Fanno Creek

Fanno Creek
Fanno Creek in Greenway Park, Beaverton
Fanno Creek watershed
Location of the mouth of Fanno Creek in Oregon
Etymology	Augustus Fanno, early settler
Location
Country	United States
State	Oregon
County	Multnomah and Washington
Physical characteristics
Source	Tualatin Mountains (West Hills)
• location	Portland, Multnomah County, Oregon
• coordinates	45°28′44″N 122°42′00″W / 45.47889°N 122.70000°W / 45.47889; -122.70000[1]
• elevation	478 ft (146 m)[2]
Mouth	Tualatin River
• location	Durham, Washington County, Oregon
• coordinates	45°23′35″N 122°45′50″W / 45.39306°N 122.76389°W / 45.39306; -122.76389[1]
• elevation	108 ft (33 m)[1]
Length	15 mi (24 km)[3]
Basin size	31.7 sq mi (82 km2)[3]
Discharge
• location	Durham, 1.13 miles (1.82 km) from mouth[4]
• average	43.9 cu ft/s (1.24 m3/s)[4]
• minimum	1 cu ft/s (0.028 m3/s)
• maximum	1,670 cu ft/s (47 m3/s)

Fanno Creek is a 15-mile (24 km) tributary of the Tualatin River in the U.S. state of Oregon.^[3] Part of the drainage basin of the Columbia River, its watershed covers about 32 square miles (83 km²) in Multnomah, Washington, and Clackamas counties, including about 7 square miles (18 km²) within the Portland city limits.

From its headwaters in the Tualatin Mountains (West Hills) in southwest Portland, the creek flows generally west and south through the cities of Portland, Beaverton, Tigard and Durham, and unincorporated areas of Washington County. It enters the Tualatin River about 9 miles (14 km) above the Tualatin's confluence with the Willamette River at West Linn.

When settlers of European origin arrived, the Kalapuya lived in the area, having displaced the Multnomahs in pre-contact times. In 1847, the first settler of European descent, Augustus Fanno, for whom the creek is named, established an onion farm in what became Beaverton. Fanno Farmhouse, the restored family home, is a Century Farm on the National Register of Historic Places and is one of 16 urban parks in a narrow corridor along the creek.

Although heavily polluted, the creek supports aquatic life, including coastal cutthroat trout (leopard spotted) in its upper reaches. Watershed councils such as the Fans of Fanno Creek and government agencies have worked to limit pollution and to restore native vegetation in riparian zones.