Little River (North Umpqua River tributary)

Little River
Little River (North Umpqua River tributary) is located in Oregon
Little River (North Umpqua River tributary)
Location of the mouth of Little River in Oregon
EtymologyLittle River in Tennessee, probably[2]
Location
CountryUnited States
StateOregon
CountyDouglas
Physical characteristics
Sourcenear Quartz Mountain
 • locationUmpqua National Forest, Cascade Range
 • coordinates43°11′07″N 122°40′59″W / 43.18528°N 122.68306°W / 43.18528; -122.68306[1]
 • elevation4,482 ft (1,366 m)[3]
MouthNorth Umpqua River
 • location
near Glide
 • coordinates
43°17′51″N 123°06′06″W / 43.29750°N 123.10167°W / 43.29750; -123.10167[1]
 • elevation
676 ft (206 m)[1]
Length30 mi (48 km)[4]
Basin size206 sq mi (530 km2)[5]

The Little River is a tributary of the North Umpqua River, about 30 miles (48 km) long, in southwestern Oregon in the United States.[4] It drains part of the western side of the Cascade Range east of Roseburg, between the North and South Umpqua.[4]

Little River rises north of Quartz Mountain in eastern Douglas County in the Umpqua National Forest. It flows west-northwest and joins the North Umpqua from the south at Glide, approximately 12 miles (19 km) east-northeast of Roseburg. The confluence is known as Colliding Rivers because of the nearly head-on angle at which the streams meet.[6]

The current Colliding Rivers Information Center was originally the North Umpqua Ranger Station of the Umpqua National Forest. It was built in 1938 by the Civilian Conservation Corps and United States Forest Service (USFS). It was converted to a residence in the 1950s, but in 1990 the building began to be restored to be similar to the original condition for use as an information center. Opened in 1992, the visitor center is managed jointly by the Forest Service, the Roseburg Visitor and Convention Bureau and the Bureau of Land Management. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[7]

  1. ^ a b c "Little River". Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). United States Geological Survey. November 28, 1980. Retrieved May 16, 2012.
  2. ^ McArthur, Lewis A.; Lewis L. McArthur (2003) [1928]. Oregon Geographic Names (7th ed.). Portland, Oregon: Oregon Historical Society Press. p. 583. ISBN 0-87595-277-1.
  3. ^ Source elevation derived from Google Earth search using GNIS source coordinates.
  4. ^ a b c United States Geological Survey (USGS). "United States Geological Survey Topographic Map". TopoQuest. Retrieved May 17, 2012. The map quadrangles include river mile (RM) markers along the Little River for 24 miles (39 km). The additional length is an estimate based on map scale and ruler.
  5. ^ Walters, Jay; Barnes and Associates (2006). "Oregon Explorer: Little River Watershed". Oregon State University. Retrieved May 16, 2012.
  6. ^ "Rogue–Umpqua Scenic Byway:Colliding Rivers". Bureau of Land Management. Retrieved May 16, 2012.
  7. ^ Miller, Bill (July 29, 2007). "Snapshot:Colliding Rivers". Mail Tribune. Southern Oregon Media Group. Retrieved May 16, 2012.