The John Day River is a tributary of the Columbia River , approximately 284 miles (457 km) long, in northeastern Oregon in the United States . It is known as the Mah-Hah River by the Cayuse people . Undammed along its entire length, the river is the fourth longest free-flowing river in the contiguous United States. There is extensive use of its waters for irrigation . Its course furnishes habitat for diverse species, including wild steelhead and Chinook salmon runs. However, the steelhead populations are under federal Endangered Species Act (ESA) protections, and the Chinook salmon have been proposed for such protection.
15-700: The river was named for John Day , a member of the Pacific Fur Company's overland expedition to the mouth of the Columbia River that left Missouri in 1810. Day struggled through eastern Oregon during the winter of 1811–12. While descending the Columbia River in April 1812, he and Ramsay Crooks were robbed and stripped naked by Native Americans at the mouth of the river that now bears his name, forcing them to hike 80 miles (130 km) back to friendly Umatilla Indians under extreme conditions. The absence of dams on
30-778: Is in northern Harney County , about 10 miles (16 km) south of the Grant County line. The main, south and middle forks each have their heads in different parts of the Malheur National Forest , while the North Fork's source is located in the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest . The main fork flows initially north, then west through the John Day Valley and through the cities of Prairie City , John Day and Mount Vernon . At Dayville , in western Grant County, it
45-778: Is joined from the south by the South Fork John Day River , then flows north through Picture Gorge and the Sheep Rock Unit of the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument . At Kimberly in northwestern Grant County, it is joined from the east by the North Fork John Day River (which had already joined with the Middle Fork John Day River above Monument, Grant County, Oregon). The river then flows west across Wheeler County . At
60-798: Is now the Little Lost River valley in Butte County, Idaho . His name is well-remembered, being attached to the John Day River and its four branches in eastern Oregon, as well as the cities of John Day and Dayville in Grant County, Oregon , and a smaller John Day River and unincorporated community in Clatsop County, Oregon , the John Day Dam on the Columbia River, and the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument . The Little Lost River, Idaho,
75-416: The John Day River . A Sarvicecreek post office was established here in 1918. Rosa Mae Tilley was the first postmaster. Later in the year, the name was changed to Servicecreek and changed again to Service Creek in 1929. The post office closed in 1956. From 1908 through the mid-1940s, Service Creek had a one-room schoolhouse that doubled as a community center and church. The building was demolished in
90-604: The John Day River. John Day (fur trader) John Day (ca. 1770 – February 16, 1820) was an American hunter and fur trapper in the Pacific Northwest , including present-day Oregon , Washington , Idaho , Western Montana and Southern British Columbia . John Day was born in Culpeper County, Virginia and came west through Kentucky to Spanish Upper Louisiana (now Missouri ) by 1797. In late 1810, he
105-639: The county line with Jefferson County it flows north, past the Clarno Unit of the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument. As it approaches the Columbia River in north-central Oregon, it flows in an increasingly meandering course, forming the boundary between Sherman County to the west and Gilliam County to the east. The John Day River joins the Columbia from the southeast approximately 16 miles (26 km) northeast of Biggs . The mouth of
120-656: The gauge is 2,075 cubic feet per second (58.8 m/s). Through its tributaries, the river drains much of the western side of the Blue Mountains , flowing across the sparsely populated arid part of the state east of the Cascade Range in a northwest zigzag, then entering the Columbia upstream from the Columbia River Gorge . It flows through exceptionally scenic canyons in its upper course, with several significant paleontological sites along its banks. Elevations within
135-475: The river causes its flow to greatly fluctuate throughout the year depending on snowpack and rainfall within the watershed. The highest flow recorded at a gauge on the lower John Day was 43,300 cubic feet per second (1,230 m/s) on January 2, 1997. The lowest flow was no flow at all, which occurred on September 2, 1966; from August 15 to September 16, 1973; and on nine days in August 1977. The average flow at
150-469: The river from Service Creek to Tumwater Falls as Wild and Scenic for its recreational opportunities. The segment of the river is a popular destination for anadromous steelhead and warm water bass fishing, as well as whitewater rafting . In addition to wild spring chinook salmon and bass, the river furnishes habitat for Columbia River redband trout , bull trout , and westslope cutthroat trout . There are no hatchery salmon or steelhead released in
165-630: The river is on the narrow Lake Umatilla reservoir, formed on the Columbia by the John Day Dam , approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) downstream from the mouth of the John Day. The John Day is navigable by rafts and other small river craft by boaters who obtain permits provided by the Bureau of Land Management . Its lower course is used for irrigation of cropland and ranching. In 1988, the United States Congress designated 147.5 miles (237.4 km) of
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#1732852551727180-698: The watershed range from 268 feet (82 m) at the river's mouth to more than 9,000 feet (2,700 m) in the Strawberry Mountains . The main branch of the John Day River rises in the Strawberry Mountains in eastern Grant County . The North Fork heads on the western slope of the Elkhorn Mountains in northeastern Grant County. The Middle Fork rises near the crest of the Blue Mountains on the eastern edge of Grant County. The South Fork's source
195-574: Was assigned to accompany Robert Stuart back east to St. Louis in June 1812, but was left on the Lower Columbia River where he is said to have gone mad. He returned to Fort Astoria and spent the next eight years hunting and trapping mainly in the Willamette Valley and the inland northwest. John Day died February 16, 1820, at the winter camp of Donald MacKenzie 's Snake Country Expedition in what
210-597: Was engaged as a hunter for the Pacific Fur Company and joined an overland expedition led by Wilson Price Hunt . The party expanded west from Missouri to Fort Astoria at the mouth of the Columbia River in 1811–12. He is best known, along with Ramsay Crooks , for being robbed and stripped naked by Native Americans on the Columbia River near the mouth of the river that now bears his name in Eastern Oregon . After finally making their way to Fort Astoria in April 1812, Day
225-485: Was previously known as "Day's River" and the valley was called "Day's Defile" during the fur trade era. Service Creek, Oregon Service Creek is an unincorporated community in Wheeler County , in the U.S. state of Oregon . Service Creek lies on Oregon Route 19 near its intersection with Oregon Route 207 . It is also near the mouth of a stream, Service Creek, formerly Sarvis Creek , that empties into
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