The Central Oregon Coast Range is the middle section of the

Oregon Coast Range The Oregon Coast Range, often called simply the Coast Range and sometimes the Pacific Coast Range, is a mountain range, in the Pacific Coast Ranges Physiographic regions of the world, physiographic region, in the United States, U.S. state of Or ...

, in the

Pacific Coast Ranges The Pacific Coast Ranges (officially gazetted as the Pacific Mountain System in the United States; ; ) are the series of mountain ranges that stretch along the West Coast of North America from Alaska south to Northern and Central Mexico. Althoug ...

physiographic region Physiographic regions are a means of defining Earth's landforms into independently distinct, mutually exclusive areas, independent of political boundaries. It is based upon the classic three-tiered approach by Nevin M. Fenneman in 1916, that separ ...

, and located in the west-central portion of the 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 ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

roughly between the Salmon River and the

Umpqua River The Umpqua River ( ) on the Pacific coast of Oregon in the United States is approximately long. One of the principal rivers of the Oregon Coast and known for bass and shad, the river drains an expansive network of valleys in the mountains west ...

and the

Willamette Valley The Willamette Valley ( ) is a valley in Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. The Willamette River flows the entire length of the valley and is surrounded by mountains on three sides: the Cascade Range to the east, the ...

and the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

. This approximately long mountain range contains mountains as high as for

Marys Peak Marys Peak (formerly Mary's Peak and sometimes still spelled this way) is a mountain in Benton County, Oregon, Benton County, Oregon, United States, just southwest of Philomath, Oregon, Philomath. The Kalapuya people call the peak "chatímanwi" ...

. Portions of the range are inside the

Siuslaw National Forest The Siuslaw National Forest ( ) is a national forest in western Oregon in the United States. Established in 1908, the Siuslaw is made up of a wide variety of ecosystems, ranging from coastal forests to sand dunes. Geography The Siuslaw Nat ...

and three wilderness areas exist as well: Drift Creek Wilderness, Cummins Creek Wilderness and Rock Creek Wilderness.

Geology

The underlying rock of the Central Coast Range are the

igneous Igneous rock ( ), or magmatic rock, is one of the three main rock types, the others being sedimentary and metamorphic. Igneous rocks are formed through the cooling and solidification of magma or lava. The magma can be derived from partial ...

rocks from the Siletz River Volcanics of the

Paleocene The Paleocene ( ), or Palaeocene, is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 66 to 56 mya (unit), million years ago (mya). It is the first epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), ...

age. It is estimated that this rock formation is up to thick. These formations consist mainly of

pillow basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron ( mafic lava) exposed at or very near the surface of a rocky planet or moon. More than 90% o ...

, large

lava Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a Natural satellite, moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a Fissure vent, fractu ...

flows,

tuff breccia Tuff is a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during a volcanic eruption. Following ejection and deposition, the ash is lithified into a solid rock. Rock that contains greater than 75% ash is considered tuff, while rock cont ...

, and sills. This part of the mountains are approximately 50 to 60 million years old. It is theorized that the source of these lava flows came from oceanic islands that formed over a tectonic hotspot. The entire Oregon Coast Range overlies a convergent tectonic margin that interacts with the Juan de Fuca Plate that is being sub-ducted beneath the North America tectonic plate. This is the

Cascadia subduction zone The Cascadia subduction zone is a convergent plate boundary, about off the Pacific coast of North America, that stretches from northern Vancouver Island in Canada to Northern California in the United States. It is capable of producing 9.0+ m ...

that has experienced uplift for several million years. Currently it is part of a large forearc basin that extends for much of the entire Coast Range on a north–south alignment. Parts of the upper portions of the range contain

continental margin A continental margin is the outer edge of continental crust abutting oceanic crust under coastal waters. It is one of the three major zones of the ocean floor, the other two being deep-ocean basins and mid-ocean ridges. The continental marg ...

deposits A deposit account is a bank account maintained by a financial institution in which a customer can deposit and withdraw money. Deposit accounts can be savings accounts, current accounts or any of several other types of accounts explained below. ...

from the early Eocene to Paleocene age. Portions of this include marine fossils in the geologic record. Sandstone and shale are also present in the sections of the mountains, with thickness up to . In the southern part of the range the bedrock is overlaid by

Eocene The Eocene ( ) is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (Ma). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes ...

age turbidite sediments and river sediment. The active tectonic forces have created many faults and folds in the range. Additionally, erosion is a major landscape-shaping force for the range. Both heavy rainfall and the resulting

landslides Landslides, also known as landslips, rockslips or rockslides, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, mudflows, shallow or deep-seated slope failures and debris flows. Landslide ...

have worked to erode and shape the mountains.Byrne, John V. An Erosional Classification for the Northern Oregon Coast, Annals of the Association of American Geographers, Vol. 54, No. 3. (Sep., 1964), pp. 329-335. Much of the landscape is dominated by steep slopes and drainages that are deeply cut into the hillsides from the erosion. Unlike many areas in North America, the mountain range did not see glaciations during the

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( ; referred to colloquially as the ''ice age, Ice Age'') is the geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fin ...

age.

Flora and fauna

The Oregon Coast Range is home to over 50 mammals, 100 species of birds, and nearly 30 reptiles or amphibians that spent a significant portion of their life cycle in the mountains.Northwest Forest Plan: Wildlife Habitat Relationships for the Coast Guide.
ECOSHARE: Interagency Clearinghouse of Ecological Information. Retrieved on February 29, 2008. Birds living in the Central Coast Range include a variety of smaller and larger bird species. These include winter wrens, chestnut-backed chickadees,

red-breasted nuthatch The red-breasted nuthatch (''Sitta canadensis'') is a small songbird. The adult has blue-grey upperparts with cinnamon underparts, a white throat and face with a black stripe through the eyes, a straight grey bill and a black crown. Its call, wh ...

es, varied thrushes, several swallow species, red crossbills, evening grosbeaks, brown creepers, olive-sided flycatchers, Hammond's flycatchers, gray jays, western wood-pewees, and western tanagers. Some of the larger species in the range include the red-breasted sapsucker, common ravens, peregrine falcons, the

pileated woodpecker The pileated woodpecker ( ; ''Dryocopus pileatus'') is a large, crow-sized woodpecker with a prominent red crest, white neck stripe, and a mostly black body. These woodpeckers are native to North America, where it is the largest confirmed extant ...

, turkey vultures, wood duck, common nighthawks, and the red-tailed hawk. Birds in lower numbers include Vaux's swifts, the endangered

spotted owl The spotted owl (''Strix occidentalis'') is a species of true owl. It is a resident species of old-growth forests in western North America, where it nests in tree hollows, old bird of prey nests, or rock crevices. Nests can be between high a ...

, bald eagles, the downy woodpecker, hairy woodpeckers, the pine siskin, the hermit warbler, Pacific-slope flycatchers, golden-crowned kinglets, and ruffed grouse. One of the more common avian wildlife is the American dipper, which live mainly near rivers and streams.Anthony, Robert G
Nest-site selection and productivity of American Dippers in the Oregon Coast Range. (09-01-2006)
Goliath. Retrieved on February 29, 2008. These birds build nests from in diameter out of moss. The central coast range is also home to some larger animals such as deer, elk, bobcat, and bear. Bear are black bear while deer are mule and

black-tailed deer Black-tailed deer or blacktail deer occupy coastal regions of western North America. There are two subspecies, the Columbian black-tailed deer (''Odocoileus hemionus columbianus'') which ranges from the Pacific Northwest of the United States and ...

species. Some additional mammals are

mountain beaver The mountain beaver (''Aplodontia rufa'')Other names include boomer, mountain boomer, ground bear, giant mole, gehalis, sewellel, suwellel, showhurll, showtl, and showte, as well as a number of other Native American terms. "Mountain beaver" is a ...

, coyote, mink, river otter, mountain lion, the common raccoon, common porcupine, brush rabbit, and skunk. The coast range is inhabited by eleven different species of

bat Bats are flying mammals of the order Chiroptera (). With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most birds, flying with their very long spread-out ...

s, and they account for nearly 20% of all the

mammal A mammal () is a vertebrate animal of the Class (biology), class Mammalia (). Mammals are characterised by the presence of milk-producing mammary glands for feeding their young, a broad neocortex region of the brain, fur or hair, and three ...

species in the range.John P. Hayes, Patrick T. Hounihan, Stephen P. Cross
Habitat relationships and riparian-zone associations of bats in managed coast range forests.
Adaptive C.O.P.E. Program. Retrieved on February 29, 2008. Species of bats include the

Yuma myotis The Yuma myotis (''Myotis yumanensis'') is a species of vesper bat native to western North America. Description The Yuma myotis is a relatively small myotis, measuring in head-body length, with an average wingspan of and a weight of about . T ...

, silver-haired bat, big brown bat, hoary bat, and the long-eared myotis. Other mammals living in the central range include

beaver Beavers (genus ''Castor'') are large, semiaquatic rodents of the Northern Hemisphere. There are two existing species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers are the second-large ...

s, creeping voles, long-tailed voles, vagrant shrews, deer mice, Pacific jumping mice, western pocket gopher, marsh shrew, shrew-mole, coast-mole, ermine,

northern flying squirrel The northern flying squirrel (''Glaucomys sabrinus'') is one of three species of the genus '' Glaucomys'', the only flying squirrels found in North America.Walker EP, Paradiso JL. 1975. ''Mammals of the World''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Universit ...

, and Townsend's chipmunk among others.Nobuya Suzuki and Brenda C. McComb
Associations of Small Mammals and Amphibians with Beaver-occupied Streams in the Oregon Coast Range (2004).
Washington State University. Retrieved on February 29, 2008. Amphibians include, but are not limited to, rough-skinned newts, northwestern salamanders, western red-backed salamander, Coastal tailed frog, Coastal giant salamander, red-legged frog, southern torrent salamander, and ''

Ensatina The ensatina (''Ensatina eschscholtzii'') is a species complex of plethodontid (lungless) salamanders found in coniferous forests, oak woodland and chaparral

''. Additional species include northwestern garter snake, northern alligator lizard, Pacific tree frog, western pond turtles, gopher snake, ringneck snake, and western fence lizards. Fish species in the Central Coast Range include chinook salmon, steelhead, cutthroat trout, and the threatened species

coho salmon The coho salmon (''Oncorhynchus kisutch;'' Karuk: achvuun) is a species of anadromous fish in the salmon family (biology), family and one of the five Pacific salmon species. Coho salmon are also known as silver salmon (or "silvers") and is often ...

.Siuslaw National Forest - Stream & River Fishing.
United States Forest Service. Retrieved on February 29, 2008. A large section of the range is covered by the Siuslaw National Forest. Most of the range is forested and mainly within the western hemlock vegetation zone with the overstory of the forest dominated by

red alder ''Alnus rubra'', the red alder, is a deciduous broadleaf tree native to western North America (Alaska, Yukon, British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho and Montana). Description ''Alnus rubra'' is the largest species of alder in ...

, western hemlock, western cedar, bigleaf maple, and

Douglas-fir The Douglas fir (''Pseudotsuga menziesii'') is an evergreen conifer species in the pine family, Pinaceae. It is the tallest tree in the Pinaceae family. It is native to western North America and is also known as Douglas-fir, Douglas spruce, Or ...

trees. In these forested sections, trees include Sitka spruce, western redcedar, Douglas-fir, and western hemlock.From the Forest to the Sea: A Story of Fallen Trees.
Tree Dictionary. Retrieved on February 29, 2008. The understory of the forest areas contain vine maple,

Oregon grape ''Berberis aquifolium'', the Oregon grape or holly-leaved barberry, is a North American species of flowering plant in the family Berberidaceae. It is an evergreen shrub growing up to tall and wide, with pinnate leaves consisting of spiny leafle ...

, salmonberry, huckleberry, and sword fern to name a few. Other plants that grow in the region are Pacific madrone, salmonberry, Pacific silver fir, bracken fern, manzanita, thimble-berry,

Pacific dogwood ''Cornus nuttallii'', the Pacific dogwood, western dogwood, or mountain dogwood, is a species of dogwood native to western North America. The tree's name used by Hul'q'umi'num'-speaking nations is ''Kwi’txulhp''. Description It is a smal ...

, bitter cherry, snowberry, some rose species, and cascara.Macnab, James A. Biotic Aspection in the Coast Range Mountains of Northwestern Oregon, Ecological Monographs, Vol. 28, No. 1. (Jan., 1958), pp. 21-54. Additionally, various grass, sedge, and moss species are some of the other plant life growing in the mountain range.

Arthropod Arthropods ( ) are invertebrates in the phylum Arthropoda. They possess an arthropod exoskeleton, exoskeleton with a cuticle made of chitin, often Mineralization (biology), mineralised with calcium carbonate, a body with differentiated (Metam ...

s include various spiders, millipedes, collembolans, beetles, and a variety of centipedes.

Location and climate

The range begins around the Salmon River with the

Northern Oregon Coast Range The Northern Oregon Coast Range is the northern section of the Oregon Coast Range, in the Pacific Coast Ranges physiographic region, located in the northwest portion of the state of Oregon, United States. This section of the mountain range, part o ...

to the north.

Oregon Route 18 Oregon Route 18 is a state highway that runs between the Oregon Coast, near Lincoln City, Oregon, Lincoln City, and Newberg, Oregon, Newberg. OR 18 traverses the Salmon River Highway No. 39 of the Oregon state highway system, named a ...

is the general divide between the two sections. On the southern end the Umpqua River and

Oregon Route 38 Oregon Route 38 is an Oregon state highway that runs between the city of Reedsport, Oregon, Reedsport, on the Oregon Coast, and an interchange with Interstate 5 (Oregon), Interstate 5 near the communities of Curtin, Oregon, Curtin and Anlauf, O ...

provide the general dividing line between the Central and Southern Oregon Coast Range. The climate of the mountains is of the mild maritime variety. It is characterized by cool dry summers followed by mild and wet winters. Most precipitation falls in the form of rain, with snow during the winter months at the higher elevations. Annual precipitation varies from , with more in the higher elevations. The average high temperature in January is , and the average high in July is with temperature also varying by elevation.

Peaks

All peaks in the range over in elevation.

Rivers

The following rivers have portions of their headwaters in the Central Oregon Coast Range: Drains to

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 ...

: * Long Tom River * Luckiamute River * Marys River Drains to

: *

Alsea River The Alsea River flows from Alsea, Oregon, Alsea, an unincorporated area, unincorporated community in the coastal mountains of the U.S. state of Oregon, to the Pacific Ocean near the city of Waldport, Oregon, Waldport. It begins at the confluenc ...

D River The D River is a river in Lincoln City, Oregon, United States. The once-nameless river was at one time the "shortest river in the world" in the ''Guinness World Records'' at . World record dispute The world's shortest title was lost in 1989 whe ...

Little Nestucca River The Little Nestucca River is a river, approximately long, on the Pacific coast of northwest Oregon in the United States. It drains an area of the Central Oregon Coast Range west of the Willamette Valley. It rises in the Van Duzer State Forest ...

* Salmon River *

Siletz River The Siletz River flows about to the Pacific Ocean through coastal mountains in the U.S. state of Oregon. Formed by the confluence of its north and south forks near Valsetz in Polk County, it winds through the Central Oregon Coast Range. The ...

* Siltcoos River *

Siuslaw River The Siuslaw River ( ) is a river, about long, that flows to the Pacific Ocean coast of Oregon in the United States. It drains an area of about in the Central Oregon Coast Range southwest of the Willamette Valley and north of the watershed o ...

* Smith River *

Yachats River The Yachats River ( ) is a short river on the central Oregon coast, about west-north-west of Eugene. The name is the native name meaning ''at the foot of the mountain''. The river begins about east-south-east of Yachats, Oregon, in steep, th ...

Yaquina River The Yaquina River ( ) is a stream, long, on the Pacific coast of the U.S. state of Oregon. It drains an area of the Central Oregon Coast Range west of the Willamette Valley near Newport. It rises in the mountains west of Corvallis along the ...

References

External links

CFER News: Riparian Litter Inputs to Streams in the Central Oregon Coast Range
{{Oregon Coast Range * Mountain ranges of Oregon Landforms of Douglas County, Oregon Landforms of Lane County, Oregon Landforms of Polk County, Oregon Landforms of Benton County, Oregon Landforms of Lincoln County, Oregon Volcanoes of Oregon