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The Grande Ronde River Canyon a Few Miles Below the Mouth of the Waflowa River

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The Grande Ronde River Canyon a Few Miles Below the Mouth of the Waflowa River Figure 17. The Grande Ronde River Canyon a Few Miles Below the Mouth of the Waflowa River. Figure 18. A Gravel Riffle on the Lower Grande Roride River Approximately 14 Miles Above the Mouth (11-2-59). -58- Table 14.Mean Monthly Flows for the Lower Grande Ronde River Water!ear Location Oct Nov.at RondowaDec. andJan. Troy, Oregon,Feb. 1954-1957Mar. A Water Years. /J J A 1954 TroyRondowa 821543 1,059678 1,6511,035 1,5921,045 1,7542,837 1,7402,701 3,67].5,724 4,4585,568 4,5193,716 1,7982,409 988723 874613 1955 TroyRondowa 794557 845577 752504 794511 891559 1,286854 4,4623,176 6,8905,127 6,4975,556 2,6612,092 490700 705505 1956 Rondowa 657 1,112 2,737 2,501 1,421 4,034 7,390 8,964 5,852 2,6672,052 74].961 808616 1957 RondowaTroy 616910 1,540694 1,4024,189 3,494719 1,6872,085 4,1035,652 10,7805,168 11,7908,771 4,8197,543 1,450 615 51]. /InforznationTroy taken805 from USGS973 Water2,299 Supply1,044 Papers2,496 Nos. 1347,5,822 1397,7,812 1447, and11,510 1517.5,863 1,711 875 752 Table 15. Lower Grands Ronde River Moan Maximtun and Mean Minimum Daily Flows, in Cubic Foot Per Second, curing the Winter Months of the Period1953-54 through 1956-37. .21 Flow Year L2ction Sta:e Jan. Feb 1953 - 54 Rondowa High 2,070 1,850 2,190 3,270 74 728 j370 .]I1QQ Troy High 3,430 2,960 3,680 5,420 Low i.280 3Q 2. 0 1954 - 55 Rondowa High 686 649 1,050 2,040 399 j0 _476 Troy High 1,010 1,200 1,820 2,980 Low 7)4 682 69Q_ 1955 - 56 Rondowa High 10,400 5,440 2,190 9,600 Low 1.070 j14P LJ5Q Troy High 20, 500 7,360 3,170 14,400 Low 2l00 l.632,70 1956 - 57 Rondowa High 3,870 964 8,540 6,250 Low - Q0 602 2.94L Troy- High 6,770 1,510 12,600 9,090 Low 00 700 900 3.40 21Information taken from USGS Water Supply Papers, Nos.1347, 1397, 1447,and 1517. The extremes in discharge for these two stations since their establishment have been: for Rondowa, a maximum of19,900c.f.s. on May 28,1948and a minimum of 225 c.f.s.on December19, 1935; forTroy, a maximum of 30,000 c.f.s. on December 15, 1946 and a minimum of 434 c.f.s. on November29, 1952. Detailed temperature information on the lower Grande Ronde is available from thermograph records at Rondowa for the summer of1959and from thermograph records south of Anatone, Washington (USFWS,1958)for the first 7 months of1956. Other tempera- tures were also taken at variou3 times and places during the term of the project. Figures19and 20 show the maximum and minimum daily temperatures for the periods of record at Rondowa and near Anatone. These data Indicate that July and early August temperatures exceed 70°F. throughout the lower river. It may be noted that minimum temperatures near Anatone exceeded 70°F. on certain days in late July and early August. Summer temperatures at Rondowa are lowered somewhat by the influence of the Wallowa River which is usually a few degrees cooler than the Grando Ronde River. Spot-temperature data collected during the study for the lower Grande Rondo River is presented in Table 16. Tributaries: Only limited observations were made on the minor tributaries of the lower Grande Ronde River. Mud, Courtney, and Wildcat Creeks were observed from the air and Wildcat Creek was surveyed from the ground over part of its lower area. Other than incidental observations on some smaller tributaries, no other surveys were made. -60- S 75 -a-- Maxirrr 70 Pt 65 l%I* II IA IIC 0 JI'.1 ''I/, V'J\J ItI-' A C) 60 ,1 'I V %\_/:'itIi'I L...'1\/VIII VII'l ()E0.C)L \'I /_i Minimum II'I H0' 4s 'I-V 321i I I I I I I t I I Fo.eFigure10comoi1ec PJune 19.20r at byDaily30ordoa, the Maxirui U.S.G.S.10 0regon andJu1 20under MinimwrL Jre contrct30Ser-terrbr, Water with10 Temperaturestheugust 19920 Oregon30(Infor'ation Fish for the10Commission),SepteTnDer Lower collected20 Grende30 and 10 20 30 10 20 30 10 20 30 10 20 January- February March April 80 7 70 - Max. V 1' III : ;: :\ I' S I , I % ,% I I It I 1" :11 Minimum : : :V S _! 'i I, I Si S I-ilI / - '* II.? -j ,%_. % 32 10 20 30 10 20 30 10 20 30 10 20 May June July August Figure 20.Daily Maximum and Minimum Water Temperatures for the Lower Grande Ronde River South of Anatone, Washington, JanuaryAugust,19S6. (U.S.F.W.S., 1%8) Table 16. Spot-Temperature Observations on tho Lowor Grando Ronde River,1957-59. Location in Miles Temperature in F. Date Above N uth Time Air Water 10-11-57 53 3:00 p.m. 54 10-30-58 67 2:30 p.m. 50 42 10-31-58 9:15a.m. 34 38 7-5-59 45 5:00 p.m. 60 7-20-59 45 2:30 p.m. 76 7-27-59 45 6:00 a.m. 67 8-16-59 45 5:00 a.m. 55 63 8-23-59 45 5:00a.m. 55 62 8-31-59 45 5:30 a.m. 62 11-2-59 19 12:00 noon 56 42 11-2- 59 13 2:30 p.m. 59 44 1. Wildcat Creek: Wildcat Creek enters the Grande Ronde River about 8 miles above Troy.Aerial observations were made over the lower 9 miles of this stream on July 8, 1959. The stream appears to have a moderate gradient in this area and is in a moderately narrow canyon. The canyon slopes contain conifers in the draws, but most of the slope cover consists of grass and rocks. The bank cover is pri- marily brush and conifers. The stream was partly shaded in the upper areas and partly shaded to open in the lower sections at the time of the survey. The flow appeared quite small and ground observations12days later indicated a flow of approximately5c.f.s. A foot survey was made on July20, 1959from3.5to6.5miles above the mouth. This survey indicated that the streambed was rather poor as a spawning area.Silt and sand were estimated to comprise20per cent of the bottom materials and gravel was considered to make up only about 10 per cent of the streambed.Three impass- able log jams (LGR-Wc-l) were observed on this survey.These were located from 0.5to2.5miles above the road bridge that crosses Wildcat Creek shortly above the mouth of Waflupa Creek.A water temperature of 70°F. was recorded on this survey. A road parallels Wildcat Creek over its lower 3.5 miles and observations were made on this lower section from the road on October 11,1957. No quantita- tive assessment of the streambed was made, but this section is believed to con- tain better gravel than the area above Wallupa Creek. A temperature and flow observation on lower Wildcat Creek at2:00 p.m.were 6 c.f.s. and53°F. Mud Creeks Mud Creek was observed from the air on July 8, 1959 over its lower 14 miles. It enters the Grands Rondo River about 7 miles above Troy. This stream is in a moderate to narrow canyon and has a moderate gradient below Buck Creek. Above here the stream appears to become progressively steeper until, near its source, the gradient again becomes moderate.Slope cover on Mud Creek is predominantly grass with conifers being very scarce in the lower reaches of the stream. Bank cover In the upper areas consists of conifers and brush; on the lower section of the stream it is made up mostly of grass, deciduous trees and brush. The upper stream is partly shaded while below Tope Creek the stream is more open. A wide streambed in the lower section contributed to this condi- tion. Mud Creek appeared to have a larger flow than Wildcat Creek at the time of these observatlonse No obstructions to fish migration were noted below Tope Creek. Above Tope Creek, the stream could not be evaluated for obstructions be- cause of poor observation conditions. In common with other small streams of the area, Mud Creek has very low summer flows and high temperatures. Courtney Creek: Courtney Creek enters the Grande Ronde River 1 mile above Troy.An aerial survey over the lower 9 miles of this 12-mile-long stream was made on July 8, 1959.This stream is quite similar to Mud Creek except that it had less flow and less shade. One possible obstruction was noted approximately 1 mile below Bobcat Creek. Other obstructions may exist above this point as ob- servation conditions became poorer with upstream progression.No obstructions wore noted in the lower reaches of the stream. Miscellaneous Minor Tributaries: Incidental observations were also made on a few minor tributaries of the lower Grande Ronde. The lower 5 miles of Wallupa Creek, a tributary of Wildcat Creek, were observed In the fall of 3.957. This stream had an intermittent flow in the upper section and a flow of 2 c.f.s. at the mouth. The streambed contained some gravel areas. The lower 1 to 2 miles on lower Buford and Rattlesnake Creeks were also observed during the summer months.
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