North Fork Kings River

North Fork Kings River
River
Country United States
State California
Part of Kings River basin
Tributaries
 - right Helms Creek, Dinkey Creek
Source Sierra Nevada
 - location Fresno County
 - elevation 11,280 ft (3,438 m)
 - coordinates  [1]
Mouth Kings River
 - location Rodgers Crossing, Fresno County
 - elevation 1,020 ft (311 m)
 - coordinates  [1]
Length 40 mi (64 km), Northeast-southwest
Basin 390 sq mi (1,010 km2)
Discharge for Balch Camp
 - average 337 cu ft/s (10 m3/s) [2]
 - max 27,400 cu ft/s (776 m3/s)
 - min 6.4 cu ft/s (0 m3/s)

The North Fork Kings River is a 40-mile (64 km)-tributary of the Kings River, in the U.S. state of California. The river's main stem is entirely within Fresno County, and its watershed drains about 390 square miles (1,000 km2) of the southern Sierra Nevada mountain range.

It rises at an elevation of 11,380 feet (3,470 m) on the western border of the Sierra National Forest in an unnamed pond a mile (1.6 km) south of Mount Reinstein. It flows west through a high, lake-studded alpine basin before dropping into a deep valley. The river receives Post Corral and Helms creeks from the right before emptying into Wishon Reservoir, formed by the Wishon Dam. Flowing southwards into a gorge, the river then receives Rancheria Creek from the left, then turns southwest into Black Rock Reservoir. After this reservoir, it flows west and receives Patterson Creek from the right, and is impounded again at a small diversion dam. Shortly afterwards it receives Dinkey Creek, its largest tributary, from the right at Balch Camp, then turns south, flowing into the Kings River just northwest of Rodgers Crossing.[3]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "North Fork Kings River". Geographic Names Information System, U.S. Geological Survey. 1981-01-19. http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic/f?p=gnispq:3:::NO::P3_FID:264175. Retrieved 2010-11-29. 
  2. ^ "USGS Gage #11218400 on the North Fork Kings River below Dinkey Creek, near Balch Camp, CA". National Water Information System. U.S. Geological Survey. 1961-2009. http://wdr.water.usgs.gov/wy2009/pdfs/11218400.2009.pdf. Retrieved 2010-11-30. 
  3. ^ ACME Mapper. USGS Topo Maps for United States (Map). Cartography by United States Geological Survey. http://mapper.acme.com/. Retrieved 2010-11-30. 


Kings River
North Fork Kings River · South Fork Kings River · Middle Fork Kings River · Roaring River · Kings Canyon · Pine Flat Dam · Pine Flat Lake · Rodgers Crossing Dam (proposed)
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