Click these links to jump down this page for information on the topics listed:
Named Riviere des Chutes (River of the Falls) by French fur trappers, the Deschutes flows 250 miles north from its source at Lava Lake near the crest of the Cascades to the Columbia River, east of The Dalles. See a Deschutes River area map* (PDF) for reference.
Unique geography
The Deschutes system has a unique drainage, covering some 10,500 square miles of Central Oregon. The porous volcanic rock in the upper portion of the basin quickly absorbs snowmelt and rainfall, providing natural storage that creates a very uniform flow. Water that seeps into the ground during storms and snowmelt later emerges from large springs, maintaining river flows through the drier seasons.
Pelton Round Butte designated green
The Pelton Round Butte hydro project is now an official producer of green power. Only 33 hydro plants in the U.S. have earned this designation, and just one other Oregon facility.
The honor was conferred by the Low Impact Hydropower Institute Board on March 28, 2007, and means that electricity from Pelton can now be sold as renewable energy. Certification was based on planned environmental protection measures, including a new fish passage system. For more, see the press release.
PGE partnership with Warm Springs Tribes
Pelton Round Butte, completed by PGE in 1964, is a 20-mile long hydroelectric complex in the Deschutes River Canyon about six miles west of Madras. It is jointly owned by PGE and the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs and is the only hydroelectric project in the U.S. co-owned by a Native American tribe and a utility.
Round Butte picnic area and Pelton campground
PGE operates Round Butte Overlook Park with a public picnic area on the rim of the Deschutes River Canyon. We also have a campground with more than 70 campsites at Pelton Park, on the shore of Lake Simtustus, the reservoir behind Pelton Dam.
Habitat restoration at Trout Creek Ranch
In 1999, PGE purchased Trout Creek Ranch, 15 miles north of Madras. Trout Creek is the Deschutes River’s principal steelhead spawning tributary. It produced more than 70,000 smolts in 1998. The $1,075,000 acquisition allowed restoration of approximately 3.4 miles of Trout Creek to its natural state after decades of riparian damage caused by cattle and sheep grazing.
The surrounding 3,000 acres of the purchase have become a wildlife refuge for a wide range of native plants and species, including deer and elk, bald eagles, golden eagles and osprey.
