South Fork Coquille River
{{Use American English|date=February 2025}}
{{Infobox river
| name = South Fork Coquille River
| name_native =
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| image = Coquille_river_falls.jpg
| image_caption = The lower tier of Coquille River Falls at low water
| image_size = 300
| map =
| map_size = 300
| map_caption =
| pushpin_map = USA Oregon
| pushpin_map_size = 300
| pushpin_map_caption= Location of the mouth of the South Fork Coquille River in Oregon
| subdivision_type1 = Country
| subdivision_name1 = United States
| subdivision_type2 = State
| subdivision_name2 = Oregon
| subdivision_type3 = Region
| subdivision_name3 = Coos County
| subdivision_type4 =
| subdivision_name4 =
| subdivision_type5 = Cities
| subdivision_name5 = Powers, Broadbent, Myrtle Point
| length = {{convert|62.8|mi|km|abbr=on}}
| width_min =
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| discharge1_location= Powers{{cite web|url=http://wdr.water.usgs.gov/wy2009/pdfs/14325000.2009.pdf|format=PDF|title=Water-Data Report 2009: 14325000 South Fork Coquille River at Powers, OR|publisher=United States Geological Survey|accessdate=March 18, 2011}}
| discharge1_min = {{convert|7.2|cuft/s|m3/s|abbr=on}}
| discharge1_avg = {{convert|778|cuft/s|m3/s|abbr=on}}{{cite web|url=http://wdr.water.usgs.gov/wy2009/pdfs/14325000.2009.pdf|format=PDF|title=Water-Data Report 2009: 14325000 South Fork Coquille River at Powers, OR|publisher=United States Geological Survey|accessdate=March 18, 2011}}
| discharge1_max = {{convert|48900|cuft/s|m3/s|abbr=on}}
| source1 = Southern Oregon Coast Range
| source1_location = Unnamed ridge, north of Mount Bolivar
| source1_coordinates= {{coord|42|50|24|N|123|52|30|W|display=inline}}{{cite gnis|id=1149958|name=South Fork Coquille River|entrydate=November 28, 1980|accessdate=March 18, 2011}}
| source1_elevation = {{convert|3501|ft|abbr=on}}Source elevation derived from Google Earth search using GNIS source coordinates.
| mouth = Coquille River
| mouth_location = Myrtle Point
| mouth_coordinates = {{coord|43|04|49|N|124|08|29|W|display=inline,title}}
| mouth_elevation = {{convert|13|ft|abbr=on}}
| progression =
| river_system =
| basin_size = {{convert|288|sqmi|abbr=on}}{{cite web|title=Introduction to the Coquille Watershed|url=http://www.coquillewatershed.org/Coquille_Facts.html|publisher=Coquille Watershed Association|accessdate=February 21, 2016|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20161117211548/http://www.coquillewatershed.org/Coquille_Facts.html|archivedate=November 17, 2016}}
| tributaries_left = Johnson Creek, Salmon Creek, Dement Creek, Catching Creek
| tributaries_right = Wooden Rock Creek, Coal Creek, Woodward Creek, Middle Fork Coquille River
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The South Fork Coquille River is the longest tributary of the Coquille River in coastal Oregon in the United States. From its headwaters in the Southern Oregon Coast Range, the river flows northwest to join the North Fork Coquille River at Myrtle Point, forming the main stem Coquille.{{cite web|title=United States Topographic Map|publisher=United States Geological Survey|via=Acme Mapper|url=http://mapper.acme.com/?ll=43.105833,-124.076667&z=12&t=T&marker0=43.105833,-124.076667|accessdate=February 21, 2016}} The map includes mile markers along the main stem and each large Coquille River fork. The South Fork is about {{convert|63|mi|km}} long, and its watershed drains roughly {{convert|288|mi2|km2}} of rural Coos County.
Course
The South Fork rises as a small stream draining out of Eden Valley, {{convert|2.5|mi|km}} northwest of Mount Bolivar in the Siskiyou National Forest. Picking up scores of tributaries, such as Wooden Rock, Clear and Panther Creeks, the river gains volume as it flows southwest into a deep gorge. At the confluence with Rock Creek, the river abruptly swings north, receiving Johnson Creek from the left a few miles further downstream. Now a fairly large stream, the South Fork winds through canyons to the confluence with Coal Creek before entering an alluvial valley near the small community of Powers.
Below the city, the South Fork flows north through a canyon into another broad valley, now followed by Oregon Route 542, and passing Coquille Myrtle Grove State Natural Site and Albert H. Powers Memorial State Park. About a mile downstream, Dement Creek enters from the left and the terrain around the river transforms from hills to farmland. As it assumes a meandering course, the river passes Broadbent, then the Middle Fork Coquille River, by far the largest tributary, enters from the right, marking the head of tide. A few miles onward, the river passes Myrtle Point and meets the North Fork to form the Coquille River about {{convert|36|mi|km}} upstream of the Pacific Ocean.
The South Fork Coquille River has two major waterfalls, situated in a steep and remote canyon just upstream of the first major northward bend of its course. These are the {{convert|35|ft|m|adj=on}} Upper Coquille River Falls,{{cite web|url=http://www.waterfallsnorthwest.com/nws/waterfall.php?num=2146|title=Upper Coquille River Falls|publisher=Northwest Waterfall Survey|date=January 12, 2008|accessdate=March 18, 2011}} and the much larger {{convert|110|ft|m|adj=on}} Coquille River Falls.{{cite web|url=http://www.waterfallsnorthwest.com/nws/waterfall.php?st=OR&num=2145|title=Coquille River Falls|publisher=Northwest Waterfall Survey|date=September 1, 2007 |accessdate=March 18, 2011}}
Watershed
The watershed is sparsely populated, with most of the people concentrated in the towns of Powers and Myrtle Point. Anadromous fish including salmon and steelhead inhabit much of the river, but some habitat has been compromised due to poor watershed management practices such as excessive logging and clearing.{{cite web|url=http://www.pacificwatersheds.net/ontheground/coquille.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031222143129/http://www.pacificwatersheds.net/ontheground/coquille.htm|url-status=usurped|archive-date=December 22, 2003|title=Coquille River Watershed|publisher=Pacific Coast Watershed Partnership|accessdate=March 18, 2011}}{{cite web|url=http://fs.fed.us/r6/fishing/regional/habitat/FinalBusPlans/RRS_SFC_ARP.doc|title=South Fork Coquille Watershed Aquatic Restoration Plan|publisher=U.S. Forest Service|date=August 2007|accessdate=March 18, 2011}}
See also
References
{{reflist|30em}}
External links
- [http://www.coquillewatershed.org/ Coquille Watershed Association]
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