Catherine Creek

This article is about the stream in Oregon. For the stream in Washington, see Catherine Creek (Kettle River).
Catherine Creek
At Catherine Creek State Park
Catherine Creek is located in Oregon
Catherine Creek
Location of the mouth of Catherine Creek in Oregon
EtymologyCatherine Godley, daughter of early settlers near Union[2]
Location
CountryUnited States
StateOregon
CountyUnion
Physical characteristics
Source 
 • locationWallowa–Whitman National Forest
 • coordinates45°07′12″N 117°38′50″W / 45.12000°N 117.64722°W / 45.12000; -117.64722[1]
 • elevation3,650 ft (1,110 m)[3]
MouthGrande Ronde River
 • location
near Cove
 • coordinates
45°18′49″N 117°52′20″W / 45.31361°N 117.87222°W / 45.31361; -117.87222[1]
 • elevation
2,690 ft (820 m)[1]
Length32.4 mi (52.1 km)
Basin size489 sq mi (1,270 km2)[4]

Catherine Creek is a 32.4-mile-long (52.1 km)[5] creek in northeastern Oregon, United States.[1] A tributary of the Grande Ronde River, it is the second-longest stream in the Grande Ronde Valley. Originating in the foothills of the Wallowa Mountains, it flows generally northwest through Catherine Creek State Park and the city of Union before joining the river.

The creek was named for Catherine Godley, a daughter of Thomas and M. E. Godley, who settled near Union in the 19th century.[2] A former variant name for the stream on some maps was Ladd Creek.[1] However, Ladd Creek on more recent maps is a stream flowing generally northeast from hills southeast of La Grande through the Ladd Marsh Game Management Area, joining Gekeler Slough before entering Catherine Creek.[6] Little Creek, a tributary of Catherine Creek, was formerly called Julianna Creek for the Godleys' other daughter.[2]

  1. ^ a b c d e "Catherine Creek". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. November 28, 1980. Retrieved April 9, 2012.
  2. ^ a b c McArthur, Lewis A.; McArthur, Lewis L. (2003) [1928]. Oregon Geographic Names (7th ed.). Portland: Oregon Historical Society Press. p. 180. ISBN 0-87595-277-1.
  3. ^ Source elevation derived from Google Earth search using GNIS source coordinates.
  4. ^ "Catherine Creek Spring Chinook Salmon Population" (PDF). Northwest Fisheries Science Center. p. 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved July 16, 2015.
  5. ^ "National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data (The National Map)". U.S. Geological Survey. Retrieved May 3, 2011.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference DeLorme was invoked but never defined (see the help page).