Trinity River (California)

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Trinity River
Country United States
State California
Length 130 mi (209 km)
Watershed 2,853 sq mi (7,389 km²) [1]
Discharge at Hoopa, CA
 - average 4,858 cu ft/s (138 m³/s) [1]
 - maximum 168,000 cu ft/s (4,757 m³/s)
 - minimum 244 cu ft/s (7 m³/s)
Source Scott Mountains
 - coordinates 41°19′53″N 122°33′9″W / 41.33139, -122.5525 [2]
 - elevation 5,550 ft (1,692 m) [3]
Mouth Klamath River
 - location Weitchpec
 - coordinates 41°11′5″N 123°42′31″W / 41.18472, -123.70861 [2]
 - elevation 190 ft (58 m) [3]
Major tributaries
 - left South Fork Trinity River
 - right New River
Map of the Trinity River and Klamath River watersheds. The Trinity River is shown in dark blue, with its watershed highlighted in dark yellow. The South Fork Trinity River extends southward, while the main Trinity River curves east then north.
Map of the Trinity River and Klamath River watersheds. The Trinity River is shown in dark blue, with its watershed highlighted in dark yellow. The South Fork Trinity River extends southward, while the main Trinity River curves east then north.

The Trinity River is the longest tributary of the Klamath River, approximately 130 miles (209 km) long, in northwestern California in the United States. It drains an area of the Coast Ranges, including the southern Klamath Mountains, northwest of the Sacramento Valley. Considered especially scenic, along most of its course it flows swiftly through tight canyons and mountain meadows.

[edit] Description

It rises in northeastern Trinity County, in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest along the east side of the Scott Mountains, a subrange of the Klamath Mountains. It flows SSW along the west side of the Trinity Mountains into Trinity Lake (20 miles (32 km) long) formed on the river by the Trinity Dam, then immediately into the smaller Lewiston Lake, formed by the Lewiston Dam at Lewiston. From the reservoir it flows generally WNW past Weaverville and along the southern side of the Trinity Alps. It receives the New River from the north at Burnt Ranch and the South Fork Trinity River from the south along the Humboldt-Trinity county line. From the confluence with the South Fork it flows generally NNW through the Hoopa Valley Indian Reservation and joins the Klamath from the south in northern Humboldt County at Weitchpec, approximately 20 miles (32 km) from the Pacific coast. Both Trinity Lake and Lake Lewiston are within Whiskeytown-Shasta-Trinity National Recreation Area.

The river has been the scene of placer gold mining, including large-scale hydraulic mining, since the days of the California Gold Rush. The river's swift current make it a popular destination for whitewater rafting and kayaking. The river is also known for its runs of salmon and steelhead maintained in part by hatcheries. In 1981 the United States Congress designated the entire river downstream from the Lewiston Dam to its mouth on the Klamath, as well as portions of the river's tributaries, as the Trinity Wild and Scenic River. Jerry García's father drowned in the river.

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Water Resources Data - California, Water year 2004, Volume 2, USGS; see pp. 414-415, gage 11530000 Trinity River at Hoopa, CA
  2. ^ a b USGS GNIS: Trinity River, USGS GNIS
  3. ^ a b Google Earth elevation for GNIS coordinates. Retrieved on February 3, 2008.

[edit] External links

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