Watershed Location

Elk River Watershed is located in the Sixes River Basin in Curry County, Oregon. (See Fig. 1)

General GeologyThere are Cretaceous sedimentary rocks consisting of greywacke, conglomerates and shale. Rocks from the Jurassic and Triassic periods include mudstone, shale, siltstone, greywacke, tuff, limestone and intrusives of felsic to intermediate, quartz-rich, granite and diorite. Recent deposits are terrace, pediment, and lag gravels consisting of unconsolidated gravel, cobble and boulders.(See figs. 4 & 5)

Hydrologic Summary

The drainage area measures 35,480m by 21,960m which is approximately 58678 acres. There is a total of 9 sub-basins within the watershed that includes over 2,050 tributaries. Of those tributaries, over 1,000 are first order streams, and nearly 500 are second order streams. The first order streams are relatively warm compared to the tributaries. (See Fig. 9)

The Elk River Fish Hatchery is located along the Elk River. Other users of the watershed include miners, fishers and campers.

Conclusions• The watershed is located in southern oregon, in Curry county, along the coast.• The Watershed ranges from high elevation to sea level.• Like all watersheds, precipitation is a key factor.• Soils are derived from mainly sedimentary bedrock.• The main group of vegetation is Douglas Fir and Tan Oak.• There are numerous tributaries off Elk River.

References Cited

"Elk/Sixes River Watersheds." currywatershed.org. The South Coast and Lower Rogue Watershed Councils. 21 Mar 2007

<http://www.currywatersheds.org/watersheds.php?idlnk_art=15&mod=page_master>.

Elk River Watershed, Sixes River Basin, Curry County, Oregon

Prepared by:

Kristin MooneyES 492

Physiography

The watershed ranges in elevation from sea level to approximately 4,080 feet at the summit of Iron Mountain. There are narrow, forested, valleys with steeply sloping sides in the upper portion of the basin. The remaining portion of the basin is relatively flat. (See Fig. 2)

The lower portion of the watershed receives 70-100 inches of precipitation per year and the upper portion receives 100-180 inches per year. (See Fig. 4)

In 1930, European Beach grass was introduced. In the lower portion of the watershed, large log "drifts“ were removed for agricultural development. This resulted in loss of wetlands and reduction of riparian vegetation, which is being overtaken by gorse and Himalayan blackberry. (See Fig. 5)

20 0 20 40 60 80 100 Miles

4 0 4 8 Miles

N

Digital Orthographic Photographs

4 0 4 8 Miles

N

Digital Elevation Models

200 - 400

Elevation0 - 200200 - 400400 - 600600 - 800800 - 10001000 - 1200No Data

Sub-Basin

N/A N/A N/A N/A

SIXESCAPE BLANCO BARKLOW MTN.MOUNT BUTLER

Missing QuadsSub-Basins

4 0 4 8 Miles

N

Quadrangles

4 0 4 8 Miles

N

Precipitation

Precipitation

100-120120-140140-160160-180

70-8080-9090-100

Streams

N

4 0 4 8 Miles

Bedrock

JTRgdJopJsJuKJdsKs

OWQalQtTcscs

N

4 0 4 8 Miles

Soil

100G101F102E107C115F116D116E120E121E126A127A128A138B139G141G143B

144A145E146F151D164A167A168A169F172C173F175F175G177G178F178G180F183A184B185A19203B210G

212G214217234F240E242G244G246F246G250F254E256F266273F276A277A278E27F

27G29F29G30F32E37A38B39D43D44E52G53F54F56F58A63E64F69D69E70D71F73F75E77G88F89E90E91F91G92G93GW

N

4 0 4 8 Miles

Streams

Fig. 2

#

Sand dunes

#

Si tka spruce-western hemlock

#

Coastal headland

#

Si tka spruce-western hemlock

#

Marsh/Wetland

#

Shore pine

#

Si tka spruce-western hemlock

#

Open waterSand dunes

#

Si tka spruce-western hemlockMarsh/Wetland

#

Si tka spruce-western hemlockCoastal headland

#

Marsh/Wetland

#

Si tka spruce-western hemlock

#

Coastal headland

#

Ripar ian hardwoods#

Open waterCoastal headland

#

Douglas fir-tan oak

#

Coastal headland

#

Open waterBare rock

Douglas fir-tan oak

#

Tufted hairgrass

Douglas fir#

Oak-madrone

#

Oak-madrone

#

Oak-madrone

#

Oak-madrone

#

Jeffrey pine

#

Lodgepole pine

#

Port-Orford cedar

4 0 4 8 Miles

N

Vegetation

Vegetation.shpBare rockCoastal headlandDouglas firDouglas fir-tan oakJeffrey pineLodgepole pineMarsh/W etlandOak-madroneOpen waterPort-Orford cedarRiparian hardwoodsSand dunesShore pineSitka spruce-western hemlockTufted hairgrass

Fig. 3

Fig. 6 Fig. 4

Fig. 5

http://memory.org/point.b/image/img_1277.jpg

Elk RiverFig. 8

Fig. 7

Fig. 9

Fig. 1 Map of Oregon