Whitewater River (California)
| Whitewater River | |
| Country |  United States |
|---|---|
| State |  California |
| Tributaries | |
| - left | Mission Creek, Garnet Wash , Thousand Palm Canyon Wash |
| - right | South Fork Whitewater River, San Gorgonio River, Chino Wash, Palm Canyon Wash, Cathedral Canyon |
| Cities | Palm Springs, Cathedral City, Palm Desert, Indio, Coachella, Mecca |
| Source | Confluence of North and Middle Forks |
| - location | Near San Gorgonio Mountain, San Bernardino Mountains, San Bernardino County |
| - elevation | 4,787 ft (1,459 m) |
| - coordinates | 34°03′48″N 116°44′50″W / 34.06333°N 116.74722°W |
| Mouth | Salton Sea |
| - location | South of Mecca, Riverside County |
| - elevation | −233 ft (−71 m) |
| - coordinates | 33°30′30″N 116°03′26″W / 33.50833°N 116.05722°WCoordinates: 33°30′30″N 116°03′26″W / 33.50833°N 116.05722°W |
| Length | 53.9 mi (87 km) |
| Basin | 1,500 sq mi (3,885 km2) |
| Discharge | for Indio |
| - average | 3.53 cu ft/s (0 m3/s) |
| - max | 11,400 cu ft/s (323 m3/s) |
| - min | 0 cu ft/s (0 m3/s) |
 The course of the Whitewater River highlighted on a map of the Salton Sea drainage basin
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The Whitewater River is a small permanent stream in western Riverside County, California, with a small upstream section in southwestern San Bernardino County. Its headwaters are in the San Bernardino Mountains and mouth—terminus in the Colorado Desert. The Whitewater River is in the endorheic Salton Sea drainage basin.
The community of Whitewater is named after the river. In 2001 Huell Howser Productions, in association with KCET/Los Angeles, featured the river and nearby community in California's Gold.
The Whitewater River has three significant tributaries: the North, Middle and South Forks, all within the Sand to Snow National Monument.
The North Fork begins in the subalpine zone at about 10,000' (3,000 m.) on San Gorgonio Mountain and descends steeply southeast to the Middle Fork, which flows east through a wide arroyo. The South Fork flows northeast through a narrower wooded canyon, joining the Middle Fork lower down. The upper watershed is in the San Gorgonio Wilderness and San Bernardino National Forest, then it reaches land managed by the Bureau of Land Management. Below the confluences the arroyo is at least 1/2 mile (1 km.) wide, paved with accumulations of boulders, gravel and sand brought down by floods and brushy except in stream channels cleared by floodwaters. Due to floods and shifting channels there is almost no riparian forest development, except very locally along unnamed minor tributaries with relatively stable channels.
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Wikipedia