Talk:Catherine Creek

Mouth of Catherine Creek
I am not sure about the location of Catherine Creek's mouth. The premise behind the location in my article is that when the Grande Ronde River was rerouted, the old channel became part of Catherine Creek. However, it could be that the correct location of the mouth is where Catherine Creek meets the Grande Ronde River's original channel. Any thoughts on the matter? The Grand Rans (talk) 05:53, 15 December 2008 (UTC)
 * I altered the coordinates slightly to those given by the Geographic Names Information System of the USGS. Finetooth (talk) 18:24, 10 April 2012 (UTC)

Formerly known as Ladd Creek?
I live in the Grande Ronde Valley and have never heard of Catherine Creek ever being called Ladd Creek. Ladd Creek is a different creek that is nearby. The source cited only lists Ladd Creek as a "variant name". This fact, in the USGS site, is cited from a compilation of maps. It appears to me that this fact was derived from an error on a map. The Grand Rans (talk) 20:38, 15 December 2008 (UTC)
 * I just went with USGS, which I consider a reliable source. History goes back farther than one can personally remember sometimes--it was a formal board decision to name it Catherine Creek in 1978, so it may have indeed also been known as Ladd Creek in the past. But see Talk:Lake Creek, Oregon and write to the USGS if you think it is a mistake and maybe they will change it. Katr67 (talk) 21:19, 15 December 2008 (UTC)
 * I added some data that might help make the situation more clear, though it does not address The Grand Rans' question about how the variant came about. Ladds Creek might have carried more water in the past, before a lot of ditching and draining in the area. According to this Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife document (page 7), the marsh at the south end of the valley used to cover 20000 acre but has been reduced to 400 acre. The lower parts of Catherine and Ladd creeks might have been much different around 1875. Ladds Creek might have been regarded as the main stem and Catherine Creek the tributary. This is just speculation on my part. Finetooth (talk) 01:46, 11 April 2012 (UTC)