Illinois River

Illinois River
Rafting the Green Wall Rapids on the Illinois River
Name origin: The U.S. state of Illinois, the birthplace of three brothers named Althouse who emigrated to Oregon and mined for gold along Althouse Creek and the Illinois River[1]
Country	United States
State	Oregon
County	Josephine and Curry
Source	Confluence of East Fork Illinois River and West Fork Illinois River
- location	near Cave Junction, Josephine County, Oregon
- elevation	1,271 ft (387 m) [2]
- coordinates	42°09′35″N 123°39′33″W / 42.15972°N 123.65917°W / 42.15972; -123.65917 [3]
Mouth	Rogue River
- location	Agness, Curry County, Oregon
- elevation	102 ft (31 m) [3]
- coordinates	42°33′00″N 124°03′58″W / 42.55°N 124.06611°W / 42.55; -124.06611 [3]
Length	60 mi (97 km) [4]
Basin	983 sq mi (2,546 km²) [5]
Discharge	for near Kerby, 50.3 miles (81.0 km) from the mouth
- average	1,262 cu ft/s (36 m³/s) [6]
- max	92,200 cu ft/s (2,611 m³/s)
- min	121 cu ft/s (3 m³/s)
Location of the mouth of the Illinois River in Oregon
Southwestern Oregon rivers

The Illinois River is a 60-mile (97 km) tributary 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 on the Curry–Josephine county line, 27 miles (43 km) from the Pacific Ocean.

The river's lower 50.4 miles (81.1 km), 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, 28.7 miles (46.2 km) is protected as wild, 17.9 miles (28.8 km) as scenic, and 3.8 miles (6.1 km) as recreational.^[7]

Rafting and kayaking

The Illinois River is "a wilderness river that tests both the skill and strength of boaters".^[8] For the 31-mile (50 km) 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.^[8] Depending on the water flow, this stretch of the river has eight class 4 to 4+ rapids. Green Wall, a class 5, "is considerably more difficult and longer than the others"^[8] and below it lie 3 miles (4.8 km) of difficult rapids. The river is generally run by raft or kayak during the rainy season, October through April.^[8] At flows below 800 cubic feet per second (23 m³/s), boating is difficult because of exposed rocks, and flows above 3,000 cubic feet per second (85 m³/s) "turn the river into boiling holes and rapids."^[8] A heavy rain can turn an ordinary trip into a high-water nightmare.^[8]

See also

• List of Oregon rivers
• Other Illinois Rivers

References

Works cited

• Giordano, Pete (2004). Soggy Sneakers: A Paddler's Guide to Oregon's Rivers, fourth edition. Seattle: The Mountaineers Books. ISBN 978-0-89886-815-9.

Gallery

The West Fork Illinois River.

The Illinois River runs through the Kalmiopsis Wilderness.

Rafting the Illinois River in the Kalmiopsis Wilderness.

External links

• Oregon Rafting
• The coordinates for the Illinois River source are 42°09′35″N 123°39′33″W / 42.1598354°N 123.6592351°W / 42.1598354; -123.6592351 (Illinois River source), and for the mouth they are 42°33′00″N 124°03′58″W / 42.5501086°N 124.0661995°W / 42.5501086; -124.0661995 (Illinois River mouth).