created

3689-460: The Oregon Coast . The second-most populous city in Oregon, Eugene had a population of 176,654 as of the 2020 United States census and it covers city area of 44.21 sq mi (114.5 km ). The Eugene-Springfield metropolitan statistical area is the second largest in Oregon after Portland . In 2022, Eugene's population was estimated to have reached 179,887. Eugene is home to

Willamette Greenway - Misplaced Pages Continue

3808-678: The Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development included the Willamette River Greenway as one of nineteen standards for statewide planning, requiring that public access, native vegetation, and scenic views be considered when planning new developments. This article related to a protected area in Oregon is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Willamette River Originally created by plate tectonics about 35 million years ago and subsequently altered by volcanism and erosion,

3927-678: The Oregon State Capitol in Salem. Evidence suggests that massive quakes of 8 or more on the Richter scale have occurred historically in the Cascadia subduction zone off the Oregon coast, most recently in 1700 CE , and that others as strong as 9 on the Richter scale occur every 500 to 800 years. The basin's high population density, its nearness to this subduction zone, and its loose soils, which tend to amplify shaking, make

4046-687: The Sandy River did the explorers learn about their oversight. William Clark returned down the Columbia and entered the Willamette River in April 1806. Fur trappers originally working for the Pacific Fur Company (PFC)) and subsequently for the North West Company (NWC) were next to visit the Willamette River and various tributaries. The Siskiyou Trail (or California-Oregon Trail) originally developed by Indigenous people,

4165-857: The Siletz , the Nestucca , the Trask , and the Wilson to the west; the Nehalem and the Clatskanie to the northwest, and the Columbia River to the north. About 2.5 million people lived in the Willamette River basin as of 2010, about 65 percent of the population of Oregon. As of 2009, the basin contained 20 of the 25 most populous cities in Oregon. These cities include Springfield, Eugene, Corvallis, Albany, Salem, Keizer, Newberg, Oregon City, West Linn, Milwaukie, Lake Oswego, and Portland. The largest

4284-527: The University of Oregon , Bushnell University , and Lane Community College . The city is noted for its natural environment, recreational opportunities (especially bicycling , running / jogging , rafting , and kayaking ), and focus on the arts, along with its history of civil unrest, riots, and green activism. Eugene's official slogan is "A Great City for the Arts and Outdoors". It is also referred to as

4403-669: The eastern United States , mainly the Upland South borderlands of Missouri, Iowa, and the Ohio Valley. Many of these emigrants followed the Oregon Trail , a 2,170-mile (3,490 km) trail across western North America that began at Independence, Missouri , and ended at various locations near the mouth of the Willamette River. Although people had been traveling to Oregon since 1836, large-scale migration did not begin until 1843, when nearly 1,000 pioneers headed westward. Over

4522-589: The wapato and camas plants, and berries. They stored these foods in their permanent winter village. When crop activities waned, they returned to their winter villages and took up hunting, fishing, and trading. They were known as the Chifin Kalapuyans and called the Eugene area where they lived "Chifin", sometimes recorded as "Chafin" or "Chiffin". Other Kalapuyan tribes occupied villages that are also now within Eugene city limits. Pee-you or Mohawk Calapooians, Winefelly or Pleasant Hill Calapooians, and

4641-466: The "Emerald City" and as " Track Town, USA ". The Nike corporation had its beginnings in Eugene. In July 2022, the city hosted the 18th World Athletics Championship . The first people to settle in the Eugene area were the Kalapuyans , also written Calapooia or Calapooya. They made "seasonal rounds," moving around the countryside to collect and preserve local foods, including acorns, the bulbs of

4760-640: The "French Prairie" community in Northern Marion County but may have extended south to the Eugene area. Having already developed relationships with Native communities through intermarriage and trade, they negotiated for land from the Kalapuyans. By 1828 to 1830 they and their Native wives began year-round occupation of the land, raising crops and tending animals. In this process, the mixed race families began to impact Native access to land, food supply, and traditional materials for trade and religious practices. In July 1830, "intermittent fever" struck

4879-606: The 1940s through the 1960s and are operated by the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). Of those 13, 9 produce hydropower. Flood-control dams operated by the USACE are estimated to hold up to 27 percent of the Willamette's runoff. They are used to regulate river flows so as to cut peaks off floods and increase low flows in late summer and autumn, and to divert water into deeper, narrower channels to prevent flooding. A relatively small of amount of

Willamette Greenway - Misplaced Pages Continue

4998-453: The 1960s, Oregon Governor Tom McCall led a push for stronger pollution controls on the Willamette. In this, he was encouraged by Robert (Bob) Straub —the state treasurer and future Oregon governor (1975)—who first proposed a Willamette Greenway program during his 1966 gubernatorial campaign against McCall. The Oregon State Legislature established the program in 1967. Through it, state and local governments cooperated in creating or improving

5117-893: The 1990s after many young people drawn to Eugene's political climate relocated there. Animal rights groups have had a heavy presence in the Whiteaker, and several vegan restaurants are located there. According to David Samuels , the Animal Liberation Front and the Earth Liberation Front have had an underground presence in the neighborhood. The neighborhood is home to a number of communal apartment buildings, which are often organized by anarchist or environmentalist groups. Local activists have also produced independent films and started art galleries, community gardens, and independent media outlets. Copwatch , Food Not Bombs , and Critical Mass are also active in

5236-825: The Cascade Range to 10 feet (3.0 m) at the mouth on the Columbia River. Watersheds bordering the Willamette River basin are those of the Little Deschutes River to the southeast, the Deschutes River to the east, and the Sandy River to the northeast; the North Umpqua and Umpqua rivers to the south; coastal rivers including (from south to north) the Siuslaw , the Alsea , the Yaquina ,

5355-472: The City of Portland and the State of Oregon to dramatically reduce combined sewer overflows (CSOs) led to Portland's Big Pipe Project . The project, part of a related series of Portland CSO projects completed in late 2011 at a cost of $ 1.44 billion, separates the city's sanitary sewer lines from storm-water inputs that sometimes overwhelmed the combined system during heavy rains. When that occurred, some of

5474-603: The Clackamas' tribal population was roughly 1,800. The U.S. Census Bureau estimated that the Chinook population was nearly 5,000, though not all of the Chinook lived on the Willamette. The Chinook territory encompassed the lower Columbia River valley and significant stretches of the Pacific coast on both the north and the south side of the Columbia's mouth. At times, however, the Chinook territory extended even farther south in

5593-478: The Columbia River. Between the 1850s and the 1960s, channel-straightening and flood control projects, as well as agricultural and urban encroachment, cut the length of the river between the McKenzie River confluence and Harrisburg by 65 percent. Similarly, the river was shortened by 40 percent in the stretch between Harrisburg and Albany. Interstate 5 and three branches of Oregon Route 99 are

5712-666: The Columbia about 101 miles (163 km) from the Columbia's mouth on the Pacific Ocean. The smaller Multnomah Channel , a distributary , is 21 miles (34 km) long, about 600 feet (180 m) wide, and 40 feet (12 m) deep. It ends about 14.5 miles (23.3 km) farther downstream on the Columbia, near St. Helens in Columbia County . Proposals have been made for deepening the Multnomah Channel to 43 feet (13 m) in conjunction with roughly 103.5 miles (166.6 km) of tandem-maintained navigation on

5831-554: The Columbia to Bachelor Island . Rockwell's survey was extremely detailed, including 17,782 hydrographic soundings. His work helped open the port of Portland to commerce. In the second half of the 19th century, the USACE dredged channels and built locks and levees in the Willamette's watershed. Although products such as lumber were often transported on an existing network of railroads in Oregon, these advances in navigation helped businesses deliver more goods to Portland, feeding

5950-788: The HBC merged with the NWC. In 1825 a new Fort Vancouver headquarters was built on the north shore of the Columbia closer to the Willamette, and Fort George was closed. Alexander Roderick McLeod traveled up the Willamette in 1826 and 1827, to the Umpqua and the Rogue rivers. In 1829 Lucier established a land claim near the Champoeg trading post and started to settle, soon joined by Gervais (1831), Pierre Belleque (1833) and 77 French Canadian settlers by 1836. By 1843, approximately 100 newcomer families lived in

6069-417: The Kalapuyans may have been in Eugene for as long as 10,000 years. In the 1800s their traditional way of life faced significant changes due to devastating epidemics and settlement, first by French fur traders and later by an overwhelming number of American settlers. French fur traders had settled seasonally in the Willamette Valley by the beginning of the 19th century. Their settlements were concentrated in

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6188-406: The Lungtum or Long Tom. They were close-neighbors to the Chifin, intermarried, and were political allies. Some authorities suggest the Brownsville Kalapuyans (Calapooia Kalapuyans) were related to the Pee-you. It is likely that since the Santiam had an alliance with the Brownsville Kalapuyans that the Santiam influence also went as far at Eugene. According to archeological evidence, the ancestors of

6307-411: The Middle and Coast forks and the McKenzie , Long Tom , Marys , Calapooia , Santiam , Luckiamute , Yamhill , Molalla , Tualatin , and Clackamas rivers. Beginning at 438 feet (134 m) above sea level, the main stem descends 428 feet (130 m) between source and mouth, or about 2.3 feet per mile (0.4 m per km). The gradient is slightly steeper from the source to Albany than it

6426-419: The Native Americans. Upper-river tribes caught steelhead and salmon, often by building weirs across tributary streams. Tribes of the northern Willamette Valley practiced a generally settled lifestyle. The Chinooks lived in great wooden lodges , practiced slavery , and had a well-defined caste system. People of the south were more nomadic, traveling from place to place with the seasons. They were known for

6545-507: The Olympic trials in 1972, " Jim Ryun won the 1,500 after being flown in by helicopter because he was allergic to Eugene's grass seed pollen." Further, six-time Olympian Maria Mutola abandoned Eugene as a training area "in part to avoid allergies". According to the 2010 census , Eugene's population was 156,185. The population density was 3,572.2 people per square mile. There were 69,951 housing units at an average density of 1,600 per square mile. Those age 18 and over accounted for 81.8% of

6664-510: The PFC. Free trappers Registre Bellaire, John Day and Alexander Carson hunted and traded furs during the winter of 1813-14 along the Willamette. About thirty NWC employees were stationed at the Champoeg post, now called the Willamette Trading Post , along with freemen housed in two huts and Kalapuya nearby. Nez Perce and Cayuse warned the NWC to stay out of the Willamette Valley hunting grounds. Skirmishes went on for several years over fishing and hunting grounds contended by several groups. By

6783-410: The University of Oregon. It fell victim to two major fires in four years, and after the second fire, the college decided not to rebuild again. The part of south Eugene known as College Hill was the former location of Columbia College. There is no college there today. The town raised the initial funding to start a public university, which later became the University of Oregon , with the hope of turning

6902-413: The Willamette Falls Locks have been inactive. As commerce and industry flourished on the lower river, most of the original settlers acquired farms in the upper Willamette Valley. By the late 1850s, farmers had begun to grow crops on most of the available fertile land. The settlers increasingly encroached on Native American lands. Skirmishes between natives and settlers in the Umpqua and Rogue valleys to

7021-437: The Willamette River was divided into two stretches: the 27-mile (43 km) lower stretch from Portland to Oregon City—which allowed connection with the rest of the Columbia River system—and the upper reach, which encompassed most of the Willamette's length. Any boats whose owners found it absolutely necessary to get past the falls had to be portaged . This led to competition for business among steam portage companies. In 1873,

7140-472: The Willamette Valley especially vulnerable to damage from strong earthquakes. The Willamette River drains a region of 11,478 square miles (29,730 km ), which is 12 percent of the total area of Oregon. Bounded by the Coast Range to the west and the Cascade Range to the east, the river basin is about 180 miles (290 km) long and 100 miles (160 km) wide. Elevations within the watershed range from 10,495 feet (3,199 m) at Mount Jefferson in

7259-434: The Willamette Valley were further divided into groups including the Kalapuyan-speaking Yamhill and Atfalati (Tualatin) (both Northern Kalapuya), Central Kalapuya like the Santiam , Muddy Creek (Chemapho), Long Tom (Chelamela), Calapooia (Tsankupi), Marys River (Chepenafa) and Luckiamute, and the Yoncalla or Southern Kalapuya, as well other tribes such as the Chuchsney-Tufti, Siuslaw and Molala . The name Willamette

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7378-435: The Willamette Valley. The total native population was estimated at 15,000. The indigenous peoples of the Willamette River practiced a variety of life ways. Those on the lower river, slightly closer to the coast, often relied on fishing as their primary economic mainstay. Salmon was the most important fish to Willamette River tribes as well as to the Native Americans of the Columbia River, where white traders traded fish with

7497-417: The Willamette Valley. These included the Kalapuya , the Chinook , and the Clackamas . The territory of the Clackamas encompassed the northeastern portion of the basin, including the Clackamas River (with which their name is shared). Although it is unclear exactly when, the territory of the Chinook once extended across the northern part of the watershed, through the Columbia River valley. Indigenous peoples of

7616-423: The Willamette basin. The highest flow recorded at this station was 420,000 cubic feet per second (11,893 m /s) on February 9, 1996, during the Willamette Valley Flood of 1996 , and the minimum was 4,200 cubic feet per second (120 m /s) on July 10, 1978. The highest recorded flow of 635,000 cubic feet per second (18,000 m /s) for the Willamette at a different gauge in Portland occurred during

7735-428: The Willamette ranks 19th in volume among rivers in the United States and contributes 12 to 15 percent of the total flow of the Columbia River. The Willamette's flow varies considerably season to season, averaging about 8,200 cubic feet per second (230 m /s) in August to more than 79,000 cubic feet per second (2,200 m /s) in December. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) operates five stream gauges along

7854-399: The Willamette, continued on until the falls portage (present-day Oregon City ) and finished their journey at a flattening of both banks, the later site of Champoeg . A first trading post was established. By early 1813, William Wallace and John C. Halsey established a second outpost, Wallace House , farther south, north of present-day Salem. By the end of the War of 1812 , the NWC acquired

7973-416: The Willamette. Tom McCall won the election and adopted the proposal. The Greenway was then established by the 1967 Oregon legislature and U.S. Senator Maurine Neuberger sought federal funds to support the program. The 1973 Oregon legislature passed the Willamette River Greenway Act, which established ties to a comprehensive state land use law ( Oregon Senate Bill 100 ) passed that same year. In 1975,

8092-418: The basalt with up to 1,000 feet (300 m) of silt in the Portland and Tualatin basins. During the Pleistocene , beginning roughly 2.5 million years ago, volcanic activity in the Cascades combined with a cool, moist climate to produce further heavy sedimentation across the basin, and braided rivers created alluvial fans spreading down from the east. Between about 15,500 and 13,000 years ago,

8211-416: The basin from the Pacific Ocean. Basalts of the Columbia River Basalt Group , from eruptions primarily in eastern Oregon , flowed across large parts of the northern half of the basin about 15 million years ago. They covered the Tualatin Mountains (West Hills), most of the Tualatin Valley , and the slopes of hills farther south, with up to 1,000 feet (300 m) of lava . Later deposits covered

8330-415: The city was 88.15% White, down from 99.5% in 1950, 3.57% Asian, 1.25% Black or African American, 0.93% Native American, 0.21% Pacific Islander, 2.18% from other races, and 3.72% from two or more races. 4.96% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 58,110 households, of which 25.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.6% were married couples living together, 9.7% had

8449-421: The city's first officially recognized public swimming beach, Poet's Beach . There are more than 20 major dams on the Willamette's tributaries, as well as a complex series of levees and channels to control the river's flow. The only dam on the Willamette's main stem is the Willamette Falls Dam, a low weir -type structure at Willamette Falls that diverts water into the headraces of the adjacent mills and

8568-414: The city's growing economy. Trade goods from the Columbia basin north of Portland could also be transported southward on the Willamette due to the deeper channels made at the Willamette's mouth. By the early 20th century, major river-control projects had begun to take place. Levees were constructed along the river in most urban areas, and Portland built concrete walls to protect its downtown sector. In

8687-497: The construction of the Willamette Falls Locks bypassed the falls and allowed easy navigation between the upper and lower river. Each lock chamber measured 210 feet (64 m) long and 40 feet (12 m) wide, and the canal was originally operated manually before it switched to electrical power. Usage of the locks peaked in the 1940s, and by the early 21st century, the lock system was little used. Since 2011,

8806-542: The controlled burning of woodlands to create meadows for hunting and plant gathering (especially camas ). The Willamette River first appeared in written records in 1792, when it was observed by British Lieutenant William Robert Broughton of the Vancouver Expedition , led by George Vancouver . The 1805-1806 Lewis and Clark Expedition originally missed the mouth of the Willamette. On their return journey, only after receiving directions from natives along

8925-579: The episode The 30% Iron Chef in Futurama . During the COVID-19 pandemic , the city experienced a controversy over its continuing policy of homeless removal, despite CDC guidelines to not engage in homeless removal. Eugene has a significant population of people in pursuit of alternative ideas and a large original hippie population. Beginning in the 1960s, the countercultural ideas and viewpoints espoused by area native Ken Kesey became established as

9044-412: The first faculty and naming John Wesley Johnson as president. The first students registered on October 16, 1876. The first building was completed in 1877; it was named Deady Hall in honor of the first Board of Regents President and community leader Judge Matthew P. Deady . Other universities in Eugene include Bushnell University and New Hope Christian College . Eugene grew rapidly throughout most of

9163-447: The following decades, many large dams were built on Cascade Range tributaries of the Willamette. The Army Corps of Engineers operates 13 such dams, which affect flows from about 40 percent of the basin. Most of them do not have fish ladders. With development in and near the river came increased pollution. By the late 1930s, efforts to stem the pollution led to formation of a state sanitary board to oversee modest cleanup efforts. In

9282-475: The founding of the town in 1829. McLoughlin attempted to persuade the HBC (which still held sway over the area) to allow American settlers to live on the land, and provided significant help to American colonization of the area, all against the HBC's orders. Oregon City prospered because of the lumber and grist mills that were run by the water power of Willamette Falls, but the falls formed an impassable barrier to river navigation. Linn City (originally Robins Nest)

9401-434: The gap in the normal mean minimum widens to 51.1 and 58.0 °F (10.6 and 14.4 °C) for Eugene and Portland, respectively. Eugene's warmest night annually averages a modest 62 °F (17 °C). Average winter temperatures (and summer high temperatures) are similar for the two cities. Extreme temperatures range from −12 °F (−24 °C), recorded on December 8, 1972, to 111 °F (44 °C) on June 27, 2021;

9520-625: The government to a part of the Coast Reservation that later became the Grande Ronde Reservation . Between 1879 and 1885, the Willamette River was charted by Cleveland S. Rockwell , a topographical engineer and cartographer for the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey . Rockwell surveyed the lower Willamette from the foot of Ross Island through Portland to the Columbia River and then downstream on

9639-657: The largest of these originally weighed about 160 short tons (150 t). The northern part of the watershed is underlain by a network of faults capable of producing earthquakes at any time, and many small quakes have been recorded in the basin since the mid-19th century. In 1993, the Scotts Mills earthquake —the largest recent earthquake in the valley, measuring 5.6 on the Richter scale —was centered near Scotts Mills , about 34 miles (55 km) south of Portland. It caused $ 30 million in damage, including harm to

9758-772: The largest water storage capacity, at 477,700 acre-feet (589,200,000 m ). The other 11 dams are Big Cliff on the North Santiam River; Green Peter and Foster on the Santiam River ; Cougar on the South Fork McKenzie River ; Blue River on the Blue River ; Fern Ridge on the Long Tom River ; Hills Creek and Dexter on the Middle Fork Willamette River; Fall Creek on Fall Creek ; Cottage Grove on

9877-525: The lower Columbia region and a year later, the Willamette Valley. Natives traced the arrival of the disease, then new to the Pacific Northwest , to the USS Owyhee , captained by John Dominis. "Intermittent fever" is thought by researchers now to be malaria . According to Robert T. Boyd, an anthropologist at Portland State University, the first three years of the epidemic, "probably constitute

9996-399: The most famous include Nike , Taco Time , and Broderbund Software. The footwear repair product Shoe Goo is manufactured by Eclectic Products, based in Eugene. Run Gum, an energy gum created for runners, also began its life in Eugene. Run Gum was created by track athlete Nick Symmonds and track and field coach Sam Lapray in 2014. Burley Design LLC produces bicycle trailers and

10115-538: The neighborhood. According to the United States Census Bureau , the city has a total area of 43.74 square miles (113.29 km ), of which 43.72 square miles (113.23 km ) is land and 0.02 square miles (0.05 km ) is water. Eugene is at an elevation of 426 feet (130 m). To the north of downtown is Skinner Butte . Northeast of the city are the Coburg Hills . Spencer Butte

10234-664: The next 25 years, some 500,000 settlers traveled the Oregon Trail, to reach the Willamette Valley. Starting in the 1830s, Oregon City developed near Willamette Falls. It was incorporated in 1844, becoming the first city west of the Rocky Mountains to have that distinction. John McLoughlin , the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) superintendent of the Columbia District , was one of the major contributors to

10353-700: The non-profit Willamette Riverkeeper organization designated the full length of the river as the Willamette River Water Trail. Four years later, the National Park Service added the Willamette water trail—expanded to 217 miles (349 km) to include some of the major tributaries—to its list of National Water Trails . The water trail system is meant to protect and restore waterways in the United States and enhance recreation on and near them. A 1991 agreement between

10472-717: The northwestern part of the city, are within the urban growth boundary and generally perceived as part of Eugene, but are largely outside of the city limits. Like the rest of the Willamette Valley , Eugene lies in the Marine West Coast climate zone, with Mediterranean characteristics. Under the Köppen climate classification scheme, Eugene has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate ( Köppen : Csb ). Temperatures can vary from cool to warm, with warm, dry summers and cool, wet winters. Spring and fall are also moist seasons, with light rain falling for long periods. The average rainfall

10591-651: The poverty line, including 14.8% of those under age 18 and 7.1% of those age 65 or over. Eugene's largest employers are PeaceHealth Medical Group , the University of Oregon, and the Eugene School District . Eugene's largest industries are wood products manufacturing and recreational vehicle manufacturing. Corporate headquarters for the employee-owned Bi-Mart corporation and family-owned supermarket Market of Choice remain in Eugene. Many multinational businesses were launched in Eugene. Some of

10710-479: The raw sewage in the system flowed into the river instead of into the city's wastewater treatment plant. The Big Pipe project and related work reduces CSO volume on the lower river by about 94 percent. In June 2014, Dean Hall became the first person to swim the entire length of the Willamette River. He swam 184 miles (296 km) from Eugene to the river mouth in 25 days. In 2017, Human Access Project partnered with Portland Parks & Recreation to open

10829-586: The record cold daily maximum is 19 °F (−7 °C), recorded on December 13, 1919, while, conversely, the record warm daily minimum is 71 °F (22 °C) on July 22, 2006. Eugene is downwind of Willamette Valley grass seed farms. The combination of summer grass pollen and the confining shape of the hills around Eugene make it "the area of the highest grass pollen counts in the USA (>1,500 pollen grains/m of air)." These high pollen counts have led to difficulties for some track athletes who compete in Eugene. In

10948-525: The reservation, most were moved to the Grand Ronde reservation in 1856. Strict racial segregation was enforced and mixed race people, known as Métis in French, had to make a choice between the reservation and Anglo-American society. Native Americans could not leave the reservation without traveling papers and white people could not enter the reservation. Eugene Franklin Skinner , after whom Eugene

11067-540: The river at the Morrison Bridge . The Willamette River basin was created primarily by plate tectonics and volcanism and was altered by erosion and sedimentation, including deposits from enormous glacial floods as recent as 13,000 years ago. The oldest rocks beneath the Willamette Valley are the Siletz River Volcanics . About 35 million years ago, these rocks were subducted by

11186-489: The river in Portland. The 3,700-foot (1,100 m) bridge is the only cantilevered deck truss in Oregon. Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( / j uː ˈ dʒ iː n / yoo- JEEN ) is a city in and the county seat of Lane County, Oregon , United States. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley , near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about 50 miles (80 km) east of

11305-472: The river splits into two channels that flow around Sauvie Island . Used for navigation purposes, these channels are managed by the U.S. federal government . The main channel, which is the primary navigational conduit for Portland's harbor and riverside industrial areas, is 40 feet (12 m) deep and varies in width from 600 to 1,900 feet (180 to 580 m), although the river broadens to 2,000 feet (610 m) in some of its lower reaches. This channel enters

11424-447: The river's drainage basin was significantly modified by the Missoula Floods at the end of the most recent ice age . Humans began living in the watershed over 10,000 years ago. There were once many tribal villages along the lower river and in the area around its mouth on the Columbia. Indigenous peoples lived throughout the upper reaches of the basin as well. Rich with sediments deposited by flooding and fed by prolific rainfall on

11543-441: The river, and roads cross the main stem on approximately 30 different bridges. More than half a dozen bridges not open to motorized vehicles provide separate crossings for bicycles and pedestrians, mostly in the Eugene area, and several others are exclusively for rail traffic. There are also ferries that convey cars, trucks, motorcycles, bicycles, and pedestrians across the river for a fare and provided river conditions permit. They are

11662-470: The river, at Harrisburg, Corvallis, Albany, Salem, and Portland. The average discharge at the lowermost gauge, near the Morrison Bridge in Portland, was 33,220 cubic feet per second (941 m /s) between 1972 and 2013. Located at river mile (RM) 12.8 or river kilometer (RK) 20.6, the gauge measures the flow from an area of 11,200 square miles (29,000 km ), roughly 97 percent of

11781-475: The settlement was known by settlers as Skinner's Mudhole. It was relocated in 1853 and named Eugene City in 1853. Formally incorporated as a city in 1862, it was renamed to Eugene in 1889. Skinner ran a ferry service across the Willamette River where the Ferry Street Bridge now stands. The first major educational institution in the area was Columbia College , founded a few years earlier than

11900-475: The single most important epidemiological event in the recorded history of what would eventually become the state of Oregon". In his book The Coming of the Spirit Pestilence Boyd reports there was a 92% population loss for the Kalapuyans between 1830 and 1841. This catastrophic event shattered the social fabric of Kalapuyan society and altered the demographic balance in the Valley. This balance

12019-478: The small town into a center of learning. In 1872, the Legislative Assembly passed a bill creating the University of Oregon as a state institution. Eugene bested the nearby town of Albany in the competition for the state university. In 1873, community member J.H.D. Henderson donated the hilltop land for the campus, overlooking the city. The university first opened in 1876 with the regents electing

12138-443: The south, settled from this muddy water to form today's valley floor. The floods carried Montana icebergs well into the basin, where they melted and dropped glacial erratics onto the land surface. These rocks, composed of granite and other materials common to central Montana but not to the Willamette Valley, include more than 40 boulders, each at least 3 feet (0.9 m) in diameter. Before being partly chipped away and removed,

12257-583: The southwest of the Willamette River led the Oregon state government to remove the natives by military force. They were first led off their traditional lands to the Willamette Valley, but soon were marched to the Coast Indian Reservation . In 1855, Joel Palmer , an Oregon legislator, negotiated a treaty with the Willamette Valley tribes, who, although unhappy with the treaty, ceded their lands to non-natives. The natives were then relocated by

12376-424: The swing span was removed in the 1950s. The Oregon City Bridge , built in 1922, replaced a suspension span constructed at the site in 1888. It carries Oregon Route 43 over the river at about RM 26 (RK 42) between Oregon City and West Linn . The Ross Island Bridge carries U.S. Route 26 ( Mount Hood Highway ) over the river at RM 14 (RK 23). It is one of 10 highway bridges crossing

12495-420: The total population, and males represented 48.9%. The median age in the city was 33.8 years. The census of 2000 showed there were 137,893 people, 58,110 households, and 31,321 families residing in the city of Eugene. The population density was 3,404.8 people per square mile (1,314.6 people/km ). There were 61,444 housing units at an average density of 1,516.4 per square mile (585.5/km ). The racial makeup of

12614-508: The total population. The racial makeup of the city was 85.8% White , 4.0% Asian , 1.4% Black or African American , 1.0% Native American , 0.2% Pacific Islander , and 4.7% from other races . Hispanics and Latinos of any race accounted for 7.8% of the total population. Of the non-Hispanics, 82% were White, 1.3% Black or African American, 0.8% Native American, 4% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 0.2% some other race alone, and 3.4% were of two or more races. Females represented 51.1% of

12733-615: The twentieth century, with the exception being the early 1980s when a downturn in the timber industry caused high unemployment. By 1985, the industry had recovered and Eugene began to attract more high-tech industries, earning it the moniker the "Emerald Shire". In 2012, Eugene and the surrounding metro area was dubbed the Silicon shire . The first Nike shoe was used in 1972 during the US Olympic trials held in Eugene. The 1970s saw an increase in community activism. Local activists stopped

12852-1065: The two major highways that follow the river for its entire length. Communities along the main stem include Springfield and Eugene in Lane County ; Harrisburg in Linn County ; Corvallis in Benton County ; Albany in Linn and Benton counties; Independence in Polk County ; Salem in Marion County ; Newberg in Yamhill County ; Oregon City , West Linn , Milwaukie , and Lake Oswego in Clackamas County ; and Portland in Multnomah and Washington counties. Significant tributaries from source to mouth include

12971-605: The vicinity of the Willamette on a section referred to as French Prairie . By 1841, members of the United States Exploring Expedition came through the Siskiyou Trail. They noted extensive salmon fishing by natives at Willamette Falls, much like that at Celilo Falls on the Columbia River. In the middle part of the 19th century the Willamette Valley's fertile soils, pleasant climate, and abundant water attracted thousands of settlers from

13090-483: The water stored in the reservoirs is used for irrigation . Cougar Dam on the South Fork McKenzie River and Detroit Dam on the North Santiam River are the two tallest dams in the Willamette River basin. Detroit Dam is 463 feet (141 m) high and stores 455,000 acre-feet (561,000,000 m ) of water. Lookout Point Dam on the Middle Fork Willamette River , forming Lookout Point Lake , has

13209-678: The watershed. In 1987, the U.S. Secretary of the Interior designated 713 acres (289 ha) of the watershed in Benton County as a National Natural Landmark . This area is the Willamette Floodplain , the largest remaining unplowed native grassland in the North Pacific geologic province, which encompasses most of the Pacific Northwest coast. For at least 10,000 years, a variety of indigenous peoples populated

13328-560: The western side of the Cascades, the Willamette Valley is one of the most fertile agricultural regions in North America, and it was thus the destination of many 19th-century pioneers traveling west along the Oregon Trail . The river was an important transportation route in the 19th century, although Willamette Falls , just upstream from Portland, was a major barrier to boat traffic. In the 21st century, major highways follow

13447-439: The winter of 1818-19, Thomas McKay led a hunting brigade farther south towards the sources of the Willamette River and reached the upper Umpqua River . More violent skirmishes were fought. Most brigade members returned to Fort George (formerly called Fort Astoria ). Louis LaBonté, Joseph Gervais , Étienne Lucier , Louis Kanota, and Louis Pichette (dit DuPré) remained in the Willamette Valley as free trappers. Meanwhile, in 1821

13566-403: Was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.0 males. The median income for a household in the city was $ 35,850, and the median income for a family was $ 48,527. Males had a median income of $ 35,549 versus $ 26,721 for females. The per capita income for the city was $ 21,315. About 8.7% of families and 17.1% of the population were below

13685-410: Was 46.1 inches (1,170 mm), but for the thirty-year period ending in 2020, the annual average had declined 5.27 inches (134 mm), to 40.83 inches (1,040 mm). The figures from the second half of that period, or 2006 - 2020 inclusive, pointed to a further decline of more than 4 inches (102 mm), down to an annual average of 36.58 inches (929 mm). Winter snowfall does occur, but it

13804-402: Was established across the Willamette from Oregon City. After Portland was incorporated in 1851, quickly growing into Oregon's largest city, Oregon City gradually lost its importance as the economic and political center of the Willamette Valley. Beginning in the 1850s, steamboats began to ply the Willamette, despite the fact that they could not pass Willamette Falls. As a result, navigation on

13923-679: Was founded in Eugene by Alan Scholz out of a Saturday Market business in 1978. Eugene is also the birthplace and home of Bike Friday bicycle manufacturer Green Gear Cycling. Organically Grown Company , the largest distributor of organic fruits and vegetables in the northwest, started in Eugene in 1978 as a non-profit co-op for organic farmers. Notable local food processors , many of whom manufacture certified organic products, include Golden Temple ( Yogi Tea ), Merry Hempsters, Springfield Creamery (Nancy's Yogurt), and Mountain Rose Herbs . Until July 2008, Hynix Semiconductor America had operated

14042-417: Was further altered over the next few years by the arrival of Anglo-American settlers, beginning in 1840 with 13 people and growing steadily each year until within 20 years more than 11,000 American settlers, including Eugene Skinner, had arrived. As the demographic pressure from the settlers grew, the remaining Kalapuyans were forcibly removed to Indian reservations . Though some Natives avoided transfer into

14161-545: Was used to reach farther south. This trail, over 600 miles (970 km) long, stretched from the mouth of the Willamette River near present-day Portland south through the Willamette Valley, crossing the Siskiyou Mountains , and south through the Sacramento Valley to San Francisco . In 1812, William Henry and Alfred Seton paddled up from Fort Astoria (PFC) on the Columbia River into the mouth of

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