Blazed Alder Creek facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Blazed Alder Creek |
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 Location of the mouth of Blazed Alder Creek in Oregon
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| Country | United States |
| State | Oregon |
| County | Clackamas and Multnomah counties |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Main source | Mount Hood National Forest Blazed Alder Butte, Clackamas County, Oregon 45°27′05″N 121°53′21″W / 45.45139°N 121.88917°W |
| River mouth | Bull Run River Multnomah County, Oregon 1,699 ft (518 m) 45°29′47″N 121°55′18″W / 45.49639°N 121.92167°W |
| Length | 4 mi (6.4 km) |
Blazed Alder Creek is a small stream, about 4 miles (6.4 km) long, in Oregon, USA. It flows into the Bull Run River. This creek is super important because it's part of the system that brings clean drinking water to the big city of Portland. It flows through a special, protected area of the Mount Hood National Forest. The creek gets its name from a large, marked alder tree that helped surveyors map the area a long time ago.
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Where Blazed Alder Creek Flows
Blazed Alder Creek starts in Clackamas County, Oregon. It forms when two smaller streams, Bedrock Creek and Hickman Creek, join together. The creek begins near a place called Blazed Alder Butte.
It then flows north through the beautiful Mount Hood National Forest. The creek ends when it meets the Bull Run River in Multnomah County.
A Protected Water Source
The entire Blazed Alder Creek is inside a special place called the Bull Run Watershed Management Unit. This area is protected to make sure Portland's drinking water stays clean and safe. Because of this, only certain activities related to water and forest care are allowed there.
How Much Water Flows?
Scientists have been keeping an eye on the water flow in Blazed Alder Creek since 1963. They use a special tool called a stream gauge to measure how much water passes by. This gauge is located about 3.68 miles (5.92 km) from where the creek joins the Bull Run River.
On average, between 1963 and 2009, about 57.5 cubic feet (1.63 cubic meters) of water flowed past the gauge every second. That's like filling a small swimming pool every minute! The most water ever recorded was on December 22, 1964, during a big flood. The least amount of water was recorded in December 2003.
The Bull Run Watershed
Blazed Alder Creek is part of a larger area called the Bull Run River watershed. A watershed is all the land where water drains into a specific river or creek. The Bull Run River watershed covers a huge area of about 139 square miles (360 square kilometers).
Most of this watershed, including all of Blazed Alder Creek's area, is a restricted zone. This means it's mainly used for collecting water, storing it, treating it, and managing the forest. The Portland Water Bureau and the United States Forest Service work together to manage and protect this important natural resource.
