Map of some major California rivers and lakes

This is a list of rivers in the U.S. state of California, grouped by region. Major lakes and reservoirs, if applicable, are indicated in italics.

North Coast (north of Humboldt Bay)

Rivers and streams between the Oregon border and Humboldt Bay that empty into the Pacific Ocean (arranged north to south; tributaries with those entering nearest the sea first). Bold indicates rivers with more detailed lists in following sections.

Smith River

Smith River drainage basin

Klamath River

Klamath River drainage basin

Trinity River

Trinity River
Trinity River drainage basin

Salmon River

Redwood Creek

Mad River

Humboldt Bay

Primary streams entering Humboldt Bay are listed north to south beginning north of the entrance to the bay and continuing in a clockwise direction. Tributaries entering nearest the bay are listed first.[1][2]

For additional detail on Humboldt Bay streams, see Humboldt Bay: Bay tributaries and sloughs.

North Coast (south of Humboldt Bay)

Eel River watershed map
Russian River near Duncan's Mills

Rivers and streams between Humboldt Bay and the Golden Gate that empty into the Pacific Ocean (arranged north to south; tributaries with those entering nearest the sea first):

For details of the Sonoma and Marin coasts, see List of watercourses in the San Francisco Bay Area.

San Francisco Bay

See also: List of watercourses in the San Francisco Bay Area

Streams that empty into San Francisco Bay or its tributary bays (arranged clockwise, starting at the north side of the Golden Gate; tributaries are listed from those entering nearest the bays to farthest). The Central Valley watershed feeding into Suisun Bay via the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta is excluded; see the following section for the Sacramento and San Joaquin river systems.

For additional detail on Bay Area creeks, see List of watercourses in the San Francisco Bay Area.

San Pablo Bay (north of Carquinez Strait)

Suisun Bay

Clockwise

San Pablo Bay (south of Carquinez Strait) and San Francisco Bay

For additional detail on Bay Area creeks, see List of watercourses in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta

The Sacramento and San Joaquin River systems drain the western slope of the Sierra Nevada and most of the Central Valley, forming the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta before emptying into Suisun Bay; together, they are the largest river system in California.

Sacramento River

Map of Sacramento River
Sacramento River near the mouth
Cache Creek, in the Coast Ranges

Yolo Bypass

Yolo Bypass location

American River

American River drainage basin

Feather River

Feather River drainage basin
Headwaters of the Feather River
Yuba River
Yuba River drainage basin

Pit River

Pit River drainage basin

San Joaquin River

San Joaquin River map
The San Joaquin River

Mokelumne River

Mokelumne River drainage basin

Note: In the Delta the Mokelumne River divides into two short branches, also called the "North Fork" and "South Fork", which recombine before reaching the San Joaquin River.

Calaveras River

Stanislaus River

Stanislaus River drainage basin

Tuolumne River

Tuolumne River drainage basin

Merced River

Merced River drainage basin
The Merced River in Yosemite Valley

Tulare Basin

Map of the Tulare Lake Basin

Usually an endorheic basin, waters in this region all eventually would reach Tulare Lake. This region would overflow into the San Joaquin River during flood years when Tulare Lake overflowed. Streams are listed clockwise around the Tulare Basin, starting at the Kings River:

Kings River

Kings River drainage basin

Kaweah River

Kaweah River drainage basin
Kaweah River in the foothills of the Sierra

Tule River

Kern River

Location of the Kern River

Central Coast

Rivers that empty into the Pacific Ocean between the Golden Gate and Point Arguello, arranged in order from north to south.

For details of the San Mateo coast, see List of watercourses in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Pajaro River

Salinas River

Salinas River drainage basin

Santa Maria River

Santa Maria River drainage basin

Santa Ynez River

Santa Ynez River drainage basin

South Coast

Rivers that empty into the Pacific Ocean southeast of Point Arguello, arranged from north to south:

Point Arguello to Santa Monica

Santa Clara River

Santa Clara River drainage basin

Ventura River

Santa Monica to San Clemente

See also: List of rivers of Orange County, California

Los Angeles River

San Gabriel River

Santa Ana River

Main article: List of tributaries of the Santa Ana River

San Clemente to Mexican border

Santa Margarita River

San Luis Rey River

San Dieguito River

San Diego River

San Diego Bay

Tributaries entering San Diego Bay are arranged from North to South:

Gulf of California

Rivers that empty into the Gulf of California:

Carrizo Plain

The Carrizo Plain is a large enclosed valley near the Central Coast which drains into Soda Lake.

Salton Sea

Rivers that empty into the Salton Sea:

Great Basin

Rivers in the Great Basin, arranged roughly north to south:

See also: List of rivers of the Great Basin

Tule Lake

Honey Lake

Honey Lake drainage basin

Pyramid Lake (in Nevada)

Pyramid Lake drainage basin

See also: List of Lake Tahoe inflow streams

Carson Sink (in Nevada)

Carson Sink drainage basin

Walker Lake (in Nevada)

Mono Lake

Rivers draining into saline and endorheic Mono Lake in eastern California, from north and proceeding counterclockwise:

Owens Lake

Owens Lake drainage basin

Death Valley

Streams terminating in the Badwater Basin in Death Valley National Park.

Antelope Valley-Fremont Valley watersheds

Streams terminating in various dry lakes in the Antelope Valley and Fremont Valley (Koehn Lake, Rosamond Lake, Rogers Dry Lake and others), draining from the southeastern Tehachapi Mountains and northern San Gabriel Mountains, listed counterclockwise starting from north:

Soda Lake (Mojave River drainage)

Mojave River drainage basin

See also

References

  1. ^ Klamath Resource Information System (KRIS), KRIS Humboldt Bay, URL retrieved November 11, 2007
  2. ^ Humboldt Bay Harbor District, Wetlands, Streams, Riparian Areas, and Watershed Areas, URL retrieved November 12, 2007 Archived November 28, 2007, at the Wayback Machine