The Link River is a short river connecting
Upper Klamath Lake
Upper Klamath Lake (sometimes called Klamath Lake) ( Klamath: ?ews, "lake") is a large, shallow freshwater lake east of the Cascade Range in south-central Oregon in the United States. The largest body of fresh water by surface area in Oregon, it ...
to
Lake Ewauna in the city of
Klamath Falls
Klamath Falls ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Klamath County, Oregon, United States. The city was originally called ''Linkville'' when George Nurse founded the town in 1867. It was named after the Link River, on whose falls the city wa ...
in the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...
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 ...
.
[McArthur, p. 580] Draining a basin of , the river begins at the southern end of Klamath Lake and flows a short distance to the
Link River Dam and continues to the head of Lake Ewauna. The "falls" from which Klamath Falls derives its name, and which in reality are best described as
rapids
Rapids are sections of a river where the river bed has a relatively steep stream gradient, gradient, causing an increase in water velocity and turbulence. Flow, gradient, constriction, and obstacles are four factors that are needed for a rapid t ...
rather than falls, are visible a short distance below the dam, though the water flow is generally insufficient to provide water flow over the rocks. The
Klamath River
The Klamath River (Karuk language, Karuk: ''Ishkêesh'', Klamath language, Klamath: ''Koke'', Yurok language, Yurok: ''Hehlkeek 'We-Roy'') is a long river in southern Oregon and northern California. Beginning near Klamath Falls, Oregon, Klama ...
begins at the narrow southern end of Lake Ewauna and flows from there to the Pacific Ocean.
Before settlers came to the
Klamath Basin
The Klamath Basin is the region in the U.S. states of Oregon and California drained by the Klamath River. It contains most of Klamath County and parts of Lake and Jackson counties in Oregon, and parts of Del Norte, Humboldt, Modoc, Siskiyou, ...
, the Link River was known to the local
Klamaths as ''Yulalona,'' meaning "back and forth." At times, strong winds blew the water upstream into Klamath Lake and partly drained the riverbed.
After its founding in 1867, Klamath Falls was originally named Linkville. The name was changed to Klamath Falls in 1892–93.
[McArthur, p. 541]
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 ...
References
External links
*
Works cited
*McArthur, Lewis A., and McArthur, Lewis L. (2003)
928 ''Oregon Geographic Names'', 7th ed. Portland: Oregon Historical Society Press. .
{{Authority control
Rivers of Oregon
Rivers of Klamath County, Oregon
Tributaries of the Klamath River