The Umatilla River is an 89-mile (143 km) tributary of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Oregon. Draining a basin of 2,450 square miles (6,300 km2), it enters the Columbia near the city of Umatilla in the northeastern part of the state. In downstream order, beginning at the headwaters, major tributaries of the Umatilla River are: North and South Forks of the Umatilla River, Meacham, McKay, Birch, and Butter creeks.
The name Umatilla is derived from the Native American name for the river, which was first recorded as Youmalolam in the journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition and spelled in many other ways in early books about Oregon.
Famous quotes containing the word river:
“The murmurs of many a famous river on the other side of the globe reach even to us here, as to more distant dwellers on its banks; many a poet’s stream, floating the helms and shields of heroes on its bosom.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)