Drift Creek (Siletz Bay)
{{Use American English|date=February 2025}}
{{Infobox river
| name = Drift Creek
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| image = Drift Creek Bridge, Spanning Drift Creek on Drift Creek County Road, Lincoln City vicinity (Lincoln County, Oregon).jpg
| image_caption = Drift Creek Bridge formerly spanned the creek near the Oregon Coast
| image_size = 300
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| map_size = 300
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| pushpin_map = USA Oregon
| pushpin_map_size = 300
| pushpin_map_caption= Location of the mouth of Drift Creek in Oregon
| subdivision_type1 = Country
| subdivision_name1 = United States
| subdivision_type2 = State
| subdivision_name2 = Oregon
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| subdivision_type4 = County
| subdivision_name4 = Lincoln
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| length = {{convert|18|mi|km|abbr=on}}
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| source1 = near Stott Mountain
| source1_location = Siuslaw National Forest, Central Oregon Coast Range
| source1_coordinates= {{coord|44|56|53|N|123|47|10|W|display=inline}}
| source1_elevation = {{convert|2767|ft|abbr=on}}Source elevation derived from Google Earth search using GNIS source coordinates.
| mouth = Siletz River
| mouth_location = Siletz Bay
| mouth_coordinates = {{coord|44|54|40|N|124|00|35|W|display=inline,title}}{{cite web | work = Geographic Names Information System| publisher = United States Geological Survey | date = November 28, 1980 | url ={{Gnis3|1141248}}| title = Drift Creek | accessdate =January 23, 2016}}
| mouth_elevation = {{convert|7|ft|abbr=on}}
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Drift Creek is a tributary, about {{convert|18|mi|km}} long, of Siletz Bay in the U.S. state of Oregon. The creek begins near Stott Mountain in the Central Oregon Coast Range in Lincoln County and follows a winding course generally west through the Siuslaw National Forest to enter the bay south of Lincoln City on the Pacific Ocean. It passes under U.S. Route 101 just before reaching the bay.{{cite web|title=United States Topographic Map|publisher=United States Geological Survey|via=Acme Mapper|url=http://mapper.acme.com/?ll=44.911111,-124.009722&z=12&t=T&marker0=44.911111,-124.009722|accessdate=January 23, 2016}}
Named tributaries of Drift Creek from source to mouth are Nelson, Fowler, Barn, Smith, Sampson, Wildcat, and North creeks. Then Quarry, Odell, Bluff, Gordey, and Anderson creeks.
Covered bridge
Until being dismantled and destroyed in 1997 and rebuilt over Bear Creek, a Salmon River tributary to the north and further inland, the Drift Creek Bridge was the state's closest covered bridge to the ocean.{{cite web|title=Drift Creek (Bear Creek) Covered Bridge|url=http://www.oregon.gov/odot/hwy/bridge/docs/covbrdg/Descriptions/DriftCk.pdf|format=PDF|publisher=Oregon Department of Transportation|accessdate=January 24, 2016}} Drift Creek Park, managed by Lincoln County, remains open at the former bridge site along South Drift Creek Road. It consists of posted information about the bridge and directions to its new location.{{cite web|title=Drift Creek Park|url=http://www.co.lincoln.or.us/parks/page/drift-creek-park|publisher=Lincoln County, Oregon|accessdate=January 24, 2016}}
Recreation
=Hiking=
Drift Creek Falls Trail leads {{convert|1.5|mi|km}} from the Drift Creek Trailhead along Forest Road 17 to a {{convert|240|ft|m|adj=on}} suspension bridge overlooking Drift Creek Falls. The waterfall is {{convert|75|ft|m}} high.{{cite web|title=Drift Creek Falls Trail #1378|url=http://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/siuslaw/recarea/?recid=42681|publisher=United States Forest Service|accessdate=January 24, 2016}}
=Fishing=
Drift Creek supports populations of cutthroat trout, steelhead, and Chinook salmon. According to Fishing in Oregon, this creek and a Drift Creek in the Alsea River watershed are important in efforts to restore anadromous fish runs in Oregon. The stream has limited road access, and angling in the upper reaches requires hiking via Drift Creek Trail or logging roads. Much of the angling is catch-and-release.{{cite book|last=Sheehan|first=Madelynne Diness|title=Fishing in Oregon: The Complete Oregon Fishing Guide|edition=10th|publisher=Flying Pencil Publications|location=Scappoose, Oregon|pages=13–14|isbn=0-916473-15-5}}
See also
References
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