Kiger Creek | |
---|---|
Etymology | For the Kiger family, who briefly settled in the vicinity in the 1870s[2] |
Location | |
Country | United States |
State | Oregon |
County | Harney |
Physical characteristics | |
Source | Steens Mountain |
• location | Oregon |
• coordinates | 42°42′29″N 118°33′57″W / 42.70806°N 118.56583°W[1] |
• elevation | 7,979 ft (2,432 m)[3] |
Mouth | Swamp Creek |
• coordinates | 43°01′59″N 118°42′48″W / 43.03306°N 118.71333°W[1] |
• elevation | 4,163 ft (1,269 m)[1] |
Type | Wild |
Designated | October 30, 2000 |
Kiger Creek is a tributary of Swamp Creek in Harney County in the U.S. state of Oregon.[1] It originates on Steens Mountain and flows generally north through Kiger Gorge to meet Swamp Creek near the unincorporated community of Diamond. The combined streams flow into Diamond Swamp and the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.[4]
A 4.3-mile (6.9 km) segment of Kiger Creek, from its headwaters to where it crosses the Steens Mountain Wilderness boundary, is part of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. Designated "wild", the creek supports a population of redband trout, and its watershed includes habitat for mule deer, elk, bighorn sheep, and pronghorn.[5]