The
Clackamas River is an approximately tributary of the
Willamette River in northwestern
Oregon, in the United States. Draining an area of about , the Clackamas flows through mostly forested and rugged mountainous terrain in its upper reaches, and passes agricultural and urban areas in its lower third. The river rises in eastern
Marion County, about east-southeast of
Salem. The headwaters are on the slopes of
Olallie Butte in the
Mount Hood National Forest, about north of
Mount Jefferson, at an elevation of in the
Cascade Range. The Clackamas flows briefly north and then flows northwest through the mountains, passing through
North Fork Reservoir and
Estacada. It then emerges from the mountains southeast of
Portland. It joins the Willamette near
Oregon City and forms the boundary between Oregon City and
Gladstone.