The Yamhill River is an tributary of the
Willamette River, 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 ...
. Formed by the confluence of the
South Yamhill River and the
North Yamhill River about east of
McMinnville, it drains part of the
Northern Oregon Coast Range. The river meanders east past
Dayton
Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...
to join the Willamette River at its
river mile (RM) 55 or river kilometer (RK) 89, south of
Newberg.
It is likely that Yamhill was the 19th century white settlers' name for a tribe of
Native Americans, a
Kalapuya people who inhabited the region.
The Yamhill people were among 27 bands and tribes moved to the
Grand Ronde Indian Reservation, formally established in 1857.
Course
Formed by the confluence of the South Yamhill and North Yamhill rivers about east of McMinnville, the main stem Yamhill River flows generally east for about to the Willamette River, a tributary of the
Columbia River
The Columbia River (Upper Chinook language, Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin language, Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river headwater ...
. At about RM 9 (RK 14), Hawn Creek and then Millican Creek enter from the
left as the Yamhill nears
Lafayette, which lies to the river's left. Beyond Lafayette, Henry Creek enters from the left. Near Dayton, the river passes under
Oregon Route 18 before skirting the city, which lies to its
right
Rights are law, legal, social, or ethics, ethical principles of freedom or Entitlement (fair division), entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people according to some legal sy ...
at RM 5 (RK 8). Here
Palmer Creek enters from the right. Below Dayton, the river enters the Willamette at its RM 55 (RK 89) south of Newberg.
Lock and dam
In 1900 a
Yamhill River lock and dam lock and dam was completed about 1.5 miles downriver from
Lafayette, Oregon. The lock was decommissioned in 1954. The dam was deliberately destroyed in 1963 to allow better passage for
salmon
Salmon (; : salmon) are any of several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the genera ''Salmo'' and ''Oncorhynchus'' of the family (biology), family Salmonidae, native ...
on the river. The site of the lock and dam is now a county park.
Gallery
See also
*
List of Oregon rivers
References
External links
*
Yamhill Basin Council
{{authority control
Tributaries of the Willamette River
Rivers of Yamhill County, Oregon
Rivers of Oregon