Illinois River (Oregon)
Template:Other Template:Use American English Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox river
The Illinois River is a tributary, about Template:Convert long, of the Rogue River in the U.S. state of Oregon. It drains part of the Klamath Mountains in northern California and southwestern Oregon. The river's main stem begins at the confluence of its east and west forks near Cave Junction in southern Josephine County. Its drainage basin includes Sucker Creek, which rises in the Red Buttes Wilderness, near Whiskey Peak on the California state line. The main stem flows generally northwest in a winding course past Kerby and through the Siskiyou National Forest and Kalmiopsis Wilderness. It joins the Rogue River from the south at Agness 4.75 miles NW of the Curry–Josephine county line, (US Geological Survey National Map measure tool) and Template:Convert from the Pacific Ocean, 16.8 miles as the crow flies.
The river's lower Template:Convert, from where it enters the Rogue River–Siskiyou National Forest downstream from Kerby to its confluence with the Rogue River, were designated Wild and Scenic in 1984. Of this, Template:Convert is protected as wild, Template:Convert as scenic, and Template:Convert as recreational.<ref name = "Wild and Scenic">Template:Cite web</ref>
Tributaries
Sucker Creek is named after the state of Illinois, one of whose nicknames is the Sucker State. Miners from Illinois named the creek.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2011, the United States Forest Service worked on a project to improve the creek.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The project is a fishery rehabilitation project.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Rafting and kayaking
The Illinois River is "a wilderness river that tests both the skill and strength of boaters".<ref name="Soggy">Template:Cite book</ref> For the Template:Convert run along the Wild and Scenic part of the river between upper Oak Flat near Kerby and lower Oak Flat, boaters are far from trails and roads.<ref name="Soggy"/> In fact, it is "the most inaccessible river canyon in the lower 48 states..."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> with sections that are inaccessible, even by trail.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Refn Depending on the water flow, this stretch of the river has eight class IV to IV+ rapids. Green Wall, a class V, "is considerably more difficult and longer than the others"<ref name="Soggy"/> and below it lie Template:Convert of difficult rapids. The river is generally run by raft or kayak during the rainy season, October through April.<ref name="Soggy"/> At flows below Template:Convert, boating is difficult because of exposed rocks, and flows above Template:Convert "turn the river into boiling holes and rapids."<ref name="Soggy"/> A heavy rain can turn an ordinary trip into a high-water nightmare.<ref name="Soggy"/>
Permits from the U.S. Forest Service are required (year round) for river trips on the Wild Section of the river (between Briggs Creek and Nancy Creek) and groups are limited to no more than twelve. However, the permits for non-commercial groups are free and are self issued 24/7, but the permit must also be deposited at Oak Flat to verify the safe completion of the trip.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Since there is no dam on the Illinois River, river flows are highly dependent upon weather conditions. Changing weather can often result in water levels being too high or too low for safe and successful navigation. Furthermore, since water levels can rise rapidly, potential bad weather can also be the cause for cancelled or postponed trips.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Refn Nevertheless, even under acceptable conditions, the Illinois River can still cause casualties.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
See also
Notes
References
External links
- Template:Commons category-inline
- The coordinates for the Illinois River source are Template:Coord, and for the mouth they are Template:Coord.