Williamson River (Oregon)

Williamson River
Upstream view within the Williamson River Indian Mission in Chiloquin
The Williamson, Sprague, and Klamath rivers
Williamson River (Oregon) is located in Oregon
Williamson River (Oregon)
Location of the mouth of Williamson River in Oregon
EtymologyRobert S. Williamson, who conducted Pacific Railroad Surveys in central Oregon[2]
Location
CountryUnited States
StateOregon
CountyKlamath
Physical characteristics
Sourcenear Bottle Spring
 • locationWinema National Forest
 • coordinates42°42′15″N 121°20′24″W / 42.70417°N 121.34000°W / 42.70417; -121.34000[1]
 • elevation5,100 ft (1,600 m)[3]
MouthUpper Klamath Lake
 • location
near Modoc Point
 • coordinates
42°27′53″N 121°57′25″W / 42.46472°N 121.95694°W / 42.46472; -121.95694[1]
 • elevation
4,147 ft (1,264 m)[1]
Length100 mi (160 km)[4]
Basin size3,000 sq mi (7,800 km2)[5]
Discharge 
 • locationnear Chiloquin, 10.3 miles (16.6 km) from the mouth[6]
 • average1,032 cu ft/s (29.2 m3/s)[7]
 • minimum285 cu ft/s (8.1 m3/s)
 • maximum17,100 cu ft/s (480 m3/s)

The Williamson River of south-central Oregon in the United States is about 100 miles (160 km) long.[8] It drains about 3,000 square miles (7,800 km2) east of the Cascade Range.[5] Together with its principal tributary, the Sprague River, it provides over half the inflow to Upper Klamath Lake,[5] the largest freshwater lake in Oregon.[9] The lake's outlet is the Link River, which flows into Lake Ewauna and the Klamath River.[9]

  1. ^ a b c "Williamson River". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey (USGS). November 28, 1980. Retrieved August 16, 2010.
  2. ^ McArthur, Lewis A.; Lewis L. McArthur (2003) [1928]. Oregon Geographic Names (7th ed.). Portland: Oregon Historical Society Press. pp. 1043–44. ISBN 0-87595-277-1.
  3. ^ Source elevation derived from Google Earth search using GNIS source coordinates.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Sheehan was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ a b c Risley, John C.; Laenen, Antonius (1999). "Upper Klamath Lake Basin Nutrient-Loading Study—Assessment of Historic flows in the Williamson and Sprague Rivers" (PDF). United States Geological Survey (USGS). p. 2. Retrieved March 4, 2011.
  6. ^ "Water-Date Report 2009: 11502500 Williamson River below Sprague River, near Chiloquin, OR" (PDF). United States Geological Survey. Retrieved March 4, 2011.
  7. ^ "Water-Date Report 2009: 11502500 Williamson River below Sprague River, near Chiloquin, OR" (PDF). United States Geological Survey. Retrieved March 4, 2011.
  8. ^ U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map, accessed March 9, 2011
  9. ^ a b Johnson, Daniel M.; et al. (1985). Atlas of Oregon Lakes. Corvallis: Oregon State University Press. pp. 136–37. ISBN 0-87071-343-4.