It drains a rugged wilderness area of the Wallowa Mountains northeast of La Grande.

It rises in the Wallowas in the Eagle Cap Wilderness of the Wallowa–Whitman National Forest, just south of the Wallowa–Union border approximately 25 miles (40 km) southeast of La Grande at Blue Lake.

[6] Its headwaters include springs stemming from outflow from Minam Lake,[7] also the source of the Lostine River.

Accessible mainly by United States Forest Service trails, the river basin supports diverse wildlife, including wolverine, bighorn sheep, elk, American black bear, and cougar.

[7] The Minam, except for the lower 8 miles (13 km), where the surrounds have been heavily logged and otherwise altered, is largely pristine.