Assessment - Southern Oregon Digital Archives

WATERSHED OVERVIEW
INTRODUCTION
The Williams Creek Watershed is situated in the Siskiyou Mountains of southwestern
Oregon, about 15 miles south of Grants Pass. (See Figure 1.) Encompassing
approximately 52,841 acres, it is one of six major watersheds draining into the Applegate
River, which flows into the Rogue River Basin. The watershed is in the southeastern
corner of Josephine County, with a small sliver (~59 acres) extending into Jackson
County. Rimmed on the south, east, and west by Siskiyou Mountain ridge tops,
elevations in the watershed range from 1,160 feet near Applegate River to 6,680 feet on
the top of Sugarloaf Peak. Approximately two-thirds of the watershed is mid to high
elevation, mountainous, and forested terrain; the remaining one-third contains the
floodplain and low terrace lands that make up the Williams Valley.
Williams Creek and its many tributaries drain an 82 square mile area. Flowing in a
northeasterly direction, Williams Creek enters the Applegate at river mile 19.5. The
mainstem of Williams Creek is low gradient with a cumulative rise of 300 feet over
almost seven miles. Above the confluence of the East and West Forks of Williams Creek,
the gradient gradually steepens as the valley width narrows. In the uppermost reaches of
the watershed, steep, narrow, and entrenched channels reflect the 45-70% slopes of
adjacent mountains.
There are four subwatersheds within the watershed: East Fork Williams Creek (11.60
square miles); West Fork Williams Creek (19.47 square miles); Powell Creek (8.17
square miles); and the mainstem of Williams Creek (42.76 square miles). For the purpose
of this assessment, 16 primary drainages are identified: Pipe Fork, Glade Fork, Rock
Creek, East Fork Williams, Clapboard/Sugarloaf Gulch, West Fork Williams, Right-hand
Fork of the West Fork, Bill/Bear Wallow, Lone/Goodwin, Munger/Swamp, Marble/Mule,
China Creek, Powell, Pennington, Williams, and Lower Williams creeks. Many
secondary drainages are also present. (See Figure 2.)
Williams Creek Watershed Assessment 1