Coquille River (Oregon)

The Coquille River /koʊˈkiːl/ is a stream, about 36 miles (58 km) long, in southwestern Oregon in the United States.

It drains a mountainous area of 1,059 square miles (2,740 km2) of the Southern Oregon Coast Range into the Pacific Ocean.

[3][5] The river, formed by the confluence of its north and south forks, begins at Myrtle Point.

The North Fork Coquille River, about 53 miles (85 km) long), rises in northern Coos County and flows southwest.

[6] Named tributaries of the Coquille River from source to mouth are the North Fork and South Fork followed by Grady, Hall, Gray, Fishtrap, Glen Aiken, Pulaski, Rink, Fat Elk, Calloway, and China creeks.

During high tides at sea, the water at the mouth of the river acts like a dam, impeding the flow of the stream.

More water always flows out into the ocean than enters with the tide; however, logs, sticks, and leaves on the surface can float upriver at certain times of day.

However, the rise and fall of the water level, and flooding in winter, prevent ordinary types of farming.

Oregon Water Resources Department Watermaster District 19 covers the Coquille River system.

In his early science fiction book The Begum's Millions, Jules Verne depicted a fictional Utopian community named Ville-France being created in 1872 at the Coquille River's confluence with the Pacific, slightly south-west of the actual site of Bandon.