- Wallowa River
The Wallowa River is a tributary of the
Grande Ronde River , approximately 30 miles (48 km) long, in northeasternOregon in theUnited States . It drains a valley on theColumbia Plateau in the northeast corner of the state north ofWallowa Mountains . It rises in southern Wallowa County, in the Wallowa Mountains in theEagle Cap Wilderness of theWallowa-Whitman National Forest . It flows generally northwest through the Wallowa Valley, past the communities of Joseph, Enterprise, and Wallowa. It receives theMinam River from the south at the hamlet of Minam, then flows north another 10 miles (16 km) to join the Grande Ronde along the Wallowa-Union county line approximately 10 miles (16 km) NNE of Elgin.The Wallowa Valley was home to
Chief Joseph 's band of theNez Perce Tribe, from which they were expelled in1877 . They were expelled when non-Indian farmers and ranchers wanted to settle the fertile Wallowa valley.Fish
The Wallowa River supports populations of
steelhead , springchinook salmon,mountain whitefish among other species.Sockeye salmon were extirpated from the Wallowa River when a small dam was constructed at the outlet of Wallowa Lake in the headwaters of the river. The dam was constructed to raise the level of the lake to store water for irrigation.ee also
*
List of Oregon rivers External links
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
