Owyhee Reservoir, body of water

Owyhee Reservoir is an artificial lake on the Owyhee River in Malheur County, Oregon, near the Idaho border. It is Oregon's longest reservoir at 52 miles (84 km) and covers 13,900 acres (56 km2). The Owyhee Dam, completed in 1932, holds the water.

Owyhee Reservoir was created in 1932 when the Owyhee Dam was built during the Great Depression. The massive concrete structure became a model for later dam engineering and was originally designed to supply water for farming irrigation.

The name comes from the Owyhee River, which traces back to Hawaiian trappers who worked the region in the early 1800s; "Owyhee" is an old spelling of Hawaii. Today the reservoir and the seasonal Lake Owyhee State Park draw anglers for crappie, rainbow trout, largemouth and smallmouth bass, yellow perch and brown bullhead.

Access is easiest from Adrian following rural roads, with high-clearance vehicles recommended especially after rain. Boat ramps on the northern end near the dam and another at Leslie Gulch allow water access for fishing and recreation.

The reservoir is Oregon's longest at 52 miles (84 km), and its 13,900-acre lake holds crappie, rainbow trout, largemouth and smallmouth bass, yellow perch and brown bullhead. Water from the lake irrigates 1,800 farms covering 118,000 acres in Eastern Oregon and Southwestern Idaho.