The Grande Ronde River is a tributary of the Snake River, approximately 180 mi (290 km) long, in northeastern Oregon and southeastern Washington in the United States. It drains an area on the east side of the Blue Mountains on the Columbia Plateau, flowing through the agricultural Grande Ronde Valley in its middle course and through a series of scenic canyons in its lower course.

Description

It rises in the Blue Mountains in the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest in southwestern Union County approximately 20 mi (32 km) south of La Grande. It flows generally north along the east side of the Blue Mountains, then east, past La Grande, then generally northeast through the Grande Ronde Valley in a meandering course between the Blue Mountains and the Wallowa Mountains, receiving Catherine Creek east of La Grande.

Approximately 10 mi (16 km) northwest of Minam it receives the Wallowa River from the southeast, then receives the Wenaha River at Troy just south of the Washington border. It crosses into southeastern Washington, traversing the extreme southeast corner of the state and entering the Snake from the east approximately 5 mi (8 km) north of the Oregon border and 15 mi (24 km) downstream from the mouth of the Salmon River. It receives Joseph Creek from the south 2 mi (3.2 km) upstream from its mouth on the Snake.

A diversion channel approxiately 5 mi (8 km) long in the Grande Ronde Valley east of La Grande allows the river to bypass a long meandering loop, providing each access to its water for irrigation.

History

In the early 19th century the valley of the river was inhabited by Nez Perce, Umatilla, Walla Walla, and Cayuse tribes of Native Americans. Numerous archaeological sites are on the public land around the river.

In 1988, the United States Congress designated approximately 44 mi (70 km) of the river, from its confluence with the Wallowa to the Oregon-Washington border, as the Grande Ronde Wild and Scenic River, as part of the National Wild and Scenic River program.

The river today is popular destination for hunting, especially for game animals such as mule deer, elk, black bear, cougar, and bighorn sheep. Fishing, rafting and hiking are also popular along the designated Wild and Scenic portion of the river. Most of the middle reaches of the river are inaccessible to motor vehicles.

See also

• List of Oregon rivers

External link

• Grande Ronde Wild and Scenic River