John Day River
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- This article is about the John Day River in eastern Oregon. There is also the John Day River in northwestern Oregon.
The John Day River is a tributary of the Columbia River, approximately 281 mi (452 km) long, in northeastern Oregon in the United States. One of two rivers in Oregon to bear this name, it is by far the longer and more well-known. The other John Day River is a small tributary of the Columbia in Clatsop County.
The river was named for a member of the Astor Expedition that was funded in part by John Jacob Astor, John Day, who wandered lost through this part of Oregon in the winter of 1811-1812. Through its tributaries it drains much of the western side of the Blue Mountains, flowing across the sparsely populated arid part of the state east of the Cascade Range in a northwest zigzag, then entering the Columbia upstream from the Columbia River Gorge. It flows through exceptionally scenic canyons in its upper course, with several significant paleontological sites along its banks. Undammed along its entire length, the river is the second longest free-flowing river in the United States. Despite the extensive use of its waters for irrigation, its free-flowing course furnishes an exceptional habitat for diverse species, including prolific wild Steelhead runs.
[edit] Description
The main branch of the John Day River rises in the Strawberry Mountains in eastern Grant County, and the four main forks each have their heads in different parts of the Malheur National Forest. The main fork flows initially north, then west through the John Day Valley and through the city of John Day. At Dayville in western Grant County it is joined from the south by the South Fork John Day River, then flows north through Picture Gorge and past the Sheep Rock Unit of the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument. At Kimberly in northwestern Grant County it is joined from the east by the North Fork John Day River (which had already joined with the Middle Fork of the John Day River above Monument, Grant County, Oregon). The river then flows west across Wheeler County. At the county line with Jefferson County it flows north, past the Clarno Unit of the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument. As it approaches the Columbia River in north-central Oregon it flows in an increasingly meandering course, forming the boundary between Sherman County to the west and Gilliam County to the east. It joins the Columbia from the southeast approximately 16 mi (16 km) northeast of Biggs. The mouth of the river is on the narrow Lake Umatilla reservoir, formed on the Columbia by the John Day Dam, approximately 2 mi (3 km) downstream from the mouth of the John Day.
The John Day is navigable by rafts and other small river craft. Its lower course is used for irrigation of cropland and ranching. In 1988, the United States Congress designated 147.5 mi (239 km) of the river from Service Creek to Tumwater Falls as the John Day Wild and Scenic River, as part of the National Wild and Scenic River program. The segment of the river is a popular destination for anadromous steelhead and warm water bass fishing, as well as whitewater rafting.
In addition to wild spring chinook salmon and bass, the river furnishes habitat for redband trout, bull trout, and west slope cutthroat trout. There are no hatchery salmon or steelhead released in the John Day River.
