English: The John Day River in northeastern Oregon contains over 500 river miles and is the second largest undammed tributary in the western United States, after the Yellowstone River. Its spring chinook salmon and summer steelhead populations are two of the last remaining intact wild populations of anadromous fish in the Columbia River basin. The John Day River has also been kept relatively free of hatchery influences. Many segments of the John Day River have been designated under the federal Wild Scenic Rivers Act and Oregon's State Scenic Waterways Act. Topographically, the John Day basin is an interior plateau bounded by the Columbia River to the north (Lake Umatilla), the Blue Mountains to the east, the Aldrich Mountains and Strawberry Range to the south, and the Ochoco Mountains to the west. The basin drains a large portion of northeast Oregon (nearly 8,100 square miles), flows 284 miles from its source in the Strawberry Mountains (9,000 feet), to its mouth at RM 217 on the Columbia River (200 feet). The John Day basin is characterized by diverse landforms ranging from loess-covered plateaus in the lower sections to glaciated alpine peaks in the headwaters. Elevations range from 200 feet at the mouth of the John Day River to over 9,000 feet in the Strawberry Mountains. Two major physiographic provinces exist in the John Day basin -- the Deschutes-Umatilla Plateau and the Blue Mountains. A third province, the Columbia Basin, is a minor province along the confluence with the Columbia River. -- Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Authority Website, 2002