Amazon Creek is a

stream A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a strea ...

that runs through southeastern and western

Eugene Eugene may refer to: People and fictional characters * Eugene (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Gene Eugene, stage name of Canadian born actor, record producer, engineer, composer and musi ...

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 ...

, United States. It is a tributary of the

Long Tom River The Long Tom River is a tributary of the Willamette River in western Oregon in the United States. It drains an area at the south end of the Willamette Valley between Eugene and Corvallis. It rises in the Central Oregon Coast Range in western ...

and is Eugene's second-largest waterway after the

Willamette River The Willamette River ( ) is a major tributary of the Columbia River, accounting for 12 to 15 percent of the Columbia's flow. The Willamette's main stem is long, lying entirely in northwestern Oregon in the United States. Flowing northward ...

Background

Amazon Creek's

headwaters The headwater of a river or stream is the geographical point of its beginning, specifically where surface runoff water begins to accumulate into a flowing channel of water. A river or stream into which one or many tributary rivers or streams flo ...

are located in Eugene's southeast hills near Spencer Butte. The creek bed has been altered from the foot of Spencer Butte so it flows north from Martin Street through Amazon Park in a channel. At 24th street it enters a 1.75 mile concrete channel. The stream travels north to 18th Avenue, turning west near High Street and continuing into the levee channel (diversion canal) near the Lane County Fairgrounds at Jefferson Street. It continues west to Fern Ridge Reservoir and the Long Tom River. It collects water from 21 square miles of urban landscapes and storm drains, providing flood control, wildlife habitat, and recreation. In 1946, the

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is the military engineering branch of the United States Army. A direct reporting unit (DRU), it has three primary mission areas: Engineer Regiment, military construction, and civil wor ...

widened, deepened, and realigned the creek from Hilyard Street to

Fern Ridge Reservoir Fern Ridge Reservoir (or Fern Ridge Lake) is a reservoir on the Long Tom River in the U.S. state of Oregon. The reservoir is located approximately west of Eugene on Oregon Route 126. The reservoir is a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers flood control ...

in a diversion canal as a means of controlling floodwaters in the area. The Amazon flood control project was completed in 1958, using a trapezoidal channel designed to withstand a 25-year flood. The lower reach of Amazon Creek from Bailey Hill Road to the

Coos Bay Rail Link The Coos Bay Rail Line (reporting mark CBRL) is a railroad line from the Willamette Valley to the Port of Coos Bay on the Oregon Coast and Coquille, Oregon, in the United States. It is owned and operated by the Oregon International Port of Coo ...

(former

Southern Pacific Railroad The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials) was an American Railroad classes#Class I, Class I Rail transport, railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was oper ...

) rail line has been the subject of current restoration efforts to widen the creek and plant native species along the banks. The City of Eugene has designated Amazon Creek as a natural area, noting, "These areas support a wide diversity of plants and wildlife, including many endangered and rare species. These areas also provide valuable

ecosystem services Ecosystem services are the various benefits that humans derive from Ecosystem, ecosystems. The interconnected Biotic_material, living and Abiotic, non-living components of the natural environment offer benefits such as pollination of crops, clean ...

… and many other important functions that benefit our community."

Geography

Coordinates

Amazon Creek Diversion Channel Meeting the Fern Ridge Reservoir

Drop Structure on the Amazon Creek Diversion Channel

Drop Structure on the Amazon Creek Diversion Channel in Summer

References

External links

Amazon Creek Priority Planning Area
fro
Metro Waterways: A Study of the Eugene-Springfield Metropolitan Region
{{authority control Geography of Eugene, Oregon Rivers of Oregon Rivers of Lane County, Oregon

Background

Geography

Coordinates

See also

References

External links