Tumtum River

Tumtum River
Location of the mouth of the Tumtum River in Oregon
Etymology	Chinook Jargon word for "heart", referring to the heart of the valley through which the river flows[2]
Location
Country	United States
State	Oregon
Counties	Lincoln, Benton
Physical characteristics
Source	Central Oregon Coast Range
• location	near Burnt Woods, Lincoln County
• coordinates	44°35′52″N 123°39′04″W[1]
• elevation	1,018 ft (310 m)[3]
Mouth	Marys River (Oregon)
• location	near Alder, Benton County
• coordinates	44°35′18″N 123°30′43″W[1]
• elevation	584 ft (178 m)[1]
Length	9 mi (14 km)
Basin size	19.1 sq mi (49 km^2)[4]

The Tumtum River is a 9-mile (14 km) tributary of the Marys River in Benton and Lincoln counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. The river rises in the Central Oregon Coast Range west of Burnt Woods and passes through the communities of Burnt Woods and Blodgett. It then drains into the Marys River north of Alder.^[1][5]

The name Tumtum is a Chinook Jargon word for "heart", and the river was so-named because it was considered to be the heart of the valley through which it flowed.^[2] When the Burnt Woods post office was to be named, one of the names proposed to the Post Office Department was Tumtum.^[2]

References

1. "Tumtum River". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. November 28, 1980. Retrieved April 26, 2011.
2. McArthur, Lewis A.; McArthur, Lewis L. (2003) [1928]. Oregon Geographic Names (7th ed.). Portland, Oregon: Oregon Historical Society Press. p. 974. ISBN 978-0875952772.
3. Source elevation derived from Google Earth search using GNIS source coordinates.
4. Augerot, Xanthippe; Harding, Karen Fleck; Ashford, Meleah; Murphy, Tom; Seeliger, Kurt; Whittier, Thorn (February 20, 2010). "Marys River Model Watershed Proposal" (PDF). Marys River Watershed Council. p. 8. Retrieved April 27, 2011.
5. Oregon Atlas & Gazetteer (7th ed.). Yarmouth, Maine: DeLorme. 2008. pp. 32–33. ISBN 978-0-89933-347-2.