Rogue River (Oregon)
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| Rogue River | |
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 A drift boat running the Rogue River below Lost Creek Lake
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| Country | United States |
| State | Oregon |
| Major city | Grants Pass |
| Length | 200 mi (322 km) [1] |
| Source | |
| - location | Cascade Range |
| - coordinates | [2] |
| - elevation | 5,320 ft (1,622 m) [3] |
| Mouth | Pacific Ocean |
| - coordinates | [2] |
| - elevation | 0 ft (0 m) |
 Map of the Rogue River area
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This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this article if you can. (December 2007) |
The Rogue River in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Oregon flows from the Cascade Range to the Pacific Ocean. It is one of the original eight rivers included in the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968, which included 84 miles (135 km) of the Rogue, from 7 miles (11.3 km) west of Grants Pass to 11 miles (18 km) east of Gold Beach.[4]
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[edit] Course
The Rogue River begins in the Cascade Range's Rogue-Umpqua Divide Wilderness and at Boundary Springs within Crater Lake National Park. It flows south and west, collecting many tributaries including the South Fork Rogue River and Middle Fork Rogue River, both of which drain the Sky Lakes Wilderness. These wilderness areas are parts of the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest.
Below the confluence of the South Fork, the Rogue River is impounded by WL Jess Dam's reservoir, called Lost Creek Lake. Below the dam the Rogue River collects more tributaries, including Elk Creek and Bear Creek, the latter of which flows through nearby Medford. The Rogue River then flows west through the mountains to the city of Grants Pass. A few miles below the city, the Rogue River is joined by the Applegate River and then Wolf Creek, after which the Rogue winds north, then west, then southwest through the Klamath Mountains. Along the way it is joined by the Illinois River. The Rogue River reaches the Pacific Ocean at the city of Gold Beach, Oregon. The river runs 200 miles (322 km), of which 84 miles (135 km) is a designated National Wild and Scenic River and 40 miles (64 km) is in the remote canyon.
[edit] Recreation
The river, with its exciting Grade IV rapids, is popular among white-water rafters. It is also heavily used by jet boats, which carry 114,000 passengers a year on journeys covering up to 104 miles (167 km) of the river's length. Both are regulated, with a permit system in place for rafters, but the increasing recreational use (federal river managers counted 700,000 visitors in 1991) has led to further limits on the section designated as Wild and Scenic.
The Rogue River Trail of 40 miles (64 km) runs parallel to the river from Grave Creek to Illahe.
[edit] Parks
Parks on the Rogue:
- Joseph H. Stewart State Recreation Area
- Casey State Recreation Site
- Valley of the Rogue State Park
- Hellgate Recreation Area
- Rogue River National Recreation Trail
- TouVelle State Recreation Site
- Indian Mary Park
[edit] History
According to the USGS, variant and historical names of the Rogue River include: Gold River, La Riviere aux Coquins, Les Coquins, North Fork Rogue River, River Coquin, Trashit, Clamet River, McLeods River, Rouge Clamet River, and Too-to-nez.[2]
[edit] Trivia
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Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones. |
- The American author Zane Grey made this river the basis of his 1929 novel Rogue River Feud.
- In 1940, actress Ginger Rogers purchased a ranch between Shady Cove and Eagle Point along the Rogue River, just north of Medford. It had an area of 1000 acres (4 km²). Rogers lived at the ranch (named the "4-R's" for "Rogers' Rogue River Ranch") with her mother for 50 years when she was not acting in Hollywood. The ranch was also a dairy, and it supplied milk for the war effort during World War II to Camp White. Rogers loved to fish the Rogue every summer. She sold the ranch in 1990, and moved to Medford.
- The American film The River Wild was filmed on the Rogue River.
- Rogue Ales, a brewery founded in Ashland, Oregon, takes its name from the river.
- The river rafting race from Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown is set in the Rogue River.
[edit] Gallery
 Lower Rogue River. |
 Lower Rogue River. |
 William L. Jess Dam impounding Lost Creek Lake. |
 Upper Rogue River. |
 Upper Rogue River. |
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Rogue River, The Columbia Gazetteer of North America
- ^ a b c USGS GNIS: Rogue River, USGS, GNIS
- ^ Google Earth elevation for GNIS coordinates
- ^ Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968
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This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2007) |
[edit] External links
- Rogue National Wild and Scenic River - Bureau of Land Management
- Rogue River Hiking Trail - Oregon.com
- Guide to floating the Rogue from the Bureau of Land Management
- "To save the Rogue River, its wilderness area must be expanded" by Todd Weck and Chris Daughters, Eugene Register-Guard, February 01, 2008
