Siuslaw River

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title: "Siuslaw River" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["rivers-of-oregon", "rivers-of-lane-county,-oregon", "oregon-placenames-of-native-american-origin"] description: "River in the United States of America" topic_path: "geography/united-states" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siuslaw_River" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary River in the United States of America ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox river"]

Field	Value
name	Siuslaw River
name_etymology	From a Yakonan name for a locality, tribe or chief
image	Siuslaw River at Mapleton.jpg
image_caption	Siuslaw River at Mapleton
image_size	300
map_size	300
pushpin_map	USA Oregon
pushpin_map_size	300
pushpin_map_caption	Location of the mouth of the Siuslaw River in Oregon
subdivision_type1	Country
subdivision_name1	United States
subdivision_type2	State
subdivision_name2	Oregon
subdivision_type4	County
subdivision_name4	Lane
length	110. mi
discharge1_location	near Mapleton, 23.7 mi from the mouth
discharge1_min	45 cuft/s
discharge1_avg	1974 cuft/s
discharge1_max	49400 cuft/s
source1	Central Oregon Coast Range
source1_location	about 10 mi west of Cottage Grove
source1_coordinates
source1_elevation	636 ft
mouth	Pacific Ocean
mouth_location	Florence
mouth_coordinates
mouth_elevation	0 ft
basin_size	773 sqmi
::

| name = Siuslaw River | name_native = | name_native_lang = | name_other = | name_etymology = From a Yakonan name for a locality, tribe or chief | image = Siuslaw River at Mapleton.jpg | image_caption = Siuslaw River at Mapleton | image_size = 300 | map = | map_size = 300 | map_caption = | pushpin_map = USA Oregon | pushpin_map_size = 300 | pushpin_map_caption= Location of the mouth of the Siuslaw River in Oregon | subdivision_type1 = Country | subdivision_name1 = United States | subdivision_type2 = State | subdivision_name2 = Oregon | subdivision_type3 = | subdivision_name3 = | subdivision_type4 = County | subdivision_name4 = Lane | subdivision_type5 = | subdivision_name5 = | length = 110. mi | width_min = | width_avg = | width_max = | depth_min = | depth_avg = | depth_max = | discharge1_location= near Mapleton, 23.7 mi from the mouth | discharge1_min = 45 cuft/s | discharge1_avg = 1974 cuft/s | discharge1_max = 49400 cuft/s | source1 = Central Oregon Coast Range | source1_location = about 10 mi west of Cottage Grove | source1_coordinates= | source1_elevation = 636 ft | mouth = Pacific Ocean | mouth_location = Florence | mouth_coordinates = | mouth_elevation = 0 ft | progression = | river_system = | basin_size = 773 sqmi | tributaries_left = | tributaries_right = | custom_label = | custom_data = | extra =

The Siuslaw River ( ) is a river, about 110. mi long, that flows to the Pacific Ocean coast of Oregon in the United States. It drains an area of about 773 mi2 in the Central Oregon Coast Range southwest of the Willamette Valley and north of the watershed of the Umpqua River.

It rises in the mountains of southwestern Lane County, about 10 mi west of Cottage Grove. It flows generally west-northwest through the mountains, past Swisshome, entering the Pacific at Florence. The head of tide is 26 mi upstream.

It is part of the homeland of the Siuslaw people, after whom it is named. Citizens of the Siuslaw nation lived in villages along the river until 1860 when they were forcibly removed to an Indian reservation in Yachats whereupon their homes, farms, gardens and villages were destroyed and occupied by U.S. settler-colonists.

The valley of the river has been one of the productive timber regions in Oregon. The lower course of the river passes through Siuslaw National Forest.

The Coos Bay branch of the Coos Bay Rail Link crosses many bridges as it follows the narrow, winding valley of the Siuslaw River to the swing bridge at Cushman.

The river has historically been a spawning ground for Chinook and coho salmon. Although the Chinook population is substantial, coho numbers have declined from an annual average of 209,000 fish between 1889 and 1896 to just over 3,000 fish between 1990 and 1995. The estuary of the river is surrounded by extensive wetlands that are a significant habitat for migratory birds along the coast. It is one of the very few Western Oregon rivers where all major forks are undammed. The river has a strong run of American shad.

References

References

1. McArthur, Lewis A.. (2003). "[[Oregon Geographic Names]]". Oregon Historical Society Press.
2. United States Geological Survey (USGS). "United States Geological Survey Topographic Map". TopoQuest.
3. "Water-Data Report 2010: 14307620 Siuslaw River near Mapleton, OR". United States Geological Survey.
4. (November 28, 1980). "Siuslaw River". United States Geological Survey (USGS).
5. Source elevation derived from [[Google Earth]] search using GNIS source coordinates.
6. Ame, John. (2007). "Siuslaw Watershed". Oregon State University.
7. "Frequently Asked Questions". United States Forest Service.
8. (1991). "Oregon Atlas & Gazetteer". DeLorme Mapping.
9. (April 2010). "Maintenance Dredging for the Siuslaw River Coastal Navigation Project (Draft Environmental Assessment)". U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
10. "History".
11. (2011). "Bringing Back the Tides to Estuary Wetlands". McKenzie River Trust.
12. Eckert, Tiffany. (June 23, 2024). "‘Putting it back to the way it was’: Nonprofits partner to restore Oregon’s Siuslaw River estuary".
13. (2002). "A Watershed Assessment for the Siuslaw Basin". Ecotrust.
14. "American Shad". Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::