Geomorphology

The Willamette River Basin reflects the conflicting water demands between humans and ecosystems—particularly salmon— and the challenge resource managers face throughout the Pacific Northwest.

Assessment of Sedimentation Changes in the Nehelam Bay, Oregon

The USGS has been documenting the geomorphic response to the annual Fall Creek Lake drawdown since 2011.

Assessing channel change, habitat health, and flood hazards across Oregon rivers and streams.

"The goal of this project is to characterize the vertical hydraulic gradient at the sediment-water interface in Upper Klamath Lake."

Sediment fingerprinting has been used successfully to identify land uses that are the major sources of sediment. This study will apply these techniques in a predominantly rural, volcanic landscape.

In 2009, the USGS completed a comprehensive study of gravel transport and storage along the lower Chetco River.

Welcome to the Willamette River Study page. Here you will find links to USGS research for the Willamette River and the Willamette River Basin.

Beavers and their dams are common sights along creeks in the Tualatin River basin. Beaver help create diverse habitats for many other animals, including birds, fish, and amphibians. The USGS studying the affect beaver activity has on the amount and quality of water in local streams, so that agencies in the basin can make strategic management and habitat restoration decisions based on science.

The USGS documents historical and current channel and floodplain processes and conditions to assist management and regulatory agencies in evaluating restoration proposals and designing effective restoration and monitoring strategies for the Sprague River and its principle tributaries. The study involves multiple analyses, including assessments of historical channel change, riparian and floodplain...

Each autumn Fall Creek Lake is drawn down to allow endangered juvenile salmonids to pass freely through the dam. The drawdowns involve lowering the lake water level to the lake bed, creating a fluvial environment characterized by large amounts of sediment being transported through the dam and into Fall Creek and the Middle Fork Willamette River.

Marmot Dam on the Sandy River was removed in 2007 as part of decommissioning of Portland General Electric’s Bull Run Hydroelectric Project. Removal of the 15-meter-tall dam would allow the Sandy River to flow freely for the first time in nearly 100 years and make upstream habitat more accessible to anadromous fish.