Marys River (Oregon)
| Marys River | |
 Marys River near mouth in Corvallis
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| Name origin: Uncertain. For one of at least two women named Mary. | |
| Country | United States |
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| State | Oregon |
| County | Benton |
| Source | Confluence of East Fork Marys River and West Fork Marys River |
| - location | near Summit, Benton County, Oregon |
| - elevation | 659 ft (201 m) |
| - coordinates | 44°39′24″N 123°33′39″W / 44.65667°N 123.56083°W |
| Mouth | Willamette River |
| - location | Corvallis, Benton County, Oregon |
| - elevation | 207 ft (63 m) |
| - coordinates | 44°33′20″N 123°15′41″W / 44.55556°N 123.26139°WCoordinates: 44°33′20″N 123°15′41″W / 44.55556°N 123.26139°W |
| Length | 40 mi (64 km) |
| Basin | 310 sq mi (803 km2) |
| Discharge | for 2 miles (3.2 km) southeast of Philomath, 9.4 miles (15.1 km) from the mouth |
| - average | 448 cu ft/s (13 m3/s) |
| - max | 13,600 cu ft/s (385 m3/s) |
| - min | 0.60 cu ft/s (0 m3/s) |
  Location of the mouth of Marys River in Oregon
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Marys River is a 40-mile (64 km) tributary of the Willamette River in the U.S. state of Oregon. From its source at the confluence of its east and west forks near Summit, it flows generally southeast from the Central Oregon Coast Range to Corvallis.
The origin of the name is uncertain, although it was used as early as 1846. Lewis A. and Lewis L. McArthur, in the seventh edition of Oregon Geographic Names find no support for the suggestion that employees of the Hudson's Bay Company had earlier named the stream St. Marys River. Rather, they summarize two stories about the origin. One is that Adam E. Wimple, an early settler, named the stream for his sister. Wimple was hanged at Dallas, Oregon, in 1852 for murdering his wife, also named Mary. The other story is that Wayman St. Clair, who represented Benton County in the territorial legislature in the early 1850s, named the river for Mary Lloyd. She was said to have been the first white woman to cross the river.
In 1847, Joseph C. Avery began laying out a town at the confluence of Marys River with the Willamette River, and the place was called Marysville. In 1853, the legislature changed the name of the town to Corvallis, a compounding of Latin words meaning heart of the valley. Prior to settlement by European Americans, fur traders referred to the Mary's River as Mouse River or Mice River. It is probable that nearby Marys Peak was named for the river.
Marys River arises in western Benton County at 659 feet (201 m) above sea level and falls 452 feet (138 m) between source and mouth to an elevation of 207 feet (63 m). The main stem, formed by the confluence of the East Fork Marys River and the West Fork Marys River, begins at about river mile 40 (RM 40) or river kilometer 64 (RK 64) north of Marys Peak in the Central Oregon Coast Range. The West Fork Marys River, which is 6 miles (9.7 km) long, rises at 44°44′00″N 123°34′15″W / 44.733333°N 123.570833°W and flows south to join the East Fork. The East Fork, which is 5 miles (8.0 km) long, rises at 44°42′00″N 123°30′55″W / 44.7°N 123.5152778°W and flows southwest to join the West Fork. Marys Peak rises to 4,022 feet (1,226 m) above sea level at 44°30′15″N 123°33′04″W / 44.5042870°N 123.5512165°W.
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