Cosumnes River

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Cosumnes River
Location of the Cosumnes River Watershed
Location of the Cosumnes River Watershed
Origin Sierra Nevada (US)
Mouth Sacramento River Delta
Basin countries United States
Length 80 mi (129 km)
Source elevation 7 ft (2 m)
Avg. discharge 494 ft³/s (14 m³/s)
Basin area 1 mi² (2 km²)

The Cosumnes River (pronounced ko-Sue-mees) is a tributary of the Mokelumne River (pronounced mo-Kulla-mee), approximately 80 mi (128.75 km) long, in northern California in the United States. Claimed to be the last undammed river flowing from the western slope of the central Sierra Nevada mountains, the Cosumnes starts as North, Middle and South forks cutting canyons through the El Dorado and Amador County Gold Country vineyards, then passes through southern Sacramento County in the Sacramento Valley, joining with the Mokelumne River in San Joaquin County and emptying into the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. The river actually has two dams on it just upstream from Rancho Murietta near the Van Vleck Park (private park), creating a small reservoir.

Towns and cities along the Cosumnes River include Plymouth, CA, Rancho Murieta, CA, Sloughhouse, CA, Wilton, CA and Elk Grove, CA.

The Cosumnes River is thought to have been named as the Mokelumne and Tuolumne rivers were, using the -umne suffix meaning "people of" as well as the cos- prefix meaning "salmon or fish".

Map of the Cosumnes River Watershed
Map of the Cosumnes River Watershed

[edit] External links