Yuba River
Encyclopedia
The Yuba River is a tributary
of the Feather River
in the Sacramento Valley
of the U.S. state
of California
. It is one of the Feather's most important branches, providing about a third of its flow. The main stem
of the river is about 40 miles (64.4 km) long, and its headwaters are split into North, Middle and South forks; the confluence of the former two is considered the beginning of the Yuba. The river drains about 1339 mi2 of the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountain range as well as a small portion of the Sacramento Valley.
The Yuba was probably named by early Spanish or Mexican scouting expeditions in the region who found wild grapes growing along the banks of the river, and dubbed it using a variant spelling of the Spanish word uva (grape).
, on a mountainside along California State Route 49
. It flows southwest then west through a 3000 feet (914.4 m) canyon past the small villages of Downieville, where it receives the Downie River, and Goodyears Bar. It then incorporates the flow of Canyon Creek and Slate Creek, two of its main tributaries, and very soon after widens into New Bullards Bar Reservoir
, which is impounded by the 645 feet (196.6 m) New Bullards Bar Dam
. Very soon after leaving the dam it joins with the Middle Yuba to form the Yuba River.
about 2 miles (3.2 km) northwest of North San Juan
, then a few miles after joins with the North Yuba River.
at the crest of the Sierra Nevada, near the town of Soda Springs. Gathering numerous snowfed tributaries, it runs west through a marshy, lake-filled valley, shadowed by Interstate 80
. The river then flows into Lake Spaulding, which is formed by Spaulding Dam. After escaping from the dam the river plunges northwards into a steep-sided valley. Canyon Creek enters from the right, then Poorman Creek also from the right near the town of Washington
. The river continues west into the foothills, crossing under State Route 49. Its mouth is on the east shore of Englebright Lake
, formed by a dam across the Yuba River.
near Lake Wildwood, California
and is then joined by Deer Creek, the stream flowing from that lake, on the left. The Yuba slows down as it flows from the mountains out into the Sacramento Valley
near the Yuba Goldfields
, a section of the Yuba River valley consisting of dredged sediments washed down by hydraulic mining
in the 19th century. The river then turns southwest, flowing through irrigated farmland. It then skirts the south side of Marysville
and reaches its destination at the Feather River between the cities of Marysville, Yuba City
and Linda
.
, Nisenan
and Miwok
. Despite the connotations of these names, they are only used for reference purposes. The truth about pre-19th century Yuba River peoples was that they were divided into hundreds of small villages, with distinct names but similar customs. Like other Sierra Nevada people, their staple food were acorn
s, but they also hunted and gathered for other foods from the environment in which they lived.
The California Gold Rush
brought some of the first American settlers into the area, followed by many Mexican, African and Chinese emigrants. Within a few years diseases which the Native Americans had no immunity over, brought by the incoming people, wiped out most of the native population. The Yuba River and its forks were one of the more popular destinations for the gold miners, who poured to the region in great numbers. Although first gold was extracted by simple methods such as panning and sluicing, mining operations quickly turned into large-scale industrial hydraulic mining
. About 685000000 cubic feet (19,397,040.2 m³) of debris was carried down the Yuba alone. Hundreds of acres of land were covered, the riverbed was raised by tens of feet in places and flooding events became more severe for the river was no longer in its old channel. After farmers whose fields had been buried under the onslaught sued the gold mining companies, the practice ended. The debris left by the destruction of hydraulic mining still remains as the Yuba Goldfields
.
. Basically consisting of washing down entire hillsides with high-pressure hoses in search of gold pockets, hydraulic mining was profitable, but caused massive physical and environmental damage. Millions of tons of sediment were carried down the Yuba and other Central Valley rivers, eventually ending up in places ranging from the original riverbed to San Francisco Bay
, creating enormous difficulties for water-borne transportation.
In the more recent past, the Yuba's periodic rages have been subdued by the construction of many dams. The largest of these are the New Bullards Bar Dam
, which lies on the North Fork directly above the confluence with the Middle Fork; and the Englebright Dam
, situated on the main stem as it winds its way south through the Sierra Nevada foothills. Both are large concrete arch structures standing hundreds of feet high. Other dams include Jackson Meadows Reservoir on the Middle Fork; Scotts Flat and Wildwood on Deer Creek; and Mildred and Virginia Ranch on Dry Creek, a lower tributary of the Yuba.
Tributary
A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean...
of the Feather River
Feather River
The Feather River is the principal tributary of the Sacramento River, in the Sacramento Valley of Northern California. The river's main stem is about long. Its length to its most distant headwater tributary is about . Its drainage basin is about...
in the Sacramento Valley
Sacramento Valley
The Sacramento Valley is the portion of the California Central Valley that lies to the north of the San Joaquin-Sacramento Delta in the U.S. state of California. It encompasses all or parts of ten counties.-Geography:...
of the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. It is one of the Feather's most important branches, providing about a third of its flow. The main stem
Main Stem
"Main Stem" is 1942 instrumental by Duke Ellington and His Famous Orchestra. Although recorded in 1942, the single would not be released until 1944 where it was Duke Ellington's last of four number one's on the Harlem Hit Parade. "Main Stem" would also peak at number twenty on the pop chart"Main...
of the river is about 40 miles (64.4 km) long, and its headwaters are split into North, Middle and South forks; the confluence of the former two is considered the beginning of the Yuba. The river drains about 1339 mi2 of the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountain range as well as a small portion of the Sacramento Valley.
The Yuba was probably named by early Spanish or Mexican scouting expeditions in the region who found wild grapes growing along the banks of the river, and dubbed it using a variant spelling of the Spanish word uva (grape).
Course
Most of the Yuba's flow is incorporated from its three main tributaries, the North Yuba, Middle Yuba and South Yuba. All three rivers run westwards from the crest of the Sierra Nevada to form the main stream of the Yuba. The beginning of the main stem is defined as the confluence of the North and Middle Yuba Rivers. The North Fork is longer, but the Middle Fork is considered the main stem.North fork
The North Yuba River, 61 miles (98.2 km) long, rises near the eastern border of the Tahoe National ForestTahoe National Forest
Tahoe National Forest is a U.S. National Forest located in the state of California, northwest of Lake Tahoe. It includes the peak of Sierra Buttes, near Sierra City, which has views of Mount Lassen and Mount Shasta. It is located in parts of six counties. In descending order of forestland area...
, on a mountainside along California State Route 49
California State Route 49
State Route 49 is a north–south state highway in the U.S. state of California that passes through many historic mining communities of the 1849 California gold rush. Highway 49 is numbered after the "49ers", the waves of immigrants who swept into the area looking for gold, and a portion of it...
. It flows southwest then west through a 3000 feet (914.4 m) canyon past the small villages of Downieville, where it receives the Downie River, and Goodyears Bar. It then incorporates the flow of Canyon Creek and Slate Creek, two of its main tributaries, and very soon after widens into New Bullards Bar Reservoir
New Bullards Bar Reservoir
New Bullards Bar Reservoir is a large reservoir in northeastern Yuba County, California, at an elevation of in the Tahoe National Forest and about 30 miles northeast of Yuba City, California. The reservoir is formed by New Bullards Bar Dam on the North Fork of the Yuba River, a tributary of the...
, which is impounded by the 645 feet (196.6 m) New Bullards Bar Dam
New Bullards Bar Dam
New Bullards Bar Dam is a dam in California on the North Yuba River and forms the New Bullards Bar Reservoir, which has a capacity of . It is located near the town of Dobbins in Yuba County. The dam is operated by the Yuba County Water Agency for irrigation, drinking water and hydroelectric power...
. Very soon after leaving the dam it joins with the Middle Yuba to form the Yuba River.
Middle fork
Originating in a bowl-shaped valley in Moscove Meadow, the 55.4 miles (89.2 km) Middle Yuba River flows north into Jackson Meadows Reservoir, then turns west, descending steeply into a gorge, defining over almost its entire length the boundary of Nevada County in the north and Yuba County in the south. The river bends to the southwest, then west again, receiving Kanaka Creek from the right and Grizzly Creek from the left. It intersects California State Route 49California State Route 49
State Route 49 is a north–south state highway in the U.S. state of California that passes through many historic mining communities of the 1849 California gold rush. Highway 49 is numbered after the "49ers", the waves of immigrants who swept into the area looking for gold, and a portion of it...
about 2 miles (3.2 km) northwest of North San Juan
North San Juan, California
North San Juan is a census-designated place in Nevada County, California, United States, along State Route 49 on the San Juan Ridge in Gold Country. The zip code is 95960...
, then a few miles after joins with the North Yuba River.
South fork
The 65 miles (104.6 km) South Yuba River originates at Donner PassDonner Pass
Donner Pass is a mountain pass in the northern Sierra Nevada, located above Donner Lake about nine miles west of Truckee, California. It has a steep approach from the east and a gradual approach from the west....
at the crest of the Sierra Nevada, near the town of Soda Springs. Gathering numerous snowfed tributaries, it runs west through a marshy, lake-filled valley, shadowed by Interstate 80
Interstate 80
Interstate 80 is the second-longest Interstate Highway in the United States, following Interstate 90. It is a transcontinental artery running from downtown San Francisco, California to Teaneck, New Jersey in the New York City Metropolitan Area...
. The river then flows into Lake Spaulding, which is formed by Spaulding Dam. After escaping from the dam the river plunges northwards into a steep-sided valley. Canyon Creek enters from the right, then Poorman Creek also from the right near the town of Washington
Washington, California
Washington is a census-designated place located in Nevada County, California. Washington is located on the banks of the South Fork of The Yuba River and has a population of approximately two hundred people...
. The river continues west into the foothills, crossing under State Route 49. Its mouth is on the east shore of Englebright Lake
Englebright Lake
Englebright Lake is a man-made reservoir formed along the Yuba River by Englebright Dam. It is located between Yuba and Nevada Counties, in Northern California, United States.-External links:*...
, formed by a dam across the Yuba River.
Main stem
From the joining of the North and Middle forks, the Yuba flows southwards, then southwest, through the Sierra Nevada foothills, forming the Yuba-Nevada County border. The river widens into the main arm of Englebright Lake near French Bar, and is joined by the South Yuba within the reservoir. The Yuba leaves the Englebright DamEnglebright Dam
Englebright Dam is a high variable radius concrete arch dam on the Yuba River in the Sacramento River Basin, located in Yuba and Nevada Counties of California, USA. It was put into service in 1941 by the Army Corp of Engineers....
near Lake Wildwood, California
Lake Wildwood, California
Lake Wildwood is a census-designated place in Nevada County, California, United States. The population was 4,991 at the 2010 census, up from 4,868 at the 2000 census....
and is then joined by Deer Creek, the stream flowing from that lake, on the left. The Yuba slows down as it flows from the mountains out into the Sacramento Valley
Sacramento Valley
The Sacramento Valley is the portion of the California Central Valley that lies to the north of the San Joaquin-Sacramento Delta in the U.S. state of California. It encompasses all or parts of ten counties.-Geography:...
near the Yuba Goldfields
Yuba Goldfields
The Yuba Goldfields is a valley of 10,000 acres on both sides of the Yuba River in Yuba County, California, located northeast of Yuba City. The goldfields are noted for their otherworldly appearance, filled with oddly shaped gravel mountains, ravines, streams and turquoise-colored pools of water...
, a section of the Yuba River valley consisting of dredged sediments washed down by hydraulic mining
Hydraulic mining
Hydraulic mining, or hydraulicking, is a form of mining that uses high-pressure jets of water to dislodge rock material or move sediment. In the placer mining of gold or tin, the resulting water-sediment slurry is directed through sluice boxes to remove the gold.-Precursor - ground...
in the 19th century. The river then turns southwest, flowing through irrigated farmland. It then skirts the south side of Marysville
Marysville, California
Marysville is the county seat of Yuba County, California, United States. The population was 12,072 at the 2010 census, down from 12,268 at the 2000 census. It is included in the Yuba City Metropolitan Statistical Area, often referred to as the Yuba-Sutter Area after the two counties, Yuba and...
and reaches its destination at the Feather River between the cities of Marysville, Yuba City
Yuba City, California
Yuba City is a Northern California city, founded in 1849. It is the county seat of Sutter County, California, United States. The population was 64,925 at the 2010 census....
and Linda
Linda, California
Linda is a census-designated place in Yuba County, California, United States. The population was 17,773 at the 2010 census, up from 13,474 at the 2000 census...
.
History
The Yuba River valley was originally situated in one of California's largest Native American population centers. Historians divide the natives living in the Yuba area into several groups – the Konkow, MaiduMaidu
The Maidu are a group of Native Americans who live in Northern California. They reside in the central Sierra Nevada, in the drainage area of the Feather and American Rivers...
, Nisenan
Nisenan
The Nisenan, also known as the Southern Maidu and Valley Maidu, are one of many native groups of the Central Valley. The name Nisenan, derives from the ablative plural pronoun nisena·n, "from among us"...
and Miwok
Miwok
Miwok can refer to any one of four linguistically related groups of Native Americans, native to Northern California, who spoke one of the Miwokan languages in the Utian family...
. Despite the connotations of these names, they are only used for reference purposes. The truth about pre-19th century Yuba River peoples was that they were divided into hundreds of small villages, with distinct names but similar customs. Like other Sierra Nevada people, their staple food were acorn
Acorn
The acorn, or oak nut, is the nut of the oaks and their close relatives . It usually contains a single seed , enclosed in a tough, leathery shell, and borne in a cup-shaped cupule. Acorns vary from 1–6 cm long and 0.8–4 cm broad...
s, but they also hunted and gathered for other foods from the environment in which they lived.
The California Gold Rush
California Gold Rush
The California Gold Rush began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The first to hear confirmed information of the gold rush were the people in Oregon, the Sandwich Islands , and Latin America, who were the first to start flocking to...
brought some of the first American settlers into the area, followed by many Mexican, African and Chinese emigrants. Within a few years diseases which the Native Americans had no immunity over, brought by the incoming people, wiped out most of the native population. The Yuba River and its forks were one of the more popular destinations for the gold miners, who poured to the region in great numbers. Although first gold was extracted by simple methods such as panning and sluicing, mining operations quickly turned into large-scale industrial hydraulic mining
Hydraulic mining
Hydraulic mining, or hydraulicking, is a form of mining that uses high-pressure jets of water to dislodge rock material or move sediment. In the placer mining of gold or tin, the resulting water-sediment slurry is directed through sluice boxes to remove the gold.-Precursor - ground...
. About 685000000 cubic feet (19,397,040.2 m³) of debris was carried down the Yuba alone. Hundreds of acres of land were covered, the riverbed was raised by tens of feet in places and flooding events became more severe for the river was no longer in its old channel. After farmers whose fields had been buried under the onslaught sued the gold mining companies, the practice ended. The debris left by the destruction of hydraulic mining still remains as the Yuba Goldfields
Yuba Goldfields
The Yuba Goldfields is a valley of 10,000 acres on both sides of the Yuba River in Yuba County, California, located northeast of Yuba City. The goldfields are noted for their otherworldly appearance, filled with oddly shaped gravel mountains, ravines, streams and turquoise-colored pools of water...
.
River modifications
Like the majority of California rivers, the Yuba is dammed at many points along its length and irrigation agriculture in the Sacramento Valley takes a heavy draw of water from the river. The first significant man-made changes to the watershed came with gold mining practices in the 19th century, specifically hydraulic miningHydraulic mining
Hydraulic mining, or hydraulicking, is a form of mining that uses high-pressure jets of water to dislodge rock material or move sediment. In the placer mining of gold or tin, the resulting water-sediment slurry is directed through sluice boxes to remove the gold.-Precursor - ground...
. Basically consisting of washing down entire hillsides with high-pressure hoses in search of gold pockets, hydraulic mining was profitable, but caused massive physical and environmental damage. Millions of tons of sediment were carried down the Yuba and other Central Valley rivers, eventually ending up in places ranging from the original riverbed to San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay is a shallow, productive estuary through which water draining from approximately forty percent of California, flowing in the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers from the Sierra Nevada mountains, enters the Pacific Ocean...
, creating enormous difficulties for water-borne transportation.
In the more recent past, the Yuba's periodic rages have been subdued by the construction of many dams. The largest of these are the New Bullards Bar Dam
New Bullards Bar Dam
New Bullards Bar Dam is a dam in California on the North Yuba River and forms the New Bullards Bar Reservoir, which has a capacity of . It is located near the town of Dobbins in Yuba County. The dam is operated by the Yuba County Water Agency for irrigation, drinking water and hydroelectric power...
, which lies on the North Fork directly above the confluence with the Middle Fork; and the Englebright Dam
Englebright Dam
Englebright Dam is a high variable radius concrete arch dam on the Yuba River in the Sacramento River Basin, located in Yuba and Nevada Counties of California, USA. It was put into service in 1941 by the Army Corp of Engineers....
, situated on the main stem as it winds its way south through the Sierra Nevada foothills. Both are large concrete arch structures standing hundreds of feet high. Other dams include Jackson Meadows Reservoir on the Middle Fork; Scotts Flat and Wildwood on Deer Creek; and Mildred and Virginia Ranch on Dry Creek, a lower tributary of the Yuba.
Tributaries
In hierarchical order, going upstream:- Dry Creek
- Keystone Creek
- New York Creek
- Deer Creek
- Squirrel Creek
- North Fork Deer Creek
- South Fork Deer Creek
- South Yuba RiverSouth Yuba RiverThe South Yuba River is a left-entering tributary of the Yuba River in the Sierra Nevada that repeatedly crosses Interstate 80 in California....
- Shady Creek
- Humbug Creek
- Poorman Creek
- South Fork Poorman Creek
- Fordyce Creek
- North Creek
- Rattlesnake Creek
- Lower Castle Creek
- Upper Castle Creek
- Dobbins CreekDobbins CreekDobbins Creek may refer to:*Dobbins Creek , tributary of the Yuba River*Dobbins Creek, a neighborhood community in Phoenix, Arizona*Dobbins Creek, a creek that flows through East Side Lake in Austin, Minnesota, U.S.A....
- Middle Yuba River
- Oregon Creek
- Grizzly Creek
- Brush Creek
- Grizzly Creek
- Indian Creek
- Kanaka Creek
- Wolf Creek
- East Fork Creek
- Pass Creek
- Oregon Creek
- North Yuba RiverNorth Yuba RiverThe North Yuba River is the main tributary of the Yuba River in northern California in the United States. The river is about long and drains from the Sierra Nevada westwards towards the foothills between the mountains and the Sacramento Valley.It rises on the Sierra Crest about northwest of...
- Willow Creek
- Bridger Creek
- Brandy Creek
- Mill Creek
- Slate Creek
- Canyon Creek
- Little Canyon Creek
- East Fork Canyon Creek
- South Fork Canyon Creek
- Cherokee Creek
- Fiddle Creek
- Goodyears Creek
- Downie River
- Pauley Creek
- Lavezzola Creek
- Empire Creek
- Sunnyside Creek
- Spencer Creek
- West Branch Downie River
- Haypress Creek
- Salmon Creek
- Deer Creek
- Lincoln Creek
- Dorsey Creek