Long Tom River

Long Tom River
The Long Tom River as it appears while passing through the Oregon Country Fair's land near Veneta
Long Tom River is located in Oregon
Long Tom River
Location of the mouth of the Long Tom River in Oregon
EtymologyDeveloped gradually in the 19th century in imitation of a native tribal name[2]
Location
CountryUnited States
StateOregon
CountyLane and Benton
Physical characteristics
SourceCentral Oregon Coast Range
 • locationLong Tom Station, Lane County
 • coordinates44°13′12″N 123°26′39″W / 44.22000°N 123.44417°W / 44.22000; -123.44417[1]
 • elevation1,131 ft (345 m)[3]
MouthWillamette River
 • location
Norwood Island, Benton County
 • coordinates
44°22′48″N 123°14′54″W / 44.38000°N 123.24833°W / 44.38000; -123.24833[1]
 • elevation
256 ft (78 m)
Length57 mi (92 km)[4]
Basin size410 sq mi (1,100 km2)[5]
Discharge 
 • average753 cu ft/s (21.3 m3/s)[4]

The Long Tom River is a 57-mile (92 km) tributary of the Willamette River in western Oregon in the United States.[4] It drains an area at the south end of the Willamette Valley between Eugene and Corvallis.[6]

It rises in the Central Oregon Coast Range in western Lane County, approximately 10 mi (16 km) west of Veneta. It flows east through the mountains to Veneta, through the Fern Ridge Reservoir, and then north into the Willamette Valley, roughly parallel to and west of the Willamette River. It joins the Willamette from the southwest approximately 4 mi (6.5 km) west of Halsey. The Fern Ridge Reservoir was created in 1942 when the United States Army Corps of Engineers dammed the river to control flooding.[7]

The watershed includes approximately 410 sq mi (1,100 km2) of land (262,000 acres, 1060 km2) zoned as 45 percent forest, 30 percent agricultural, 8 public, and 17 percent urban or rural residential.[5] The Long Tom waters support more than 140,000 people in the area, including residents in the city of Veneta and the rural farming communities of Alvadore, Cheshire, Crow, Franklin, and Noti, as well as industrial and commercial land on the western edge of Eugene.[8] These lands were inhabited by the Chelamela group of the Kalapuya Indians prior to European settlement.

The Oregon Country Fair is one of many groups and agencies that work with the Long Tom Watershed Council to protect and restore the river.[9]

  1. ^ a b "Long Tom River". Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). United States Geological Survey. November 28, 1980. Retrieved July 26, 2009.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference ogn was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Google Earth elevation for GNIS coordinates
  4. ^ a b c Palmer, Tim (2014). Field Guide to Oregon Rivers. Corvallis: Oregon State University Press. pp. 173–74. ISBN 978-0-87071-627-0.
  5. ^ a b "About the watershed". Long Tom Watershed Council. 2003. Archived from the original on February 1, 2010. Retrieved July 26, 2009.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference topo map was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ "The Fern Ridge Community Resource Unit". naturalborders.com. Retrieved May 6, 2008.
  8. ^ Lane County Profile
  9. ^ "Funding and partners: 1998–2003". Long Tom Watershed Council. 2003. Archived from the original on February 1, 2010. Retrieved July 27, 2009.

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