John Day River
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{{Geobox River
<!-- *** Name section *** -->
| name = John Day River
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<!-- *** Image *** --->
| image = John Day River.jpg
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<!-- *** Country etc. *** -->
| country = United States
| country1 =
| state = Oregon
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<!-- *** Geography *** -->
| length_imperial = 281
| length_note = <ref name="encyclopedia">[http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-JohnDay.html], John Day - Encyclopedia.com</ref>
| watershed_imperial = 5090
| watershed_note = <ref name="usgs">[http://waterdata.usgs.gov/usa/nwis/uv?site_no=14046500 National Water Information System], [[United States Geological Survey|USGS]]</ref>
| discharge_location = [[Columbia River]], east of [[Biggs, Oregon]]
| discharge_imperial = 1160
| discharge_max_imperial = 40200
| discharge_min_imperial = 6
| discharge_note = <ref name="usgs"/>
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<!-- *** Source *** -->
| source_name = [[Strawberry Mountains]]
| source_location = [[Malheur National Forest]]
| source_district =
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| source_country = [[Grant County, Oregon|Grant County]]
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| source_lat_NS = N
| source_long_d =
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| source_long_EW = W
| source_coordinates_note =
| source_elevation_imperial = 9000
| source_elevation_note = <ref name="blm">[http://www.blm.gov/or/resources/recreation/johnday/index.php John Day River] - Bureau of Land Management</ref>
| source_length_imperial =
<!-- *** Mouth *** -->
| mouth_name = [[Columbia River]]
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| mouth_lat_NS = N
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| mouth_long_EW = W
| mouth_coordinates_note =
| mouth_elevation_imperial = 265
| mouth_elevation_note = <ref name="blm"/>
<!-- *** Tributaries *** -->
| tributary_left = South Fork John Day River
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| tributary_right = North Fork John Day River
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}}
:''This article is about the John Day River in eastern [[Oregon]]. There is also the [[John Day River (northwestern Oregon)|John Day River]] in northwestern Oregon.''
The '''John Day River''' is a tributary of the [[Columbia River]], approximately {{convert|281|mi|km|0}} long, in northeastern [[Oregon]] in the [[United States]]. Undammed along its entire length, the river is the second longest free-flowing river in the conterminous United States. There is extensive use of its waters for [[irrigation]]. Its free-flowing course furnishes habitat for diverse species, including wild [[rainbow trout|steelhead]] runs. However, the steelhead populations are under federal [[endangered species]] protections, and [[chinook salmon]] have been proposed for ESA protection.
The river was named for [[John Day (fur trader)|John Day]], a member of the [[Astor Expedition]], an overland expedition to the mouth of the [[Columbia River]] that left from [[St. Louis, Missouri]] in 1810. Day wandered lost through this part of Oregon in the winter of 1811–12.
==Drainage basin==
[[Image:Joda sheeprock.jpg|thumb|left|The John Day River passing by Sheep Rock in the [[John Day Fossil Beds National Monument]]]]
Through its tributaries, the river drains much of the western side of the [[Blue Mountains (Oregon)|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 [[paleontology|paleontological]] sites along its banks.
The main branch of the John Day River rises in the [[Strawberry Mountains]] in eastern [[Grant County, Oregon|Grant County]], and the four main forks each have their heads in different parts of the [[Malheur National Forest]]. The main fork flows initially north, then west through the John Day Valley and through the city of [[John Day, Oregon|John Day]]. At [[Dayville, Oregon|Dayville]] in western Grant County it is joined from the south by the [[South Fork John Day River]], then flows north through Picture Gorge and past the Sheep Rock Unit of the [[John Day Fossil Beds National Monument]].
At [[Kimberly, Oregon|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 of the John Day River]] above Monument, Grant County, Oregon). The river then flows west across [[Wheeler County, Oregon|Wheeler County]]. At the county line with [[Jefferson County, Oregon|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 [[meander]]ing course, forming the boundary between [[Sherman County, Oregon|Sherman County]] to the west and [[Gilliam County, Oregon|Gilliam County]] to the east.
It joins the Columbia from the southeast approximately {{convert|16|mi|km|0}} northeast of [[Biggs Junction, Oregon|Biggs]]. The mouth of the river is on the narrow [[Lake Umatilla]] reservoir, formed on the Columbia by the [[John Day Dam]], approximately {{convert|2|mi|km|1}} downstream from the mouth of the John Day.
==Recreation and ecosystem==
[[Image:DSCN6637 mouthofjohndayriver e.jpg|right|thumb|Mouth of the John Day River on the Columbia, spanned by a railroad bridge]]
The John Day is navigable by rafts and other small river craft. Its lower course is used for irrigation of cropland and ranching. In 1988, the [[United States Congress]] designated {{convert|147.5|mi|km|1}} of the river from [[Service Creek]] to [[Tumwater Falls (Oregon)|Tumwater Falls]] as the '''John Day Wild and Scenic River''', as part of the [[National Wild and Scenic River]] program. The segment of the river is a popular destination for anadromous [[rainbow trout|steelhead]] and warm water [[bass (fish)|bass]] fishing, as well as [[whitewater rafting]].
In addition to wild spring [[chinook salmon]] and bass, the river furnishes habitat for [[redband trout]], [[bull trout]], and [[westslope cutthroat trout]]. There are no hatchery salmon or [[steelhead]] released in the John Day River.
==See also==
*[[List of Oregon rivers]]
*[[List of National Wild and Scenic Rivers]]
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
*[http://www.nps.gov/rivers/wsr-john-day.html National Park Service: John Day Wild and Scenic River]
*[http://www.wcei.org/Articles/BigDry/johndayriver.html Irrigation and the John Day River]
*[http://nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/oregon/preserves/art6799.html The Nature Conservancy: Middle Fork John Day River]
[[Category:Rivers of Oregon]]
[[Category:Wild and Scenic Rivers of the United States]]
[[bg:Джон Дей (река)]]