Oregon State University Press

'Rivers of Oregon'

Tim Palmer has been photographing and writing about Oregon's rivers for four decades. His latest book, "Rivers of Oregon" (Oregon State University Press, 176 pages, $40) features more than 140 color photographs and several essays. It's a must-have for anyone who's ever fished, swum, floated, boated, hiked alongside or just reveled in the sight of these state treasures.

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Oregon State University Press

Tim Palmer

Palmer will make several Portland-area appearances in November:

7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 10, Audubon Society of Portland, nature store, 5151 N.W. Cornell Road

7 p.m. Monday, Nov. 14, Sandy Public Library, 38980 Proctor Blvd.

7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 15, Migration Brewing, 2828 N.E. Glisan St.

7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 17, McMinnville Public Library, 225 N.W. Adams St.

6 p.m. Friday, Nov. 18, Hillsboro Main Library, 2850 N.E. Brookwood Parkway

Keep clicking for 20 photos from "Rivers of Oregon," with text by Palmer.

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Tim Palmer

Chetco River

Chetco River below the South Fork: As the wildest major river on the West Coast south of the Olympic Peninsula, the Chetco has no dams, no roads along its upper thirty miles, and little development until near sea level. Half the length lies in the Kalmiopsis Wilderness and three-quarters is designated a Wild and Scenic River through national forest. Photographs and text from Rivers of Oregon (c) 2016 by Tim Palmer. Reproduced by permission of Oregon State University Press.

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Tim Palmer

Columbia River

Columbia River sunrise from Crown Point: The fourth-largest river in the United States delivers water from seven states and British Columbia. In 1986 the Columbia Gorge National Scenic Area was legislated with the goal of protecting spectacular scenery of the corridor that's also shared with two dams, two railroads, an interstate highway, several towns, and a mosaic of private land that continues to face intensive pressures for development. Photographs and text from Rivers of Oregon (c) 2016 by Tim Palmer. Reproduced by permission of Oregon State University Press.

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Tim Palmer

Coquille River

South Fork, Coquille River: In the acreage of its watershed, the Coquille is the largest river basin located entirely within Oregon's Coast Range. Here, upstream from Powers, the South Fork thunders through a magnificent rain-forest canyon with steep rapids and riverfront stands of tall trees. Photographs and text from Rivers of Oregon (c) 2016 by Tim Palmer. Reproduced by permission of Oregon State University Press.

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Tim Palmer

Crooked River

Crooked River at Smith Rock State Park: The Crooked and its South Fork headwaters roam for 203 miles, almost as long as the better-known Rogue. But owing to the Cascade Mountains' effective rain shadow, flows here are lean. Productive trout waters riffle for eight miles below the chilled release of Bowman Dam. Photographs and text from Rivers of Oregon (c) 2016 by Tim Palmer. Reproduced by permission of Oregon State University Press.

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Tim Palmer

Deschutes River

Deschutes River at Davidson Flat: Basalt walls veer up from the Deschutes in its deepening canyon. Photographs and text from Rivers of Oregon (c) 2016 by Tim Palmer. Reproduced by permission of Oregon State University Press.

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Tim Palmer

Grande Ronde River

Grande Ronde River at Horseshoe Bend: Downstream of Troy, a paved road follows the Grande Ronde--a rare, seldom-run eastern Oregon river that can be paddled all summer--with wave trains passing ranches, pines, and grassland. Photographs and text from Rivers of Oregon (c) 2016 by Tim Palmer. Reproduced by permission of Oregon State University Press.

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Tim Palmer

Imnaha River

Imnaha River below Cow Creek Bridge: Secluded in northeastern Oregon, the Imnaha connects a wonderland of Wallowa Mountain high country and conifers to cottonwood floodplains and deepening canyons--a whitewater gem within a mile-deep valley. Photographs and text from Rivers of Oregon (c) 2016 by Tim Palmer. Reproduced by permission of Oregon State University Press.

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Tim Palmer

John Day River

The North Fork of the John Day River, upstream from the Middle Fork confluence. Photographs and text from Rivers of Oregon (c) 2016 by Tim Palmer. Reproduced by permission of Oregon State University Press.

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Tim Palmer

Malheur River

Upper Malheur River: Most travelers along U.S. 20 through eastern Oregon know the Malheur only as a diverted, parched, weedy remnant of what once was. But, along with its North Fork, the upper main stem flows from wild enclaves of the Blue Mountains through Edenic pine savannas and unexpected groves of arrow-straight larch trees fattened to five feet thick. Photographs and text from Rivers of Oregon (c) 2016 by Tim Palmer. Reproduced by permission of Oregon State University Press.

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Tim Palmer

McKenzie River

McKenzie River at Tamolitch Pool: A full-bodied McKenzie, flowing five hundred cubic feet per second, incredibly disappears underground for three miles in lava tubes, then resurfaces from its unseen grottos in the sublime spring flow of Tamolitch Pool, reached by trail off Highway 126 upstream from Trail Bridge Campground. Photographs and text from Rivers of Oregon (c) 2016 by Tim Palmer. Reproduced by permission of Oregon State University Press.

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Tim Palmer

Metolius River

Metolius River: Near its source in one of Oregon's largest springs, the Metolius rushes north through a forest of ponderosa pines. Photographs and text from Rivers of Oregon (c) 2016 by Tim Palmer. Reproduced by permission of Oregon State University Press.

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Tim Palmer

Nehalem River

Nehalem River below Nehalem Falls: As Oregon's longest river exclusively draining the Coast Range, the Nehalem begins on an agricultural plateau in the northwest corner of the state and loops north, west, south, and then conclusively west to the Pacific through lushly wooded mountains. Photographs and text from Rivers of Oregon (c) 2016 by Tim Palmer. Reproduced by permission of Oregon State University Press.

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Tim Palmer

Owyhee River

Owyhee River rapid: The Owhyee is one of the more difficult-to-reach rivers in Oregon. A lone paved road crosses at Rome, separating two great canyons, upstream and down. Boating the upper canyon requires driving on rough dirt roads during the narrow window after winter's lingering freeze but before snowmelt withers. Photographs and text from Rivers of Oregon (c) 2016 by Tim Palmer. Reproduced by permission of Oregon State University Press.

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Tim Palmer

Rogue River

Rogue River at Dulog Riffle: Rafting through the Rogue's canyon, which splits the towering Siskiyou Mountain Range, is one of America's most popular multi-day wild river trips. Photographs and text from Rivers of Oregon (c) 2016 by Tim Palmer. Reproduced by permission of Oregon State University Press.

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Tim Palmer

Salmon River

Salmon River above Old Salmon River Trailhead: A prize of Oregon's north Cascades, the Salmon River flows from the south face of Mount Hood to the Sandy River. Ancient forests, enticing paths, and whitewater riddled with logjams can all be reached by trail from the Salmon River Road. Photographs and text from Rivers of Oregon (c) 2016 by Tim Palmer. Reproduced by permission of Oregon State University Press.

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Tim Palmer

Sandy River

Sandy River and Mount Hood: This beloved stream east of Portland carries glacial runoff from Mount Hood to the tidal Columbia with the greatest undammed vertical drop of any river in Oregon - seventy-three hundred feet from the glaciers' outflow in alpine terrain to the level of ocean tides. Photographs and text from Rivers of Oregon (c) 2016 by Tim Palmer. Reproduced by permission of Oregon State University Press.

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Tim Palmer

Snake River

Snake River at the mouth of Saddle Creek. Photographs and text from Rivers of Oregon (c) 2016 by Tim Palmer. Reproduced by permission of Oregon State University Press.

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Amy Wang | The Oregonian/OregonLive

Umpqua River

South Umpqua River cottonwood forest: Cottonwoods are the largest hardwood trees along Oregon's rivers. A keystone species, they provide shelter, nest sites, and food for many birds and animals. To reproduce, cottonwoods need periodic flood flows that deposit silt on the floodplains and enable new seeds to germinate. Photographs and text from Rivers of Oregon (c) 2016 by Tim Palmer. Reproduced by permission of Oregon State University Press.

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Tim Palmer

Willamette River

Willamette River downstream from Corvallis: Though shortened by the elimination of bends and back channels, riprapped to ditch-like simplicity compared to what once was, and farmed to the banks in many places, the Willamette is still lined by a green corridor of cottonwoods for most of its length. Photographs and text from Rivers of Oregon (c) 2016 by Tim Palmer. Reproduced by permission of Oregon State University Press.

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Tim Palmer

Wilson River

Wilson River and tributary: The lower Wilson draws anglers to a popular fishery while mid-reaches offer the Coast Range's best whitewater within a short drive of Portland. Though Highway 6 follows the same route, steep canyonsides buffer traffic and leave the corridor of this steel-blue river feeling wild. Photographs and text from Rivers of Oregon (c) 2016 by Tim Palmer. Reproduced by permission of Oregon State University Press.