Pit River

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For the river in British Columbia, Canada, see Pitt River.

The Pit River or Pitt River is a major river watershed draining Northeastern California into the State's Central Valley.

While it is accounted a tributary of the Sacramento River, the Pit River actually contributes as much as eighty percent of the water at their junction near Redding, California in the United States. The longest tributary of the Sacramento, it is approximately 110 mi (176 km) long, extending from its origin in the Warner Mountains in the northeastern corner of California to the northernmost portions of the Sacramento Valley. It drains a sparsely-populated volcanic highlands area, passing through the south end of the Cascade Range in a spectacular canyon northeast of Redding. The river is so named because of the pits the Achumawi dug to trap game that came to water at the river.

[edit] Description

It rises in several forks in Modoc County in the northeastern corner of California, west of the Warner Mountain crest. The South Fork (40 mi/64 km long) is formed from the confluence of several creeks in Jess Valley 10 mi (16 km) northeast of Madeline and flows west through a narrow canyon, past Likely, then generally through a broad ranching valley where its waters are diverted for irrigation and waterfowl conservation in an extensive system of canals. The North Fork (20 mi/32 km) is formed by the confluence of several creeks 5 mi (8 km) south of and 5 mi (8 km) east of Goose Lake. It flows generally SSW, joining the South Fork from the north at Alturas.

The combined river flows WSW in a winding course across Modoc County, past Canby and through the Modoc National Forest in a narrow gorge called Stonecoal Valley. It turns south to flow past Lookout and into northern Lassen County, past Bieber to emerge into the ranching region of Big Valley. North of Little Valley it runs east into northeastern Shasta County, passing through the Cascades in a serpentine canyon in the Shasta National Forest. It flows past Pittville, Macarthur, and Fall River Mills to join the Sacramento River as the eastern arm of Shasta Lake reservoir, approximately 15 mi (24 km) north of Redding. The lower 15 mi (24 km) of the river now forms the longest "arm" of the five of Lake Shasta, which is formed by Shasta Dam on the Sacramento downstream from the original confluence.

The river is a popular destination for fly fishing, rafting in its lower reaches, and is used for hydroelectric energy both in the powerhouses below Fall River Mills and at Shasta Dam. It is also used extensively for irrigation and conservation purposes.

[edit] History

The Pit River was the site of several military expeditions against local Indian Tribes during the 1850's, each known as the Pitt River Expedition.

It is of interest that the Pit River is one of only three rivers (The other two are the Klamath and the Columbia) that cross the Cascade Range.—