Little Butte Creek

Little Butte Creek

Little Butte Creek is a 17-mile-long tributary of the Rogue River in the U.S. state of Oregon. Its two forks, the North Fork and the South Fork, both begin high in the Cascade Range near Mount McLoughlin and Brown Mountain. It is one of the best salmon-producing tributaries of theRogue River.

About Little Butte Creek in brief

Summary Little Butte CreekLittle Butte Creek is a 17-mile-long tributary of the Rogue River in the U.S. state of Oregon. Its two forks, the North Fork and the South Fork, both begin high in the Cascade Range near Mount McLoughlin and Brown Mountain. Despite being moderately polluted, the creek is one of the best salmon-producing tributaries of theRogue River. Coho and Chinook salmon migrate upstream each year; however, several dams hinder their progress. The city of Eagle Point was incorporated in 1911, and remains the only incorporated town within the watershed’s boundaries. Large amounts of water are diverted from Little Butte creek for irrigation, water storage, and power generation. The creek’s mouth is at 1,204 feet above sea level, giving the creek an overall gradient of approximately 25 feet per mile. It flows generally west over approximately 17 miles to its confluence with the Rogue river. It then flows into the Pacific Ocean at its mouth at Agate River 132 miles from its mouth. The north fork begins at Fish Lake, near Mount McLoughlin. The south fork then turns northwest, collecting water from Lost Creek on the left, near the Lost Creek Bridge, built in 1919. Lost Creek drains about 17 square miles. Just after the two forks merge about 15 miles northeast of Medford, Little Bute Creek receives Lake Creek on left bank, flowing through the community of the same name at river mile 17 or river kilometer 27. The main stem is crossed by South Fork Little Buttte Creek Road in Lake Creek.

It turns through Eagle Point, which turns through the creek at 10 miles southwest, flowing toward the Pacific. Antelope Creek is its largest tributARY draining 58 square miles, draining into Agate Lake on Dry Creek. The North Fork’s headwaters are at 5,713 feet, while the North fork’s headwater is considerably lower at 4,638 feet. They meet each other at 1,.647 feet, creating the main stem itself. It is the only creek in the Denman Wildlife Area that has a 1.3-mile artificially straightened section of the creek. At the mouth of the river, it is approximately 5 miles from the mouth to its mouth in the wildlife area’s Denman wildlife area. The South Fork is at the mouth of the River River at the River kilometer 1, 1.5 miles from Agate Road. It drains approximately 28 square miles, and Dead Indian Creek has a watershed of about 22 square miles. The Dead Indian Soda Springs are on Dead Indian creek, about a mile south of its confluent with the south fork. The Pacific Crest Trail passes through this area, and it flows west, receiving Beaver Dam Creek and DeadIndian Creek on its left bank. It also receives Salt Creek and Lick creek on the right bank, which have watersheds of 16 square miles and 16 miles, respectively. The water is diverted here into the Joint System Canal for storage in Agate lake and to provide irrigation for the Medford region.