Willamette River

The Willamette River (pronounced "will-LA-met") is the most imporatant river located entirely within the State of Oregon. The Willamette River runs north between the Coastal Range and the Cascade Range to flow into the Columbia River, forming the Willamette Valley.

It forms part of the boundary of the following counties: Benton, Linn, Polk, Marion, Yamhill and Clackamas. Tributaries of the Willamette River also drain some or all of Lane, Washington and Multnomah counties.

Its origins are in the North and Middle Forks which emerge on the western side of the Cascade range between Three Sisters south to Diamond Peak, and the Coast Fork, whose head is in southern Lane County, all three tributaries merging just to the south of Eugene. From Eugene the Willamette flows north past Corvallis, Albany and Salem, and enters the Columbia just below Portland at Sauvie Island, which divides the Willamette into two channels.

Willamette Falls is a large waterfall on the river at Oregon City, which blocks upstream navigation from the Columbia River and the Pacific Ocean. There are public locks to allow boat traffic around the falls, primarily used for recreational boating.

Although Riverboats navigated the upstream part of the Willamette into the first decades of the 20th century, currently there is no commercial traffic on the river above the falls.

See also Oregon Country, Oregon missionaries.