Malheur River
Malheur River in Harney County
Template: Infobox River / Obsolete
Template: Infobox River / Obsolete
Template: Infobox River / BILD_fehlt
Template: Infobox River / Obsolete
The Malheur River ( pronounced " MAL- hyure ") is a 306 km long tributary of the Snake River in eastern Oregon. It drains a portion of the Great Basin, a high desert landscape between the Harney Basin, the Blue Mountains and the Snake River.
The nearby Malheur Lake is not within the catchment area of the Malheur River, but the southwest in the Harney Basin.
River
The Malheur River has its origin in the southern Blue Mountains to the south of the Grant County and south of Strawberry Mountain. It flows in a southerly direction through the Malheur National Forest, then southeast to Drewsey over and through the Warm Springs Reservoir.
At Riverside in the eastern Malheur County, South Fork Malheur River joins from the south of the river. Then the Malheur River turns abruptly to the north. In the North Fork Malheur River Juntura flows from the north into the river. From Juntura the Malheur River flows predominantly over in an easterly direction to Vale and finally reaches 3 km north of the Snake River Ontario.
Flow Redirection
The water in the lower reaches of the Malheur River is diverted for irrigation areas located on the Snake River Plain potato growing areas.
There are about 600 km of irrigation canals and ditches in the lower catchment area of the Malheur River and its tributary Willow Creek. Agricultural effluents led to increased phosphate levels in the lower part of the Malheur River.
History
The name of the river derives from the French word " mishap " for " bad luck " or " bad luck " from. This name owes to the French-Canadian trappers river, which worked for the North West Company and participated in the "Snake County Expeditions " by Donald Mackenzie since 1818, and complained about the unfortunate circumstance that their beaver pelts were stolen by Indians.
Natural history
The catchment area of the Malheur River was once an important spawning area of migratory fish such as salmon. Beginning of the 20th century but was blocked with the construction of several dams on the Snake River this fish migration and fish populations disappeared.
Reserves
A portion of the Malheur River, 22 river kilometers comprehensively since 1988 as a National Wild and Scenic River ( in the " wild " and " scenic" ) protected. In the North Fork Malheur River is 40 km in the category " scenic" ( " scenic " ) awarded as a National Wild and Scenic River.