South Fork Crooked River

South Fork Crooked River
Lower river west of Paulina
South Fork Crooked River is located in Oregon
South Fork Crooked River
Location of the mouth of South Fork Crooked River in Oregon
Location
CountryUnited States
StateOregon
CountyDeschutes and Crook
Physical characteristics
SourceRam Lake (dry)
 • locationnear Hampton, Deschutes County
 • coordinates43°38′55″N 120°23′40″W / 43.64861°N 120.39444°W / 43.64861; -120.39444[1]
 • elevation4,779 ft (1,457 m)[2]
MouthCrooked River
 • location
near Paulina, Crook County
 • coordinates
44°06′05″N 120°03′04″W / 44.10139°N 120.05111°W / 44.10139; -120.05111[1]
 • elevation
3,622 ft (1,104 m)[1]
Length76 mi (122 km)[3]
Basin size1,530 sq mi (4,000 km2)[4]

The South Fork Crooked River is a tributary, 76 miles (122 km) long, of the Crooked River in the U.S. state of Oregon.[3] Starting southeast of Hampton in Deschutes County, the South Fork flows east from near Ram Lake (dry). It passes under U.S. Route 20 at Hampton, then continues east and north for about 6 miles (10 km) before entering Crook County. Shortly thereafter, east of Hampton Buttes, it receives Buck Creek from the right and then passes through Logan Reservoir. Flowing north, it receives Sand Hollow Creek from the left, then Twelvemile Creek from the right before crossing under Oregon Route 380 (Southeast Paulina Highway). Just north of the highway, in southeastern Crook County, the river joins Beaver Creek to form the Crooked River 125 miles (201 km) from its confluence with the Deschutes River.[5][6]

The South Fork Crooked River drains a sparsely populated basin of 1,530 square miles (4,000 km2). About 75 percent of the basin is rangeland; the rest is a mixture of forests, pasture, and hay fields. Precipitation varies from less than 9 inches (230 mm) near the river's source to as much as 35 inches (890 mm) in the Ochoco Mountains on the northeastern edge of the watershed.[4]

  1. ^ a b c "South Fork Crooked River". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey (USGS). November 28, 1980. Retrieved September 3, 2010.
  2. ^ Source elevation derived from Google Earth search using GNIS source coordinates.
  3. ^ a b "National Hydrography Dataset". United States Geological Survey. Retrieved September 3, 2010.
  4. ^ a b "South Fork Crooked – 17070303: 8-Digit Hydrologic Unit Profile" (PDF). National Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). May 2005. Retrieved August 18, 2022.
  5. ^ United States Geological Survey. "United States Topographic Map". Retrieved March 14, 2011. The relevant map quadrangles from mouth to source include Liggett Table, Sand Hollow, G I Ranch, Misery Flat, Hampton, West of Hampton, and Imperial Valley South.
  6. ^ Oregon Atlas & Gazetteer (Map) (1991 ed.). DeLorme Mapping. § 76, 80. ISBN 0-89933-235-8.