Lower Rogue River

The Lower Rogue River watershed is defined herein for the purposes of this page as the Rogue River and its tributaries downstream from river mile 55, near the Curry County/Josephine County Line in Southwest Oregon. The Lower Rogue basin is 226,668 acres and empties into the Pacific Ocean at Gold Beach, Oregon. The basin lies entirely within the Klamath Mountains Physiographic province, an area noted for steep, rugged terrain, narrow valleys, and sharp divides. Due to the geologic substrates present, most of the region is subject to varying degrees of instability. The topography of the basin reflects long term erosion of a slowly rising upland; the result being a ridge system of roughly uniform elevation. Land use within the basin is primarily forestry related. No major urban areas, industrial centers, or agricultural operations are present in the lower Rogue basin.

Watershed Facts

Land Ownership & Use

75% public ownership, 25% private ownership

Vegetation

93% forest/shrub,<1% impervious, 1% wetlands

Watershed Size

354 square miles/ 226,668 acres

Hydrology/Flow

mean annual precipitation – 53 inches
2 yr peak flow – 19,200 cfs
10 yr peak flow – 34,600 cfs
50 yr peak flow – 48,500 cfs
100 yr peak flow – 53,100 cfs
Average Flow Range (5% – 95% flow durations): 3,820 cfs – 429 cfs

Fish Use

Chinook salmon, coho salmon, cutthroat trout, steelhead, dace, Klamath small scale sucker, sculpin, green and white sturgeon, Pacific lamprey (eulachon, Surf smelt, Pacific herring, redtail surfperch, striped surfperch, starry flounder - estuarine species)

Did you know?

The Rogue flows from Boundary Springs at the West side of Crater Lake at 5,300 ft. of elevation, and flows 215 miles to the Pacific Ocean (**Crater Lake is the deepest Lake in the US at 1,932 ft.)

Restoration and Education Efforts

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