The Silvies River flows for about
through
Grant and
Harney counties in the U.S. state of
Oregon
Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...
. The river drains of the northern
Harney Basin
The Harney Basin is an endorheic basin in southeastern Oregon in the United States at the northwestern corner of the Great Basin. One of the least populated areas of the contiguous United States, it is located largely in northern Harney County ...
.
The headwaters are on the southern flank of the
Aldrich Mountains
The Aldrich Mountains are a mountain range in Grant County, Oregon, United States. An east–west range rising south of the John Day River valley, the mountains are bounded on the west by the South Fork John Day River, on the south by Murderers Cr ...
, about south of
Mount Vernon
Mount Vernon is the former residence and plantation of George Washington, a Founding Father, commander of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, and the first president of the United States, and his wife, Martha. An American landmar ...
in Grant County. Named tributaries include Bear Creek and Emigrant Creek. The Silvies runs generally southward and passes near
Seneca and
Burns
Burns may refer to:
Astronomy
* 2708 Burns, an asteroid
* Burns (crater), on Mercury
People
* Burns (surname), list of people and characters named Burns
** Burns (musician), Scottish record producer
Places in the United States
* Burns, ...
. Southeast of Burns, in Harney County, the river splits into two
distributaries
A distributary, or a distributary channel is a stream channel that branches off and flows a main stream channel. It is the opposite of a ''tributary'', a stream that flows another stream or river. Distributaries are a result of river bifurca ...
, the East Fork Silvies River and the West Fork Silvies River. Both terminate at
Malheur Lake
Malheur Lake ( ) is one of the lakes in the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Harney County, Oregon, Harney County in the U.S. state of Oregon. Located about southeast of Burns, Oregon, Burns, the lake is marsh fed by the Donner und Blitzen ...
about southeast of Burns.
Flowing mainly through private land with limited public access, the river supports populations of
redband trout
Redband trout are a group of three recognized subspecies of rainbow trout (''Oncorhynchus mykiss''). They occur in three distinct regions in Pacific basin tributaries and endorheic basins in the western United States. The three subspecies are ...
, especially on its upstream reaches. Downstream of Seneca, fish such as
smallmouth bass
The smallmouth bass (''Micropterus dolomieu'') is a species of freshwater fish in the Centrarchidae, sunfish family (biology), family (Centrarchidae) of the order (biology), order Centrarchiformes. It is the type species of its genus ''Micropterus ...
,
yellow perch
The yellow perch (''Perca flavescens''), commonly referred to as perch, striped perch, American perch or preacher is a freshwater perciform fish native to much of North America. The yellow perch was described in 1814 by Samuel Latham Mitchill fr ...
, and carp are more abundant. The pool behind Five-Mile Dam, about north of Burns, is used for swimming, canoeing, and fishing.
[Sheehan, p. 290]
See also
*
List of rivers of Oregon
This is a partial listing of rivers in the state of Oregon, United States. This list of Oregon rivers is organized alphabetically and by tributary structure. The list may also include streams known as creeks, brooks, forks, branches and prongs, as ...
*
List of longest streams of Oregon
Seventy-seven rivers and creeks of at least 50 miles (80 km) in total length are the longest streams of the U.S. state of Oregon. All of these streams originate in the United States except the longest, the Columbia River, Columbia, whi ...
*
Malheur National Wildlife Refuge
Malheur National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge located roughly south of the city of Burns, Oregon, Burns in Oregon's Harney Basin. Administered by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the refuge area is roughly T-shap ...
References
Works cited
* Sheehan, Madelynne Diness (2005). ''Fishing in Oregon: The Complete Oregon Fishing Guide'', 10th edition. Scappoose, Oregon: Flying Pencil Publications. .
External links
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers photo gallery of Silvies River
{{authority control
Rivers of Oregon
Rivers of Harney County, Oregon
Rivers of Grant County, Oregon
Rivers of the Great Basin