White River (Oregon)
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The White River is a tributary of the Deschutes River, approximately 50 mi (80 km) long, in north central Oregon in the United States. It drains a scenic mountainous area of the Columbia Plateau on the east side of the Cascade Range southeast of Mount Hood.
It rises in the high Cascades in western Wasco County, in the Mount Hood National Forest on SE Mount Hood just below White River Glacier, in White River Canyon, the steep canyon between Timberline Lodge and Mount Hood Meadows ski area. It flows southeast, under Hwy 35, another 12 miles SE then E for 8 miles before turning ENE past Tygh Valley. It enters the Deschutes River from the west approximately 20 mi (32 km) southeast of The Dalles.
In its lower course near Tygh Valley the river plunges over a 90 ft (27 m) basalt shelf in White River Falls State Park. The falls were used for hydroelectricity in the surrounding counties from 1910 until the completion of The Dalles Dam on the Columbia River in 1960.
In the 1840s, the Barlow Road, a section of the Oregon Trail, passed through the river corridor. In 1988, approximately 46 mi (74 km) of the river were designated as the White Wild and Scenic River by the United States Congress and part of the National Wild and Scenic River program. The river is a popular destination for recreational fishing and whitewater rafting.
Many fly fishermen who fish the lower Deschutes River watch the white river. On hot early summer days the glacial meltoff can cause the Deschutes to become unfishable.
