Pudding River

Pudding River
Pudding River near Aurora
Pudding River is located in Oregon
Pudding River
Location of the mouth of the Pudding River in Oregon
EtymologyFrom Riviere au Boudin, given by French fur trappers in the early 19th-century to commemorate a blood pudding made from elk they shot near the river[2]
Location
CountryUnited States
StateOregon
CountyMarion, Clackamas
Physical characteristics
SourceWaldo Hills
 • locationeast of Salem, Marion County
 • coordinates44°53′51″N 122°44′42″W / 44.89750°N 122.74500°W / 44.89750; -122.74500[1]
 • elevation953 ft (290 m)[3]
MouthMolalla River
 • location
near Canby, Clackamas County
 • coordinates
45°17′54″N 122°43′07″W / 45.29833°N 122.71861°W / 45.29833; -122.71861[1]
 • elevation
69 ft (21 m)[1]
Length62 mi (100 km)[4][5]
Basin size528 sq mi (1,370 km2)[6]
Discharge 
 • locationAurora, 8.11 miles (13.05 km) from the mouth[7]
 • average1,237 cu ft/s (35.0 m3/s)[7]
 • minimum3.5 cu ft/s (0.099 m3/s)
 • maximum43,700 cu ft/s (1,240 m3/s)

The Pudding River is a 62-mile (100 km) tributary of the Molalla River in the U.S. state of Oregon. Its drainage basin covers 528 square miles (1,368 km2). Among its tributaries are Silver Creek, Butte Creek, Abiqua Creek, and the Little Pudding River.

Historically, the Pudding River flowed directly into the Willamette River, and aerial photos dating back to 1936 provide evidence of the Willamette River's confluence with the Pudding River mainstem channel.[8] Currently, it flows directly into the Molalla River near River Mile 1 before joining the Willamette River. Anadromous and resident salmonids use the Lower Pudding River main stem and key tributaries that support the basin's ecosystems.

  1. ^ a b c "Pudding River". Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). United States Geological Survey. November 28, 1980. Retrieved August 10, 2010.
  2. ^ McArthur, Lewis A.; McArthur, Lewis L. (2003) [1928]. Oregon Geographic Names (7th ed.). Portland, Oregon: Oregon Historical Society Press. pp. 788–89. ISBN 0-87595-277-1.
  3. ^ Source elevation derived from Google Earth search using GNIS source coordinates.
  4. ^ United States Geological Survey. "United States Geological Survey Topographic Map". TopoQuest. The relevant map quadrants, Canby, Woodburn, Silverton, and Stayton NE, Oregon, include river-mile (RM) markers to RM 59 (river kilometer 95). The remaining 3 miles (5 km) is an estimate based on map scale and ruler.
  5. ^ Oregon Atlas & Gazetteer (Map) (1991 ed.). DeLorme Mapping. § 54, 60. ISBN 0-89933-235-8.
  6. ^ Pudding River Watershed Council; Adolfson Associates; Alsea Geospatial. "Pudding River Watershed Assessment, 2006". Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. Retrieved October 14, 2011.
  7. ^ a b "Water-Data Report 2007: 14202000 Pudding River at Aurora, OR" (PDF). United States Geological Survey. 2007. Retrieved November 11, 2008.
  8. ^ Kurt D. Carpenter; Christiana R. Czuba; Christopher S. Magirl; Mathieu D. Marineau; Steve Sobieszczyk; Jonathan A. Czuba; Mackenzie K. Keith (2012). "Geomorphic Setting, Aquatic Habitat, and Water-Quality Conditions of the Molalla River, Oregon, 2009-10". United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 2012-11-01.