page_title: Johnson Creek (Willamette River tributary)
section_title: Parks
hierarchical_section_title: Johnson Creek (Willamette River tributary) / Parks
caption_attribution_description: English: Pedestrian and bicycle bridge over Southeast McLoughlin Boulevard in Portland, Oregon. The bridge, in the Sellwood neighborhood, is part of the Springwater Corridor Trail along Johnson Creek.
context_page_description: Johnson Creek is a 25-mile tributary of the Willamette River in the Portland metropolitan area of the U.S. state of Oregon. Part of the drainage basin of the Columbia River, its catchment consists of 54 square miles of mostly urban land occupied by about 180,000 people as of 2012. Passing through the cities of Gresham, Portland, and Milwaukie, the creek flows generally west from the foothills of the Cascade Range through sediments deposited by glacial floods on a substrate of basalt. Though polluted, it is free-flowing along its main stem and provides habitat for salmon and other migrating fish.
  Prior to European settlement, the watershed was heavily forested and was used by Native Americans of the Chinook band for fishing and hunting. In the 19th century, non-Native American settlers cleared much of the land for farming, and the stream is named for one of these newcomers, William Johnson, who in 1846 built a water-powered sawmill along the creek. By the early 20th century, a rail line parallel to the stream encouraged further residential and commercial development. As urban density increased in the floodplain, seasonal floods grew more damaging.
context_section_description: By 1960, use of the rail line along Johnson Creek had declined and passenger service was discontinued. By 1990 the City of Portland bought much of the corridor. Working with Metro, it created the Springwater Corridor Trail, a 21-mile (34 km) bicycle and pedestrian rail trail that follows the creek and extends from the Willamette River to Boring. It became part of the 40-Mile Loop, a hiking and biking trail that circles the Portland metropolitan area and intersects with similar trails.
  Creekside parks include Johnson Creek Park, about 4.5 acres (18,000 m²) of natural areas and paths; the Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden, along Crystal Springs Creek; Tideman Johnson Natural Area, about 7.2 acres (29,000 m²) of natural areas and paths; Leach Botanical Garden, about 16 acres (65,000 m²), a public garden dedicated to the study of botany and horticulture with an emphasis on plants of the Pacific Northwest; Beggars Tick Wildlife Refuge, a wetland of 20 acres (81,000 m²); Powell Butte Nature Park, about 608 acres (2.46 km²) on an extinct cinder cone volcano, including natural areas and hiking, biking, and equestrian trails; and Gresham's Main City Park, about 18 acres (73,000 m²) including sports fields, picnic areas, and trails.
  In 2007 Metro bought two parcels of land totaling 102 acres (410,000 m²) for preservation adjacent to Johnson Creek on Clatsop Butte, south of Foster Road near Powell Butte and Portland's Pleasant Valley neighborhood. The purchases cost $10.9 million, drawing on bonds approved by a 2006 ballot measure. They were praised by conservationists but questioned by others who thought Metro had paid too much.
caption: A pedestrian bridge crosses Oregon Route 99E, Southeast McLoughlin Boulevard, on the Springwater Corridor Trail along Johnson Creek.
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