Fresno River
| Fresno River | |
Fresno River Viaduct, February 2017
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| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| State | California |
| Tributaries | |
| - left | Nelder Creek, Coarse Gold Creek |
| - right | Lewis Fork Fresno River, Peterson Creek |
| Source | Confluence of Lewis Fork and Nelder Creek |
| - location | Oakhurst, Merced County |
| - elevation | 2,510 ft (765 m) |
| - coordinates | 37°21′43″N 119°37′58″W / 37.36194°N 119.63278°W |
| Mouth | San Joaquin River |
| - location | Near Dos Palos, Madera County |
| - elevation | 108 ft (33 m) |
| - coordinates | 37°04′32″N 120°33′39″W / 37.07556°N 120.56083°WCoordinates: 37°04′32″N 120°33′39″W / 37.07556°N 120.56083°W |
| Length | 68 mi (109 km) |
| Discharge | for below Hidden Dam |
| - average | 110 cu ft/s (3 m3/s) |
| - max | 17,500 cu ft/s (496 m3/s) |
| - min | 0 cu ft/s (0 m3/s) |
The Fresno River is a river in Central California and a major tributary of the San Joaquin River. It runs approximately 68 miles (109 km) from the Sierra Nevada Range to the San Joaquin River.
The Fresno River is formed by the confluence of Nelder Creek and Lewis Fork near the locality of Yosemite Forks. Some maps identify the confluence of Nelder Creek with Oak Creek in Oakhurst as the start of the Fresno River. From this point, it flows south through Oakhurst, west for several miles, then southwest to Hensley Lake. Below the lake, the river flows southwest to Madera, then west to the Eastside Bypass. The river exits the bypass then flows generally northwest to its confluence with the San Joaquin River, just north of Highway 152.
Hidden Dam is the only major storage dam on the Fresno River. The dam forms Hensley Lake, a 90,000 acre foot (110,000,000 m3) reservoir. The United States Army Corps of Engineers built the earth-fill dam, which was completed in 1974. Its primary purpose is flood control, but it is also used to regulate flows for irrigation and groundwater recharge. In 1978, the lake was opened to the public for recreation and is a popular boating and fishing destination for locals.
Below Hidden Dam, the Fresno River provides water to Madera Lake via an unnamed distributary. Excess flow from the lake is returned to the Fresno River by the lake's dam. Further downstream, on the northeast edge of Madera, is the John Franchi Diversion Dam, a 15-foot (4.6 m) high, 263-foot (80 m)-wide earth and steel dam that is used to divert water into the Big Main Canal. The dam was built by the United States Bureau of Reclamation in 1964 and is operated by the Madera Irrigation District. From this point, the river is normally dry. The only time water is released past here is when water levels are high enough to spill over the dam.
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Wikipedia