Chowchilla River
| Chowchilla River | |
| River | |
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| State | California |
| Counties | Merced, Madera, Mariposa |
| Source | Sierra Nevada Range |
| - location | confluence of the East Fork and West Fork of the Chowchilla River, Mariposa, California |
| - coordinates | 37°19′40″N 119°49′51″W / 37.32778°N 119.83083°W |
| Mouth | San Joaquin River |
| - elevation | 131 ft (40 m) |
| - coordinates | 37°6′21″N 120°30′38″W / 37.10583°N 120.51056°WCoordinates: 37°6′21″N 120°30′38″W / 37.10583°N 120.51056°W |
| Length | 54.2 mi (87 km) |
| Basin | 254 sq mi (658 km2) |
| Discharge | for below Buchanan Dam |
| - average | 99.8 cu ft/s (3 m3/s) |
| - max | 30,000 cu ft/s (850 m3/s) |
| - min | 0 cu ft/s (0 m3/s) |
 Location of the mouth of the Chowchilla River in California
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The Chowchilla River is a river in central California, United States and a minor tributary of the San Joaquin River. It flows for 54.2 miles (87.2 km) from the western side of the Sierra Nevada Range to the San Joaquin River system in the San Joaquin Valley.
Most of the lower half of the river forms the border between Merced and Madera County.
The river begins as three separate forks in southern Mariposa County.
The West Fork (officially known as West Fork Chowchilla River) is formed by the confluence of Jones Creek and Snow Creek, north of the town of Bootjack, California. It flows roughly south from Bootjack, receiving Pegleg Creek, Humbug Creek, Italian Creek and Blade Creek before converging with the Middle Fork.
The Middle Fork (officially known as Middle Fork Chowchilla River) is formed by the confluence of Magoon Creek and Fox Creek, on the east side of Magoon Hill in the Sierra Nevadas. It flows roughly south along the west side of Stumpfield Mountain, receiving a few unnamed tributaries, before converging with the West Fork.
The East Fork (officially known as East Fork Chowchilla River) is the longest of the three forks and is formed by the confluence of several small, unnamed streams on the south side of Chowchilla Mountain, in the Sierra National Forest. It flows roughly south past the locality of Harris Ranch, receiving Oliver Creek and several other small, unnamed tributaries along the way. It converges with the West Fork south of Bailey Flats, and a few miles south of where the Middle and West Forks converge.
The Chowchilla River begins in name at the point where the West and East forks converge and flows southwest to Eastman Lake. The lake, which holds 150,000 acre·ft (190,000 dam3) of water from the Chowchilla, was created in 1975 by the construction of Buchanan Dam, an earth and rockfill structure which is 205 by 1,800 ft (62 by 549 m). The lake and dam's primary purpose is flood control and irrigation. In the summer months, Eastman Lake is a popular boating, fishing, camping and hiking destination for residents of the Madera and Chowchilla areas.
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Wikipedia