|
|
|
|
|
The Cow Creek homeland lies entirely within the state of Oregon, in its southwestern region.
Map 3: Location of the Cow Creek Umpqua Homeland in Oregon.
Its western boundary lies slightly inland, about 15 miles, from the Oregon Pacific coast. It extends eastward to the Cascade Mountain range. The homeland is bounded on the north by the Calapooya Mountains and extends south to the north bank of the Rogue River. Notice that the homeland includes several watersheds, including the entire Cow Creek watershed.
At its broadest, the homeland stretches from its western boundary about 90 miles eastward to the west slope of the Cascades. At its tallest, north-to-south, the homeland also measures about 90 miles. These dimensions make the Cow Creek homeland somewhat less than about 8,100 square miles -- a significant area, with an abundance of natural resources and a wide variety of ecological niches. This entire area is the homeland within which the Cow Creek Indians traditionally lived and have been active.
While Map 3 depicts Crater Lake National Park as being outside the Cow Creek traditional homeland, there is no reason to suspect that the Cow Creeks at times were not active within the area of what is now the northwestern portion of Crater Lake Park. They were active around Diamond Lake (not shown), which lies to the north of Crater Lake and just to the south of what on Map 3 is the headwater of the North Umpqua River. Since the Cow Creeks historically were active around Diamond Lake, they probably were also active in the area near Crater Lake. They even have a myth concerning Crater Lake: The Mountain with A Hole in the Top. (See the Cow Creek Story.)
<<< Homeland >>>