Big Butte Creek

Big Butte Creek
Willow Lake (located in the Big Butte Creek watershed), with Mount McLoughlin in the background
Location of the mouth of Big Butte Creek in Oregon
Etymology	Named after Snowy Butte (now Mount McLoughlin)
Location
Country	United States
State	Oregon
County	Jackson County
Physical characteristics
Source	Near Butte Falls
• location	Cascade Range, Jackson County, Oregon
• coordinates	42°33′30″N 122°34′38″W / 42.55833°N 122.57722°W / 42.55833; -122.57722[a]
• elevation	2,244 ft (684 m)[a]
Mouth	Rogue River
• location	about 1 mile (1.6 km) southwest of Lost Creek Dam, Jackson County, Oregon
• coordinates	42°39′27″N 122°41′37″W / 42.65750°N 122.69361°W / 42.65750; -122.69361[1]
• elevation	1,562 ft (476 m)[1]
Length	12 mi (19 km)[3]
Basin size	245 sq mi (630 km2)[4]
Discharge
• location	the mouth[5]
• average	244 cu ft/s (6.9 m3/s)[5]
• minimum	6.4 cu ft/s (0.18 m3/s)(June 23–24, 1977)[5]
• maximum	16,800 cu ft/s (480 m3/s)(December 22, 1964)[5]

Big Butte Creek is a 12-mile-long (19 km) tributary of the Rogue River in the U.S. state of Oregon. It drains approximately 245 square miles (635 km²) of Jackson County. Its two forks, the North Fork and the South Fork, both begin high in the Cascade Range near Mount McLoughlin. Flowing predominantly west, they meet near the city of Butte Falls. The main stem flows generally northwest until it empties into the Rogue Falls was incorporated in 1911, and remains the only incorporated town within the watershed's boundaries.

Big Butte Creek's watershed was originally settled over 8,000 years ago by the Klamath, Upper Umpqua, and Takelma tribes of Native Americans. In the Rogue River Wars of the 1850s, most of the Native Americans were either killed or forced onto Indian reservations. The first non-indigenous settlers arrived in the 1860s, naming the creek after Snowy Butte, an early name for Mount McLoughlin. In the late 19th century, the watershed was primarily used for agriculture and logging. The small city of Butte Falls was incorporated in 1911, and remains the only incorporated town within the watershed's boundaries.

Big Butte Springs, located in the watershed, provides clean drinking water to more than 115,000 residents of the Rogue Valley. It emits over 26 million US gallons (98,000,000 L) of water per day. Water from Big Butte Creek is also diverted for irrigation at several other locations.

The water quality of the Big Butte Creek watershed is generally high, and it supports several species of trout and salmon. The watershed is also home to more than 152 species of birds, 63 species of mammals, 19 species of reptiles, and numerous plants. The Poverty Flats region was designated an Area of Critical Environmental Concern by the Bureau of Land Management in 1995 to protect several rare species of plants.

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