Smith River (Umpqua River tributary)

Smith River
Along Lower Smith River Road northeast of Reedsport
Smith River (Umpqua River tributary) is located in Oregon
Smith River (Umpqua River tributary)
Location of the mouth of the Smith River in Oregon
EtymologyJedediah Smith, early 19th century explorer[2]
Location
CountryUnited States
StateOregon
CountyDouglas County
Physical characteristics
SourceCentral Oregon Coast Range
 • locationnorth of Drain, Douglas County, Oregon
 • coordinates43°44′25″N 123°20′22″W / 43.74028°N 123.33944°W / 43.74028; -123.33944[1]
 • elevation1,407 ft (429 m)[3]
MouthUmpqua River
 • location
Reedsport, Douglas County, Oregon
 • coordinates
43°44′13″N 124°04′43″W / 43.73694°N 124.07861°W / 43.73694; -124.07861[1]
 • elevation
0 ft (0 m)[1]
Length91 mi (146 km)[4]
Basin size352 sq mi (910 km2)[4]
Discharge 
 • average735 cu ft/s (20.8 m3/s)[4]

The Smith River is a 90-mile (140 km) tributary of the Umpqua River in the U.S. state of Oregon.[4] It drains 352 square miles (910 km2) of the Central Oregon Coast Range between the watershed of the Umpqua to the south and the Siuslaw River to the north.[4][5]

Rising in northern Douglas County about 10 miles (16 km) north of Drain, the river flows generally west in a winding course through the mountains, passing through the Siuslaw National Forest for about 10 miles (16 km) in its lower course. It joins the Umpqua from the north across from Reedsport, about 6 miles (10 km) from the mouth of the Umpqua on the Pacific Ocean.[5]

The river is named for Jedediah Smith, who in 1828 led a party of explorers from Utah overland to northern California and southern Oregon. From California, they traveled north to the Umpqua River, camping along its banks near the mouth of the Smith River on July 13. An attack by Native Americans on July 14 killed 15 of Smith's party. One man escaped by heading north to Tillamook and then Fort Vancouver. Smith and two others who were not in camp at the time of the attack fled east toward the Willamette Valley and survived. The Smith River in California is also named for Smith.[2]

  1. ^ a b c "Smith River". Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). United States Geological Survey (USGS). November 28, 1980. Retrieved July 23, 2011.
  2. ^ a b McArthur, pp. 889–90
  3. ^ Source elevation derived from Google Earth search using GNIS source coordinates.
  4. ^ a b c d e Palmer, Tim (2014). Field Guide to Oregon Rivers. Corvallis: Oregon State University Press. pp. 102–04. ISBN 978-0-87071-627-0.
  5. ^ a b Oregon Atlas & Gazetteer (7th ed.). Yarmouth, Maine: DeLorme. 2008. pp. 44–46. ISBN 978-0-89933-347-2.