Abiqua Creek

Abiqua Creek
Abiqua Creek from Oregon Route 214
Abiqua Creek is located in Oregon
Abiqua Creek
Location of the mouth of Abiqua Creek in Oregon
EtymologyPossibly from a Kalapuyan word for "hazelnut"[2]
Location
CountryUnited States
StateOregon
CountyMarion
Physical characteristics
Source 
 • locationCascade Range foothills
 • coordinates44°52′32″N 122°24′29″W / 44.87556°N 122.40806°W / 44.87556; -122.40806[1]
 • elevation3,331 ft (1,015 m)[3]
MouthPudding River
 • location
near Silverton
 • coordinates
45°02′10″N 122°49′56″W / 45.03611°N 122.83222°W / 45.03611; -122.83222[1]
 • elevation
154 ft (47 m)[1]
Length29 mi (47 km)[4]
Basin size78 sq mi (200 km2)[5]

Abiqua Creek (/ˈæbɪkwə/ AB-ih-kwə) is a tributary of the Pudding River in the U.S. state of Oregon. The creek originates near Lookout Mountain in the foothills of the Cascade Range in the northwestern part of the state. It flows northwest for about 29 miles (47 km) to its confluence with the Pudding, about 2 miles (3.2 km) west of Silverton, in the Willamette Valley. About 20 miles (32 km) north of Silverton, the Pudding River meets the Molalla River, which meets the Willamette River less than 1 mile (1.6 km) later near Canby.[4][6]

The creek is the main source of drinking water for Silverton, which operates a diversion dam upstream. The city, the Pudding River Watershed Council, and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife are working to improve fish passage on the creek and are studying the effectiveness of the dam's fish ladder. Abiqua Creek has historically supported the largest steelhead spawning populations in the Pudding River watershed.

  1. ^ a b c "Abiqua Creek". Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). United States Geological Survey (USGS). 1980-11-28. Retrieved 2008-07-28..
  2. ^ Bright, William (2004). Native American Placenames of the United States. Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press. p. 20. ISBN 978-0-8061-3598-4. Retrieved 2008-08-03.
  3. ^ Source elevation derived from Google Earth search using GNIS source coordinates.
  4. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference nationalmap was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Pudding River Watershed Council; Adolfson Associates; Alsea Geospatial. "Pudding River Watershed Assessment, 2006". Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. Retrieved October 14, 2011.
  6. ^ Oregon Atlas and Gazetteer (Map) (1991 ed.). DeLorme Mapping. § 54, 60. ISBN 0-89933-235-8.