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COVID-19 Statement

USGS Oregon Water Science Center is open and operational

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Real Data. Real Fast.

Realtime conditions for lakes and rivers near you

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Environmental Health

Part of USGS's story in Oregon

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New Problems? New Solutions.

Free quality data to inform better decisions

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Oregon Water Science Center

Welcome to the USGS in Oregon. Our mission is to explore the natural world around us and provide reliable scientific information to help Federal, State, and local agencies, Tribes, and the public make well-informed decisions. Our research is widely used to manage Oregon's water resources for the benefit and safety of people and the environment. 

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Current Stream Conditions

muddy Willamette River

See what is happening in streams near you. View real-time stream data for streams around Oregon.

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Weekly Science Seminar

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Our lunchtime seminars are held Tuesdays from 12pm to 1 pm and are open to the public.

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New or Relevant

See what the USGS is doing locally.

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News

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Updated Interactive Map Showing Groundwater Levels in the Upper Klamath Basin Aids Water, Land Managers

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Media Alert: Low-Flying Airplane Mapping Parts of the Central Cascade Range in Southern Washington and Northern Oregon

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USGS uses watershed modeling to assess surface-water nutrient impairment across the Pacific Northwest and California

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Publications

Synthesis of habitat availability and carrying capacity research to support water management decisions and enhance conditions for Pacific salmon in the Willamette River, Oregon

Flow management is complex in the Willamette River Basin where the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers owns and operates a system of 13 dams and reservoirs (hereinafter Willamette Project), which are spread throughout three large tributaries including the Middle Fork Willamette, McKenzie, and Santiam Rivers. The primary purpose of the Willamette Project is flood-risk management, which provides critical p
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Water Resources, Ecosystems, Fisheries Program, Oregon Water Science Center, Western Fisheries Research Center

Historical and paleoflood analyses for probabilistic flood-hazard assessments—Approaches and review guidelines

Paleoflood studies are an effective means of providing specific information on the recurrence and magnitude of rare and large floods. Such information can be combined with systematic flood measurements to better assess the frequency of large floods. Paleoflood data also provide valuable information about the linkages among climate, land use, flood-hazard assessments, and channel morphology. This d
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Ecosystems, Water Resources, Fort Collins Science Center, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center, Dakota Water Science Center, Oregon Water Science Center

Historical changes in bed elevation and water depth within the Nehalem Bay, Oregon, 1891–2019

Estuaries, at the nexus of rivers and the ocean, are depositional areas that respond to changes in streamflow, tides, sea level, and inputs of sediment from marine and watershed sources. Understanding changes in bed elevations, deposited and eroded sediment, and water depth throughout estuaries is relevant for understanding their present-day status and long-term evolution, identifying potential ha
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Water Resources, Oregon Water Science Center
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Science

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Upper Klamath Lake

Movements and Behavior of Radio-Tagged Adult Lost River and Shortnose Suckers in Response to Water Quality in Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon

Severe water quality problems in Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon, have led to critical fishery concerns for the region, including the listing of Lost River and shortnose suckers as endangered in 1988. In April 2001, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) released a Biological Opinion in which several reasonable and prudent alternatives to allow for the continued operation of the Klamath Project...
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Oregon Water Science Center, Oregon Water Science Center
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Movements and Behavior of Radio-Tagged Adult Lost River and Shortnose Suckers in Response to Water Quality in Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon

Severe water quality problems in Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon, have led to critical fishery concerns for the region, including the listing of Lost River and shortnose suckers as endangered in 1988. In April 2001, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) released a Biological Opinion in which several reasonable and prudent alternatives to allow for the continued operation of the Klamath Project...
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oregon water science center

USGS Oregon Water Science Center Lunchtime Seminar Series (Winter, 2022)

The role of USGS Water Science Centers in western water resource challenges
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Oregon Water Science Center
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USGS Oregon Water Science Center Lunchtime Seminar Series (Winter, 2022)

The role of USGS Water Science Centers in western water resource challenges
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Physiographic image of the Pacific Northwest

Pacific Northwest Geologic Mapping: Northern Pacific Border, Cascades and Columbia

The Pacific Northwest is an area created by active and complex geological processes. On its path to the Pacific Ocean, the Columbia River slices through a chain of active volcanoes located along the western margin of the U.S. in Washington, Oregon, and northern California. These volcanoes rest above the active Cascadia subduction zone, which is the boundary where the oceanic tectonic plate dives...
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National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program, Earthquake Science Center, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center, Oregon Water Science Center, Washington Water Science Center, Western Fisheries Research Center
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Pacific Northwest Geologic Mapping: Northern Pacific Border, Cascades and Columbia

The Pacific Northwest is an area created by active and complex geological processes. On its path to the Pacific Ocean, the Columbia River slices through a chain of active volcanoes located along the western margin of the U.S. in Washington, Oregon, and northern California. These volcanoes rest above the active Cascadia subduction zone, which is the boundary where the oceanic tectonic plate dives...
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