| Trask River | |
| Map Size: | 300 |
| Pushpin Map: | USA Oregon |
| Pushpin Map Size: | 300 |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location of the mouth of the Trask River in Oregon |
| Subdivision Type1: | Country |
| Subdivision Name1: | United States |
| Subdivision Type2: | State |
| Subdivision Name2: | Oregon |
| Subdivision Type4: | County |
| Subdivision Name4: | Tillamook County |
| Length: | 18miles[1] |
| Discharge1 Location: | 10.95miles from the mouth |
| Discharge1 Min: | 49cuft/s |
| Discharge1 Avg: | 989cuft/s |
| Discharge1 Max: | 25800cuft/s |
| Source1: | Northern Oregon Coast Range |
| Source1 Location: | Tillamook State Forest, East of Tillamook |
| Source1 Coordinates: | 45.4397°N -123.6114°W[2] |
| Source1 Elevation: | 281feet[3] |
| Mouth: | Tillamook Bay |
| Mouth Location: | Oregon |
| Mouth Coordinates: | 45.4704°N -123.8826°W |
| Mouth Elevation: | 3feet |
| Basin Size: | 175sqmi[4] |
The Trask River is in northwestern Oregon in the United States. It drains a mountainous timber-producing area of the Northern Oregon Coast Range west of Portland into Tillamook Bay and the Pacific Ocean.[1] [5] It is one of five rivers - the Tillamook, the Trask, the Wilson, the Kilchis, and the Miami - that flow into the bay.[6]
The main stem of the river is 18miles long from where its two forks join at 45.4398°N -123.6115°W. The North Fork, 30miles long, rises in several forks itself in the Tillamook State Forest in western Washington County, west of Forest Grove, Oregon. It flows generally west into eastern Tillamook County. The South Fork, 10miles long, rises in southern Tillamook County at 45.349°N -123.6534°W and flows generally northward.
The river is known for its runs of Steelhead and Chinook salmon.
The river is named for Elbridge Trask who settled on the shores of Tillamook Bay in 1848. Trask's overland journey was described in the 1960 historical novel Trask by Don Berry, as well as two sequels. The novels are collectively known as the "Trask novels."
The Trask River is formed by the confluence of North Fork Trask River and South Fork Trask River near Trask County Park in the Tillamook State Forest. It is paralleled for much of its length by Trask River Road. Flowing generally west, the river receives Rowe Creek from the left about 16miles from the mouth, then Samson Creek from the right about 1miles later. Over the next 4miles Burton, Blue Ridge, Hatchery, Trowbridge, Little Rock, and Panther creeks all enter from the right. The river passes a United States Geological Survey stream gauge at river mile (RM) 10.95 or river kilometer (RK) 17.62, just before receiving Cedar Creek from the right.[1] [5]
Thereafter, Gold and Hanenkrat creeks enter from the left and Green Creek from the right. The river receives Mill Creek from the left about 5miles from the mouth. About 1miles later, the stream passes under U.S. Route 101 and flows around the southwestern edge of Tillamook. Receiving Hoquarten and Nolan sloughs from the right, it merges with the Tillamook River and flows into Tillamook Bay near Memaloose Point.[1] [5]
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) monitors the flow of the Trask River at a stream gauge 10.95miles inland from the mouth of the river. Based on data collected from April 1996 through 2008, the average flow at this gauge is 985cuft/s. This is from a drainage area of 156sqmi, about 89 percent of the total Trask River watershed. The maximum flow recorded there was 22500cuft/s on November 25, 1999, and the minimum flow was 49cuft/s on September 11, 2007.[7]