Wilson Canyon is a gorge cut by the Walker River through a series of volcanic cliffs. The canyon is located 13 miles (20.9 km) west of Yerington

Yerington, Nevada

Yerington is a city in Lyon County, located in western Nevada, USA. The population was 2,883 at the 2000 census. It is named after Henry M. Yerington, Superintendent of the Virginia and Truckee Railroad from 1868 to 1910. It is the county seat of Lyon County....

, along Nevada State Route 208

Nevada State Route 208

State Route 208 is a state highway within the counties of Douglas and Lyon in Nevada, USA. It connects U.S. Route 395 north of Topaz Lake to Alternate U.S. Route 95 in Yerington. The road serves as the primary transportation corridor of Smith Valley and is Main street in Yerington...

. It is managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management

Bureau of Land Management

The Bureau of Land Management is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior which administers America's public lands, totaling approximately , or one-eighth of the landmass of the country. The BLM also manages of subsurface mineral estate underlying federal, state and private...

.

Description

The canyon runs through the Singatse Range

Singatse Range

The Singatse Range is a mountain range in Lyon County, Nevada.They form one side of the Mason Valley....

 in Lyon County

Lyon County, Nevada

Lyon County is a county located in the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2010 census, the population was 51,980. Its county seat is Yerington.-History:...

, where the Walker River flows northeast into the Mason Valley

Mason Valley

The Mason Valley is a valley in western Nevada, between the Singatse Range and the Wassuk Range.The Walker River flows through the valley from south to north. The city of Yerington is located in the center of the valley. The Pine Nut Mountains are nearby....

. Over the 2 miles (3.2 km) of canyon the elevation of the Walker River drops by 120 feet (36.6 m), or an average grade of 1% (compared to 0.1% to the west of the canyon). The canyon was named after "Uncle Billy Wilson

Uncle Billy Wilson

Uncle Billy Wilson was an American miner and rancher in the 19th century. Wilson Canyon and the Wilson Mining District are named after him. His brother David Wilson settled in the Mason Valley with his wife Abigail, who was the first white woman to settle in the valley.-References:...

" who was a miner and rancher, and for whom the Wilson Mining District is also named. The Nevada Copper Belt Railroad ran through Wilson Canyon; the track laid to the canyon was completed shortly before Uncle Billy Wilson's death.

Flooding

What were known as the "1997 New Year's Floods" occurred in western Nevada and northern California. They were the result of a group of snow storms in the Sierra Nevada at the end of 1996. Three additional rainstorms came between December 20, 1996. and January 2, 1997. These heavy rainstorms melted most of the snowpack

Snowpack

Snowpack forms from layers of snow that accumulate in geographic regions and high altitudes where the climate includes cold weather for extended periods during the year. Snowpacks are an important water resource that feed streams and rivers as they melt. Snowpacks are the drinking water source for...

below 7000 feet (2,133.6 m) elevation, including that at the headwater of the Walker River. This, plus additional heavy rain between 7000–10000 ft (2,133.6–3,048 m), increased the amount of runoff from the mountains, with the consequence being the worst flood western Nevada had seen in 150 years. During this period Wilson Canyon flooded, the narrow width of the canyon increasing the amount of damage to the area. Large portions of Route 208 were destroyed, with pieces of roadway being found in the river after the flood subsided. Following the flood the highway was closed for two months and repaired at a cost of $726,000.