Below the North Fork confluence, the Crooked River continues flowing west, between the Ochoco Mountains to the north and the Maury Mountains to the south. The river passes Post, the geographic center of Oregon. Then, at about river mile 87 (river kilometer 140), the river flows into Prineville Reservoir, created by Bowman Dam (also called Prineville Dam). Below the dam, the river bends northward to Prineville, Oregon, where it is joined by Ochoco Creek from the northeast. Like the North Fork, Ochoco Creek drains the Ochoco Mountains. After Prineville, the Crooked River flows northwest, collecting McKay Creek and several other minor tributaries before emptying into Lake Billy Chinook, an impoundment of the Deschutes River created by Round Butte Dam. The dam also impounds the lower reach of the Crooked River. The Crooked River enters the Deschutes River about upstream from the larger river's confluence with the Columbia River, to the north.