Plans and Profiles of Oregon Rivers, 1923-1971

Title: Plans and Profiles of Oregon Rivers, 1923-1971

Predominant Dates: 1926-1959

ID: MAPS RiverPlans

Primary Creator: Geological Survey (U.S.)

Extent: 1.25 cubic feet. More info below.

Arrangement: The Plans and Profiles of Oregon Rivers are arranged in two series: I. River Plans and Profiles, 1923-1969 and II. Dam Site and Reservoir Plans, 1937-1971. The maps are arranged alphabetically within each series.

Languages of Materials: English [eng]

The Plans and Profiles of Oregon Rivers consist of detailed maps and profiles of rivers and streams, dam sites, and reservoirs, primarily in Oregon. The collection also includes some rivers in the bordering states of Washington, Idaho, and California.

The 5 sheets comprising the 1938, South Santiam River plans (Series 1, Box-folder-item 1.4.3) have been scanned and are available upon request.

The Plans and Profiles of Oregon Rivers consist of maps prepared by the U.S. Geological Survey documenting surveys of rivers and streams. The bulk of the collection (181 sheets) is comprised of river plans and profiles; the remainder of the collection (34 sheets) is dam site and reservoir plans. The plans depict topography adjacent to the river or stream, typically to an elevation high enough above the water surface to include the area of proposed reservoir sites, possible canals or conduits, or other structures related to water utilization. The profiles depict the elevation of the stream surface over a given reach of the waterway. The maps include general location maps and depict notable features such as roads, railroads, and landmarks. Some of the dam site and reservoir plans include topographic cross sections of the stream or river at the dam site. Information about the area and capacity of the reservoir are also included on many of these sheets.

The collection documents primarily rivers in Oregon; however, rivers and streams in bordering regions of Washington, Idaho, and California that are part of the Columbia, Snake, or Klamath drainages are also part of the collection. Maps of the major tributaries of the Willamette River, including the North and South Santiam and McKenzie Rivers are included. Many coastal rivers, such as the Nehalem, Nestucca, Siletz, Siuslaw, Trask, Umpqua, and Wilson Rivers are also depicted in the collection.

The plans range in scale from 1:2,400 to 1:31,680; most are at a scale of 1:4,800. Contour intervals are 10 or 20 feet on land and 1 to 15 feet on water.

The 5 sheets comprising the 1938, South Santiam River plans (Series 1, Box-folder-item 1.4.3) have been scanned and are available upon request.

More Extent Information: 215 maps; 1 oversize box

Statement on Access: Collection is open for research.

Acquisition Note: These maps were transferred from the Oregon State University Libraries' map collection to the Special Collections & Archives Research Center in 2014.

Related Materials: The Planimetric Maps of Oregon and Washington (MAPS Planimetric) include detailed maps of the Columbia and Willamette Rivers and nearby towns and landscape features. The Historic Oregon Nautical Charts (MAPS Nautical) include superseded maps for navigable rivers and bays on the Oregon Coast. The Pacific Northwest Stream Survey Collection (MSS PNWStream) documents an extensive survey of the Columbia River and its tributaries conducted by the U.S. Fisheries and Wildlife Service in the 1930s-1940s.

Preferred Citation: Plans and Profiles of Oregon Rivers (MAPS RiverPlans), Oregon State University Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Corvallis, Oregon.

Processing Information:

We acknowledge that materials in SCARC collections and the language that describes them may be harmful. We are actively working to address our descriptive practices; for more information please see our SCARC Anti-Racist Actions Statement online.

SCARC describes the contents of its collections using the language and terminology of the collections themselves. Since culturally acceptable terminology shifts over time, some of the terms that appear in these materials are currently outdated or offensive.

Historically, “squaw” has been used as a misogynist and racist slur to disparage indigenous American women. Within this historic usage, it has been applied to place names, and scientific or colloquial names for plants. In this collection, the term "squaw" is used in reference to Squaw Creek, a natural feature of the landscape.

In order to provide historical context and to enable standardized searching and access across our collections, we have retained the use of this phrase in the collection description. We acknowledge the racism represented by this language and the harm it may cause our users. Providing access to these historical materials does not endorse any attitudes or behavior depicted therein. For more information on impacted collections, see the blog post.

[Date of Acknowledgement: December 2023]

Geological Survey (U.S.)

Chetco River (Or.)--Maps.
Columbia River Highway (Or.)--Maps.
Coos River (Or.)--Maps.
Coquille River (Or.)--Maps.
Crooked River (Or.)--Maps.
Dams--Oregon--Maps.
Grande Ronde River (Or. and Wash.)--Maps.
Hood River (Or. : River)--Maps.
Klamath River (Or. and Calif.)--Maps.
McKenzie River (Or.)--Maps.
Natural Resources
Nehalem River (Or.)--Maps.
Nestucca River (Or.)--Maps.
Reservoirs--Oregon--Maps.
Rivers--Oregon--Maps.
Rogue River (Klamath County-Curry County, Or.)--Maps.
Sandy River (Or.)--Maps.
Santiam River (Or.)--Maps.
Siletz River (Or.)--Maps.
Siuslaw River (Or.)--Maps.
Sixes River (Or.)--Maps.
Smith River (Douglas County, Or.)--Maps.
Snake River (Wyo.-Wash.)--Maps.
Trask River (Or.)--Maps.
Umatilla River (Or.)--Maps.
Umpqua River (Or.)--Maps.
Walla Walla River (Or. and Wash.)--Maps.
Wallowa River (Or.)--Maps.
Willamette River (Or.)--Maps.
Wilson River (Or.)--Maps.

Maps (documents)
Topographic maps.