Johnson Creek is a 25-mile (40 km) 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 watershed covers 54 square
miles (140 km2) of mostly urban land occupied by about 180,000 people.
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 provides habitat for salmon and other migrating fish
along its free-flowing main stem. Prior to European settlement, the
heavily forested watershed was used by Native Americans of the Chinook
band for fishing and hunting. In the 19th century, white settlers
cleared much of the land for farming. The stream is named for William
Johnson, a settler 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. Damage from
seasonal flooding grew as urban density increased in the floodplain.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnson_Creek_(Willamette_River)>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1497:
Supporters of the Dominican priest Girolamo Savonarola
collected and publicly burned thousands of objects such as cosmetics,
art, and books in Florence, Italy.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonfire_of_the_Vanities>
1813:
Napoleonic Wars: Two evenly matched frigates from the French
Navy and the British Royal Navy fought for four hours, causing
significant damage, but resulting in a stalemate.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_of_7_February_1813>
1914:
The film Kid Auto Races at Venice, featuring the first
appearance of comedy actor Charlie Chaplin's character "The Tramp", was
released.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Chaplin>
1943:
World War II: Japan successfully withdrew its troops from
Guadalcanal.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Ke>
1948:
Neil Harvey became the youngest Australian to score a century
in Test cricket.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_Harvey>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
instigator:
A person who intentionally instigates, incites, or starts something,
especially one that creates trouble.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/instigator>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
Science makes no pretension to eternal truth or absolute truth;
some of its rivals do. That science is in some respects inhuman may be
the secret of its success in alleviating human misery and mitigating
human stupidity.
--Eric Temple Bell
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Eric_Temple_Bell>
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