Sandy River (Oregon)

Template: Infobox River / Obsolete

The Sandy River is a 90 km long tributary of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Oregon. Because of its proximity to the city of Portland was used for irrigation and electricity production of the Sandy River from 1912 to 2007. Since the demolition of the Marmot Dam in 2007 and the demolition of the Little Sandy Dam, he was able to regain its natural course. The bridge over the Sandy River is considered the beginning of the Historic Columbia River Highway.

Course

The Sandy River rises on the slopes of Mount Hood. Its sources are the Reid and the Sandy Glacier on height above 1,800 meters. The river flows west until it turns Which 24 kilometers behind the village to the north and flows about 23 kilometers east of Portland almost at sea level in the Columbia River. Its main tributaries are the 35-km long Bull Run River, which also originates on Mount Hood and to obtain drinking water for Bull Run Lake dammed is the 19 km long Zigzag River, which originates near the Timberline Lodge, and of the 55 -kilometer Salmon River, which is classified as a National Wild and Scenic River for its entire length.

After the Sandy River has left the steep slopes of Mount Hood behind him, he runs through Muren made ​​of hard basalt rock on which it has deposited loose gravel and crushed stone. When flowing over these loose deposits, the water is highly oxygenated, so it is an ideal spawning ground for salmon and rainbow trout. This abundance of fish Sandy River is considered to be excellent fly-fishing area. Rainbow trout employed throughout the year before in the river, king salmon over half of the year and coho salmon in September and October.

History

Geologists estimate that 20 million years ago flowed a river through the region and has washed over 200 meters deep canyons over time. The first white explorers in the region was a boat crew of HMS Chatham under George Vancouver, the end of October 1792 the Columbia River drove up. The commander of the expedition, Lieutenant William Robert Broughton named it the Mount Hood after the English Admiral Samuel Hood. On November 3, 1805, the Lewis and Clark Expedition named the river for its quicksand Quicksand River. Nevertheless, they regarded him as a handsome, navigable river, so on her return from the Pacific Sergeant Nathaniel Pryor with a canoe the river explored upriver. But after nine kilometers, it had to turn back and suspected that the river from Mount Hood comes because of the rapids. The river's name was shortened in the 19th century in Sandy River.

From 1912, two dams have been built to generate electricity, which affected the salmon runs strong. Although in the 1950s, fish ladders were built in the dams, the fish population of the river fell to only 10-25 % of the stocks of the 1890s. 2007 and 2008, the two dams were removed.

Protected areas and state parks

Two sections of the river with a total length of 56 km are protected as a National Wild and Scenic River, and he also shall be deemed Scenic Waterway of Oregon.

The Sandy River Gorge Preserve protects nine kilometers of pristine river course with canyons and lined with jungle shore terraces. The reserve was founded in 1970 when the family Diack gave 63 acres of land from the Nature Conservancy. After further donations and acquisitions, the reserve covers 176 hectares today.

In the lower reaches of the river lies on the north bank the Dabney State Recreation Area and near the mouth in Troutdale, the Lewis and Clark State Recreation Site.