4 NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA 70 



Joining the Siskiyous in southeastern Jackson County, the Cascade 

 Mountains run from north to south east of Bear Creek Valley and part 

 of the Rogue River Valley. Near Union Creek the Cascades are differ- 

 entiated geologically into the Old and High Cascades. The Old Cas- 

 cades are in the western part of the system and are typically less 

 rugged and of lower elevation than the High Cascades. Mount 

 McLoughlin (elevation, 2,975 m) is the highest point in the more 

 rugged High Cascades in eastern Jackson County. 



The Rogue River Valley, a trough-like basin, constitutes the 

 major flat lowland portion of the county. To differentiate the upper 

 and lower sections of the Rogue River Valley, I use the term Lower 

 Rogue River Valley to refer to that part of the valley downstream 

 from Shady Cove (426 m) to the boundary of Josephine and Jackson 

 counties (about 305 m) . The Lower Valley extends north into Sam's 

 Valley near Upper and Lower Table Rocks. The narrow Upper 

 Rogue River Valley extends from Shady Cove to above Union Creek. 

 The remaining lowland area of the county is the Bear Creek Valley. 

 Bear Creek and its tributaries form the main drainage of the eastern 

 Siskiyous where that range joins the Cascades. This valley begins 

 near Ashland (elevation, 610 m) and terminates at the Rogue River 

 near Gold Ray Dam (366 m). 



The Rogue River and Bear Creek are fed primarily by winter 

 rains and melting snow in the higher elevations during summer. 

 Bear Creek becomes almost intermittent during dry summer months, 

 and many of the tributaries of the Lower Rogue River become low 

 and sluggish. Most of the mountain tributaries above Shady Cove 

 as well as the Rogue River are spring fed, and water levels are fairly 

 stable. The Applegate River, a major tributary of the Rogue River 

 with its headwaters in the Siskiyou Mountains, terminates near 

 Grants Pass in Josephine County. 



Numerous bodies of water, mostly irrigation reservoirs, are near 

 the Cascade Mountain Crest. Among those of particular ornitholog- 

 ical interest are Fish Lake and Howard and Hyatt Prairie reser- 

 voirs. At the head of Bear Creek Valley is Emigrant Reservoir. 

 Where Bear Creek intersects with the Rogue River there are back- 

 waters formed by Gold Ray Dam. Small lowland bodies of water 

 north of Medford include a series of ponds known as Hoover's Lakes, 

 another nearby series of ponds in the Ken Denman Game Manage- 

 ment area of the Oregon State Game Commission here referred to 

 as the Game Ponds, and Agate Reservoir northeast of Medford. 



