The Elk River is in southwestern Oregon

Oregon

Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...

 in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. Approximately 25 miles (40 km) long, the river drains a remote area of the Coastal Range

Oregon Coast Range

The Oregon Coast Range, often called simply the Coast Range and sometimes the Pacific Coast Range, is a mountain range, in the Pacific Coast Ranges physiographic region, in the U.S. state of Oregon along the Pacific Ocean...

 into the Pacific Ocean

Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...

.

Rising in the mountains in northern Curry County

Curry County, Oregon

Curry County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oregon. In 2010, its population was 22,364. The county is named for George Law Curry, a governor of the Oregon Territory. The seat of the county is Gold Beach.-Economy:...

, in the Siskiyou National Forest at 42.7167760°N 124.2053752°W. The river initially flows generally west, through the Grassy Knob Wilderness

Grassy Knob Wilderness

Grassy Knob Wilderness is a wilderness area in the Klamath Mountains of southwestern Oregon, within the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest. It was designated wilderness by the United States Congress in 1984 and now comprises a total of...

. It then flows northwest, approaching the coast north of Port Orford

Port Orford, Oregon

Port Orford is a city in Curry County, Oregon, United States. It is on the southern Oregon Coast, at the northern end of what coastal Oregonians call the Banana Belt, because the weather from Port Orford south is noticeably warmer than the weather north of nearby Cape Blanco...

 and entering the Pacific between Cape Blanco

Cape Blanco (Oregon)

Cape Blanco is a prominent headland on the Pacific Ocean coast of southwestern Oregon in the United States, forming the westernmost point in the state. It contests with Cape Alava in Washington for the title of westernmost point in the contiguous United States...

 to the north and The Heads

The Heads

The Heads is a rocky cape on the Pacific Ocean coast of southwestern Oregon in the United States. It is located in northern Curry County, just outside the town of Port Orford, along a mountainous stretch of coast bounded to the east by the Coastal Range...

 to the south. The lower section of the river flows through a steep canyon with exposed rock surfaces, forming an inner-gorge environment. Upstream, the gorge widens slightly, but the corridor remains very steep.

On October 28, 1988, the Elk River was designated Wild and Scenic

National Wild and Scenic River

National Wild and Scenic River is a designation for certain protected areas in the United States.The National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act was an outgrowth of the recommendations of a Presidential commission, the Outdoor Recreation Resources Review Commission...

. It has two classifications:

• The 17-mile segment from the confluence of the North and South Fork of the Elk River to Anvil Creek is classified "recreational."
• The 2-mile segment of the North Fork Elk River from the falls to its confluence with the South Fork Elk River is classified "wild."

Copper Salmon Wilderness

On March 30, 2009, 13700 acres (55.4 km²) along the North and South Forks of Elk River and the upper Middle Fork of Sixes River

Sixes River

The Sixes River is a river, approximately 30 mi long, in southwestern Oregon in the United States. It drains a rugged region of the Coastal Range along the Pacific coast south of Coos Bay....

 were designated as the Copper Salmon Wilderness

Copper Salmon Wilderness

The Copper Salmon Wilderness is a protected wilderness area in the Southern Oregon Coast Range and is part of the Rogue River – Siskiyou National Forest...

. The area contains one of the nation's largest remaining stands of low-elevation old-growth forest and one of the healthiest salmon

Salmon

Salmon is the common name for several species of fish in the family Salmonidae. Several other fish in the same family are called trout; the difference is often said to be that salmon migrate and trout are resident, but this distinction does not strictly hold true...

, steelhead, and cutthroat trout

Cutthroat trout

The cutthroat trout is a species of freshwater fish in the salmon family of order Salmoniformes. It is one of the many fish species colloquially known as trout...

 runs in the continental United States along the north Fork of the Elk River, as well as stands of vulnerable Port Orford cedar and endangered marbled murrelet

Marbled Murrelet

The Marbled Murrelet is a small seabird from the North Pacific. It is a member of the auk family. It nests in old-growth forests or on the ground at higher latitudes where trees cannot grow...

s and northern spotted owl

Northern Spotted Owl

The Northern Spotted Owl, Strix occidentalis caurina, is one of three Spotted Owl subspecies. A Western North American bird in the family Strigidae, genus Strix, it is a medium-sized dark brown owl sixteen to nineteen inches in length and one to one and one sixth pounds. Females are larger than males...

s.

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