Река Молалла: Описание и история северо-западного Орегона.

The Molalla River is a 51 mile (82 km) tributary of the Willamette River in the northwestern part of Oregon in the United States. Flowing northwest from the Cascade Range through Table Rock Wilderness, it passes the city of Molalla before entering the larger river near Canby. The Molalla is the largest Willamette tributary unblocked by a dam.

The river's headwaters are in Clackamas County, near the Table Rock Wilderness, in the Cascade Range. Flowing generally north northwest from the mountains, the river enters the Willamette Valley and flows past the city of Molalla. It is joined by the Pudding River shortly before entering the Willamette near the city of Canby. The confluence is about 36 mile (58 km) from the Willamette's mouth on the Columbia River. The Molalla River is the largest free flowing tributary of the Willamette. Starting in about 1840, European American settlers began farming in the bottomlands along the lower Molalla. Spurred by passage of the Donation Land Claim Act, the influx continued, and by 1860 there were 75 households in the Molalla area. Wheat was the most common crop, and these early settlers also cultivated potatoes and root vegetables such as turnips and cabbages, and planted apple trees. They fished, hunted, gathered huckleberries, and kept sheep, cows, pigs and chickens. Gold mining occurred along the Molalla after the discovery of placer gold in 1860. Many claims were filed during the next 40 years. Four mining companies, of which the Ogle Mountain Mining Company was the biggest, had operations in the watershed by the early 20th century. The company operated a mine along Ogle Creek, a Molalla tributary, between 1903 and 1915. The bridge was destroyed in 1947. It is long with a deck width of and carries Knight's Bridge Road, a two lane thoroughfare, over the river. among the largest in the Willamette Valley. Feyrer Park, a county park, is along the river 3 mile (5 km) southeast of Molalla at Dickey Prairie. It has 20 sites for camping in tents or recreational vehicles (RV)s, all supplied with water and electric hook ups. Other amenities include picnic tables, horseshoe pits, and access to fishing.

Table Rock Wilderness, of rugged forest land added to the National Wilderness Preservation System in 1984, is 19 mile (31 km) southeast of Molalla along the headwaters of the river. Overseen by the Bureau of Land Management, it has four trailheads—Table Rock, Old Bridge, Rooster Rock, and Bull Creek—linked to a 16 mile (26 km) network of hiking and horse riding trails.

Whitewater enthusiasts sometimes run the upper reaches of the Molalla River as well as the lower. Under certain conditions, the 5.1 mile (8 km) stretch from Copper Creek to Table Rock Fork can be navigated by boaters capable of handling technical class III (intermediate) to IV (advanced) water on the International Scale of River Difficulty. Below that comes a stretch, about 5 mile (8 km) long, of class III to III+ water. Hazards on these upper miles may include narrow chutes, sudden drops, and logs in the water. The next 8 mile (13 km), Turner Bridge to Glen Avon Bridge, are rated technical class III to IV with hazards similar to the upper reaches but also including scouting difficulties as well as a dangerous undercut at a rapids called Goldilocks. The lower reaches are much gentler. The 6 mile (10 km) run from Glen Avon Bridge to Freyer Park is rated class II (novice). Here the most difficult rapids occur in the first half of the run. Below that come 6 mile (10 km) of class I (beginner) water from Freyer Park to the Oregon 213 Bridge.