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Elk River |
The Elk River is fairly short river starting in the Coast Range Mountains just north of Port Orford.Located in Southwest Oregon, the Elk River runs through a rare, ancient temperate rain forest. Its 94-square-mile watershed connects the Siskiyou Wilderness to the Pacific Ocean. The clean, clear water of the Elk River is protected by this steep, old-growth forest. The Elk is a refuge for endangered wild salmon, which still spawn in the mainstem, something that has ceased to happen in most other West Coast rivers.
Populations of coho and chinook salmon, sea-run cutthroat, steelhead, and resident trout live in the pristine, upper reaches. As a refuge for wild salmon, the Elk contributes an estimated one million dollars annually to commercial and sport fishing industries. Fishery biologists believe that the Elk River is the most productive spawning stream of its size, with more fish per mile than any other watershed outside of Alaska.
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