The Middle Fork Coquille River is a tributary, about long, of the
South Fork Coquille River in the
U.S. state of
Oregon
Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...
. It begins near Camas Mountain in
Douglas County in the
Southern Oregon Coast Range
The Southern Oregon Coast Range is the southernmost section of the Oregon Coast Range, in the Pacific Coast Ranges, located in the southwest portion of the state of Oregon, United States, roughly between the Umpqua River and the middle fork of the ...
. It flows generally south, bypassing the community of
Camas Valley while passing through the valley of the same name, then curves west and north to
Remote in
Coos County. The Middle Fork then flows generally west, passes by the small community of
Bridge
A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually someth ...
, and meets the South Fork near
Myrtle Point. The confluence with the South Fork is by water to where the
main stem
In hydrology, a mainstem (or trunk) is "the primary downstream segment of a river, as contrasted to its tributaries". Water enters the mainstem from the river's drainage basin, the land area through which the mainstem and its tributaries flow. ...
of the
Coquille River enters the Pacific Ocean at
Bandon.
[ The map includes mile markers along the ]main stem
In hydrology, a mainstem (or trunk) is "the primary downstream segment of a river, as contrasted to its tributaries". Water enters the mainstem from the river's drainage basin, the land area through which the mainstem and its tributaries flow. ...
and each of the large Coquille River forks.
Oregon Route 42
Oregon Route 42 (OR 42) is an Oregon state highway which runs between U.S. Route 101 on the Oregon Coast, near Coos Bay, and Green, a few miles south of Roseburg on Interstate 5. OR 42 traverses the Coos Bay–Roseburg Highway No.&nbs ...
runs along the river from Camas Valley to the
mouth
In animal anatomy, the mouth, also known as the oral cavity, or in Latin cavum oris, is the opening through which many animals take in food and issue vocal sounds. It is also the cavity lying at the upper end of the alimentary canal, bounded on ...
.
The land in the watershed is used mainly for timber production and farming; commercial forests dominate much of the region.
Tributaries
Named tributaries of the Middle Fork Coquille River from source to mouth are Estes, Lake, Cole, Lang, Wildcat, Bar, Reed, and Jim Bilieu creeks. Then come Day, Mill, Bingham, Mystic, Twelvemile, Bear, and Slater creeks followed by Panther Creek and another Lake Creek.
Further downstream are Upper Rock, Slide,
Sandy
Sandy may refer to:
People and fictional characters
*Sandy (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters
* Sandy (surname), a list of people
* Sandy (singer), Brazilian singer and actress Sandy Leah Lima (born 1983)
* (Sandy) ...
, Frenchie and Tanner creeks. Then come Belieu, Myrtle, Salmon, Big, King, McMullen, Endicott, and Indian creeks and another Mill Creek.
Fishing
The Middle Fork supports populations of wild
cutthroat trout
The cutthroat trout is a fish species of the family Salmonidae native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean, Rocky Mountains, and Great Basin in North America. As a member of the genus '' Oncorhynchus'', it is one of the Pacific t ...
as well as small runs of
salmon
Salmon () is the common name for several commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family Salmonidae, which are native to tributaries of the North Atlantic (genus '' Salmo'') and North Pacific (genus '' Onco ...
and
steelhead
Steelhead, or occasionally steelhead trout, is the common name of the anadromous form of the coastal rainbow trout or redband trout (O. m. gairdneri). Steelhead are native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific basin in Northeast Asia and ...
. Fishing for cutthroat is
catch and release
Catch and release is a practice within recreational fishing where after capture, often a fast measurement and weighing of the fish is performed, followed by posing, posed photography as trophy, proof of the catch, and then the fish are unhooke ...
. The river is closed to fishing between mid-September and the end of November to protect
spawning
Spawn is the eggs and sperm released or deposited into water by aquatic animals. As a verb, ''to spawn'' refers to the process of releasing the eggs and sperm, and the act of both sexes is called spawning. Most aquatic animals, except for aquat ...
salmon.
See also
*
List of rivers of Oregon
References
External links
Coquille Watershed Association
{{authority control
Rivers of Coos County, Oregon
Rivers of Douglas County, Oregon
Rivers of Oregon