Grande Ronde River
Encyclopedia
- For other places with the same name, see Grande Ronde (disambiguation).
The Grande Ronde River is a tributary of the Snake River
Snake River
The Snake is a major river of the greater Pacific Northwest in the United States. At long, it is the largest tributary of the Columbia River, the largest North American river that empties into the Pacific Ocean...
, 182 miles (292.9 km) long, in northeastern 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...
and southeastern Washington in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It drains an area southeast of the Blue Mountains
Blue Mountains (Oregon)
The Blue Mountains are a mountain range in the western United States, located largely in northeastern Oregon and stretching into southeastern Washington...
and northwest of the Wallowa Mountains
Wallowa Mountains
The Wallowa Mountains are a mountain range located in the Columbia Plateau of northeastern Oregon in the United States. The range runs approximately 40 mi northwest to southeast in southwestern Wallowa County between the Blue Mountains to the west and the Snake River to the east. The range is...
, on the Columbia Plateau
Columbia Plateau
The Columbia Plateau is a geologic and geographic region that lies across parts of the U.S. states of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. It is a wide flood basalt plateau between the Cascade Range and the Rocky Mountains, cut through by the Columbia River...
. It flows through the agricultural Grande Ronde Valley
Grande Ronde Valley
The Grande Ronde Valley is a valley in Union County in northeastern Oregon, United States. It is surrounded by the Blue Mountains, and is drained by the Grande Ronde River. La Grande is its largest community. The valley is long, north to south, from Pumpkin Ridge to Pyles Canyon, and wide, east...
in its middle course and through a series of scenic canyon
Canyon
A canyon or gorge is a deep ravine between cliffs often carved from the landscape by a river. Rivers have a natural tendency to reach a baseline elevation, which is the same elevation as the body of water it will eventually drain into. This forms a canyon. Most canyons were formed by a process of...
s in its lower course.
Course
The Grande Ronde River rises in the Blue Mountains near the Anthony Lakes recreation area in the Wallowa–Whitman National Forest in southwestern Union CountyUnion County, Oregon
Union County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is included in the 8 county definition of Eastern Oregon. The county is named for the town of Union, which is located within its boundaries; in 2010, the county population was 25,748. The county seat is La Grande.-History:Union County...
approximately 20 miles (32.2 km) south of La Grande
La Grande, Oregon
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 12,327 people, 5,124 households, and 2,982 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,833.5 people per square mile . There were 5,483 housing units at an average density of 1,260.3 per square mile...
. It flows generally north along the east side of the Blue Mountains, then east, past La Grande, then generally northeast through the Grande Ronde Valley in a meander
Meander
A meander in general is a bend in a sinuous watercourse. A meander is formed when the moving water in a stream erodes the outer banks and widens its valley. A stream of any volume may assume a meandering course, alternately eroding sediments from the outside of a bend and depositing them on the...
ing course between the Blue Mountains and the Wallowa Mountains
Wallowa Mountains
The Wallowa Mountains are a mountain range located in the Columbia Plateau of northeastern Oregon in the United States. The range runs approximately 40 mi northwest to southeast in southwestern Wallowa County between the Blue Mountains to the west and the Snake River to the east. The range is...
, receiving Catherine Creek east of La Grande.
Approximately 10 miles (16.1 km) northwest of Minam
Minam, Oregon
Minam is an unincorporated community in northwestern Wallowa County, Oregon, United States. It is located at the confluence of the Minam and Wallowa rivers, north of the Wallowa Mountains on Oregon Route 82...
it receives the Wallowa River
Wallowa River
The Wallowa River is a tributary of the Grande Ronde River, approximately long, in northeastern Oregon in the United States. It drains a valley on the Columbia Plateau in the northeast corner of the state north of Wallowa Mountains. It rises in southern Wallowa County, in the Wallowa Mountains in...
from the southeast, then receives the Wenaha River
Wenaha River
The Wenaha River is a river in the Wenaha–Tucannon Wilderness in the U.S. state of Oregon.The river begins at the Wenaha Forks, where the North and South Fork Wenaha Rivers join. It then flows east for about to the small settlement of Troy where it meets the Grande Ronde River. Most of the Wenaha...
at Troy
Troy, Oregon
Troy is an unincorporated community in rural Wallowa County, Oregon, United States at the conflux of the Grande Ronde and Wenaha rivers and Courtney Creek. Troy is west of Flora on Oregon Route 3 close to the Washington state line. It is known for its excellent river fishing, and has an RV park and...
just south of the Washington border. It crosses into southeastern Washington, traversing the extreme southeast corner of the state and entering the Snake from the east, approximately 5 miles (8 km) north of the Oregon border and 15 miles (24.1 km) downstream from the mouth of the Salmon River
Salmon River (Idaho)
The Salmon River is located in Idaho in the northwestern United States. The Salmon is also known as The River of No Return. It flows for through central Idaho, draining and dropping more than between its headwaters, near Galena Summit above the Sawtooth Valley in the Sawtooth National...
. It receives Joseph Creek
Joseph Canyon
Joseph Canyon is a deep basalt canyon in northern Wallowa County, Oregon, and southern Asotin County, Washington, United States. It contains Joseph Creek, a tributary of the Grande Ronde River, which flows into the Snake River and then into the Columbia...
from the south 2 miles (3.2 km) upstream from its mouth on the Snake.
The mouth of the Grande Ronde River is located at the Snake's river mile
River mile
In the United States, a River mile is a measure of distance in miles along a river from its mouth. River mile numbers begin at zero and increase further upstream. The corresponding metric unit using kilometers is the River kilometer...
169, which is 493 miles (793.4 km) from the mouth of the Columbia River.
River modifications
A diversion channel approximately 5 miles (8 km) long in the Grande Ronde Valley east of La Grande allows the river to bypass a long meandering loop, providing access to its water for irrigationIrrigation
Irrigation may be defined as the science of artificial application of water to the land or soil. It is used to assist in the growing of agricultural crops, maintenance of landscapes, and revegetation of disturbed soils in dry areas and during periods of inadequate rainfall...
.
History
In the early 19th century the valley of the river was inhabited by Nez Perce, UmatillaUmatilla (tribe)
The Umatilla are a Sahaptin-speaking Native American group living on the Umatilla Indian Reservation, who traditionally inhabited the Columbia Plateau region of the northwestern United States....
, Walla Walla
Walla Walla (tribe)
Walla Walla |Native American]] tribe of the northwestern United States. The reduplication of the word expresses the diminutive form. The name "Walla Walla" is translated several ways but most often as "many waters."...
, and Cayuse
Cayuse
The Cayuse are a Native American tribe in the state of Oregon in the United States. The Cayuse tribe shares a reservation in northeastern Oregon with the Umatilla and the Walla Walla tribes as part of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation...
tribes of Native Americans
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
. Numerous archaeological
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
sites are on the public land around the river.
The Grande Ronde River was given its name sometime before 1821 by French Canadian
French Canadian
French Canadian or Francophone Canadian, , generally refers to the descendents of French colonists who arrived in New France in the 17th and 18th centuries...
voyageurs
Voyageurs
The Voyageurs were the persons who engaged in the transportation of furs by canoe during the fur trade era. Voyageur is a French word which literally translates to "traveler"...
working for the Montreal-based fur trading
Fur trade
The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of world market for in the early modern period furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the most valued...
North West Company
North West Company
The North West Company was a fur trading business headquartered in Montreal from 1779 to 1821. It competed with increasing success against the Hudson's Bay Company in what was to become Western Canada...
.
In 1988, the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
designated approximately 44 miles (70.8 km) of the river, from its confluence with the Wallowa River to the Oregon-Washington border, as the Grande Ronde Wild and Scenic River, as part of the National Wild and Scenic River
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...
program.
The river today is a popular destination for hunting
Hunting
Hunting is the practice of pursuing any living thing, usually wildlife, for food, recreation, or trade. In present-day use, the term refers to lawful hunting, as distinguished from poaching, which is the killing, trapping or capture of the hunted species contrary to applicable law...
, especially for game animals such as mule deer
Mule Deer
The mule deer is a deer indigenous to western North America. The Mule Deer gets its name from its large mule-like ears. There are believed to be several subspecies, including the black-tailed deer...
, elk
Red Deer
The red deer is one of the largest deer species. Depending on taxonomy, the red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Asia Minor, parts of western Asia, and central Asia. It also inhabits the Atlas Mountains region between Morocco and Tunisia in northwestern Africa, being...
, black bear
American black bear
The American black bear is a medium-sized bear native to North America. It is the continent's smallest and most common bear species. Black bears are omnivores, with their diets varying greatly depending on season and location. They typically live in largely forested areas, but do leave forests in...
, cougar, and bighorn sheep
Bighorn Sheep
The bighorn sheep is a species of sheep in North America named for its large horns. These horns can weigh up to , while the sheep themselves weigh up to . Recent genetic testing indicates that there are three distinct subspecies of Ovis canadensis, one of which is endangered: Ovis canadensis sierrae...
. Fishing, rafting and hiking are also popular along the designated Wild and Scenic portion of the river. Most of the middle reaches of the river are inaccessible to motor vehicles.
Fish
The Grand Ronde River supports populations of spring chinookChinook salmon
The Chinook salmon, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha, is the largest species in the pacific salmon family. Other commonly used names for the species include King salmon, Quinnat salmon, Spring salmon and Tyee salmon...
salmon, summer steelhead, bull trout
Bull trout
The bull trout, Salvelinus confluentus, is a char of the family Salmonidae native to northwestern North America. Historically, S. confluentus has been known as the "Dolly Varden" , but was re-classified as a separate species in 1980. Bull trout are listed as a threatened species under the U.S....
, mountain whitefish
Mountain whitefish
The mountain whitefish is one of the most widely distributed salmonid fish of western North America. It is found from the Mackenzie River drainage in Northwest Territory, Canada south through western Canada and the northwestern USA in the Pacific, Hudson Bay and upper Missouri River basins to the...
, as well as other species. The river has a sport steelhead fishery and has some tribal fishing for spring chinook.
See also
- List of rivers of Oregon
- List of longest streams of Oregon
- List of rivers of Washington
- Joseph CanyonJoseph CanyonJoseph Canyon is a deep basalt canyon in northern Wallowa County, Oregon, and southern Asotin County, Washington, United States. It contains Joseph Creek, a tributary of the Grande Ronde River, which flows into the Snake River and then into the Columbia...