20

USGS Quadrangle:

OWYHEE LOCATION MAP

21

OWYHEE MAP LEGEND

Land Status

Bureau of Land Management

Bureau of Reclamation

Indian Reservation

Private Land

State Land

BLM Wilderness (ID)

Non-Wilderness Access Route (cherrystem)

BLM Wilderness Study Area (NV, OR)

Coordinate System: Projection -

UTM Zone 11, Datum NAD 1983,

units in meters

Source Information: Land status,

hydrology, and transportation data

compiled from Bureau of Land

Management (BLM) resource base

data at a scale of 1:24,000. Contour

derived from U.S. Geological Survey

10 meter national elevation dataset

The official land records should be

checked for up-to-date status on

any specific tract of land. Recreation

information: BLM Boise, Twin Falls,

Vale and Elko District Offices.

Warning: Inclement weather

can make road surfaces impass-

able. Travel on unpaved routes

with properly equipped vehicles

and in good weather. This is an

extremely remote region. Plan

ahead. Take precautions. Patrols

are infrequent. Some roads cross

private land and may require

permission for access.

Even though every effort is made

to depict the road network, features

and descriptions accurately, BLM

cannot guarantee road classification

and/or positional accuracy of roads

and other features in all cases. No

warranty is made by the BLM for

use of this data for purposes not

intended by BLM.

0 21

Kilometers

0 10.5

Miles

Scale 1 : 48,000

Contour Interval = 100 feet

River

!

!

!

!

!! Stream

Wild and Scenic River Designation

E River Mile Marker

Portage or Lining Recommended

!¡ Launch Site

!9 Camping

!y Boat Launch

!_ Restroom

!= Historical Site

!? Latitude/Longitude Coordinate

Dam

Rapids Class II

Rapids Class III

Rapids Class IV

Rapids Class V

^̂]̂ Rapids Class VI

Road or 4WD Trail

Hiking Trail (non-mechanized)

Pipeline

Contour Line

Lake

Playa

Map Overlap

State Boundary

44

!?

!?

E

E

E

E

E

E

E

E

E

E

E

E

!¡

+U !=

!9

!9

!9

!9

!y

!_

!

Crook ed Creek

Jo

rdan Creek

To Burns£95

Owyhee

River

Flow

MILE 0

MILE 5

MILE 10

OR 7

OR 9

OR 8

Rome

Launch

Site

3500

3500

3500

3500

Rome

Cliffs

Lower Owyhee Canyon

Wilderness Study Area

Old Stage Stop

(private)

Owyhee

Crossing

First Camp

Upper Fletcher

Lower Fletcher

Owyhee Crossing was a major ford of the Owyhee

for hundreds of years. In 1865, Major G. Kimball

recorded the crossing and surrounding country in

his diary "I was brought up and educated to believe

there is a Hell where all had to suffer their sins. I

now think there was one once, and the country

over which I have just passed, must have been the

placed where it was located."

A ferry was operated here between 1865 and 1866,

along the route known as the Skinner Toll Road. The

steel bridge was constructed in 1906.

Rome - Early travelers gave the

town its name because the white

chalk cliff bluffs reminded them

of the ancient Roman Coliseum.

Low Water = 1000 cfs

Most rapids get more

difficult as water drops.

High Water = 8000 cfs

Larger holes, standing waves,

and hydraulics develop.

42° 51' 44"

-117° 38' 30"

3358 feet

42° 52' 57"

-117° 41' 51"

3340 feet

Owyhee River

Gaging Station

ROME

E

45

!?

!?

E

E

E

E

E

E

E

E

E

E

E

E

!9

!9

!9

!9

!9

!9

!9

Ro ck

CreekWhite

Gran ite

Cr

eek

Sa nd SpringsCreek

Weeping Wall

Springs

Owyhee

River

Flow

MILE 10

MILE 15

MILE 20

Long Sweetwater (at lower water)

Read-it-and-Weep (at lower water)

UpsetBulls Eye (at lower water)

OR 8

OR 10

OR 9

3500

3500

O

wyhee

Canyon

Swe

etw

ate

r

C

an

yon

Lower Owyhee

Canyon Wilderness

Study Area

Hike-out

Hackberry

Little Hackberry

Weeping Wall

Honeymoon

Virgin Bar

Lower Fletcher

42° 56' 50"

-117° 42' 10"

3271 feet

43° 00' 39"

-117° 43' 11"

3159 feet

E

46

!?

!?

E

E

E

E

E

E

E

E

E

E

E E

!9

!9

!9

!=

!9!9

!9

!9

!9!9

!9 !9

!9

E

Ry egra

ss

Cree

k

Bo g us

Creek

Dry Creek

Bull Creek

Owyhee

River

Flow

MILE 25

MILE 30

Read-it-and-Weep (at lower water)

Artillery

Dog Leg (at lower water)

Squeeze (at higher water)

Rock Trap

(at lower water)

Whistling Bird

OR 9

OR 11

OR 10

Rustler's Cabin

3500

4000

3500

35

00

3500

3500

Potters Cave

Bogus Falls

Ch

alk

Ba

sin

Lower Owyhee

Canyon Wilderness

Study Area

Lambert

Rocks

Pruitt's

Castle

Corral Camp

Rustlers

Ryegrass

(camping limited

to 1 night)

Pruitt's Castle

Lambert Dome

Chalk Basin

Driftwood

Upper Whistling Bird

Lower Whistling Bird Sloping Beach

Iron Point

Montgomery

Potters Cave - people have lived in

this canyon for 7,000 years. This

rock shelter has been looted many

times, losing its stories of life in this

canyon before European settlement.

Lambert Rock Flows

Recent (4,000 to 100,000 years ago)

reddish basalt lavas flowing from the

east entered the canyon, blocked the

river, and forced it to detour and cut

westward around the lava.

Chalk Basin is composed of pale, ashy

sediments from a shallow ancient lake

that existed about 10 million years ago.

Dark or chocolate horizontal bands are

lava flows that poured over the lake beds,

baking the clay mud into red brick layers

that are resistant to erosion.

43° 03' 53"

-117° 41' 24"

3105 feet

43° 06' 41"

-117° 43' 20"

3029 feet

E

47

!?

E

E

E

E

E

E

E

E

E

E

!9

!9

!9

!9!9

!9

!9

!9

!9

!9

!9

!9

!9

E

E

Jackso nC

reek

Riley Horn

Reservoir

Owyhee

River

Flow

MILE 35

MILE 40

Rock Trap (at lower water)

Squeeze (at higher water)

Tanager (at lower water)

Nuisance (at lower water)

Morcum Dam (at lower water)

Montgomery

OR 1

0

OR 12

OR 11

3500

4500

3000

4000

3500

4000

Rinehart

Falls

Hole-in-the-Ground

Jackso

n

Hole

Sand Basin

Lower Owyhee

Canyon Wilderness

Study Area

Owyhee Breaks

Wilderness

Study Area

Montgomery

Lower Whistling Bird

Sloping Beach

Iron Point

Canyon

Cliff Side

Exit Camp

Tanager

Jackson Hole

Balancing Rock

Morcum

Bobcat

Devils Tower

Morcum Dam was constructed in 1963 to

provide irrigation and household water to

Hole-In-The-Ground Ranch.

Iron Point Canyon is made of

rhyolite, an erosion-resistant red-

gray rock formed from viscous,

sticky lava that erupted in thick

flows. Upstream of Iron Point,

the river follows an east-west fault.

43° 11' 38"

-117° 38' 41"

2882 feet

E

48

!?

E

EE

E

E

E E

E

E

E

E

E

E

E

!9

!9!9

!9

!9 !=

!¡

!9

!9

!=

Birch Cree kShuttle Route

Owyh

ee

River

Flow

MILE 45

MILE 50

MILE 55

OR 11

OR 13

OR 12

Birch Creek Takeout

Birch Creek

Historic Ranch

3000

4500

3500

4000

3500

3500

3000

4000

Devils Tower

Water

Wheel

Island Ranch

Water Wheel

Pinnacle

Rock

Griffith

Homestead

Bureau of Reclamation - administered land

Ow

yhee

Breaks

Lower Owyhee

Canyon Wilderness

Study Area

Blue Canyon

Wilderness Study Area

Owyhee Breaks

Wilderness

Study Area

Devils Tower

Upper Greeley

Middle Greeley

Lower Greeley

Pothole

Basque

Slack water begins at Mile 55 when

the reservoir is full. Motorized

use authorized below this point.

Birch Creek is listed on the National Register of

Historic Places. It and nearby Morrison ranches

were originally homesteaded by Basque sheep-

herders in the early 1900s. They consist of 288

acres of land, structures, and buildings acquired

by BLM in 1988. Caretakers reside on site.

Camping at Upper Greeley Bar is limited to one night.

The hot spring wetland here is crucial breeding habitat

for both Woodhouse and Western toads. Eggs are laid

during spring boating season between the river and

the hot springs pool. Please moor boats at campsite

when using the hot springs.

43° 12' 55"

-117° 30' 03"

2716 feet

E

49

!?

!?

E

E

E

E

E

E

E

E

E

E

E

EE

!9

!y!¡!_

Cree k

W

illow

Spri

ng

Creek

Junipe r

Creek

Owyhee

R

iver

Owyhee

Lake

Flow

MILE 60

MILE 65

OR 12

OR 13

3000

3500

4000

3500

3500

3000

3000

3500

3000

Bureau of Reclamation

administered land

Owyhee

Breaks

Diamond Butte

Bl u e

Canyon

Blue Canyon

Wilderness Study Area

Dry Creek Buttes

Wilderness Study Area

Black Rocks

Owyhee Reservoir - At the time

of its construction in 1932, the

417 foot high Owyhee Dam was

the highest dam in the world. It

was built, in part, as a prototype

for Hoover Dam. Completion of

the dam ended anadromous fish

migrations to upsteam tributaries

in the Owyhee River Basin.

43° 18' 20"

-117° 24' 39"

2675 feet

43° 19' 20"

-117° 19' 29"

2659 feet

Leslie Gulch Boat Ramp

E