The East Fork Carson River is the largest tributary of the

Carson River The Carson River is a northwestern Nevada river that empties into the Carson Sink, an endorheic basin. The main stem of the river is long although the addition of the East Fork makes the total length , traversing five counties: Alpine Coun ...

, flowing through

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

and

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...

in the

western United States The Western United States (also called the American West, the Far West, and the West) is the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term ''the We ...

. The north-flowing river is long and drains a mostly rural, mountainous watershed of .

Description

The river originates at Sonora Peak, in the Sierra Nevada in

Alpine County, California , other_name = , settlement_type = County , image_skyline = , image_flag = Flag of Alpine County, California.svg , flag_size = , image_seal = Seal of Alpine Co ...

. The headwaters of the river are in the Carson-Iceberg Wilderness of the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest. It flows north through a U-shaped glacial canyon, dropping over Carson Falls, then continues to the Silver King Valley, where it meets Silver King Creek and turns northwest, flowing to Centerville Flat where it is joined by Silver Creek and turns north. Between here and

Markleeville, California Markleeville (formerly, Markleville) is a census-designated place (CDP) and the county seat of Alpine County, California, United States. The population was 210 at the 2010 census, up from 197 at the 2000 census. History Jacob J. Marklee founded ...

the river canyon is followed by parts of SR 4 and SR 89, the Alpine State Highway. At Markleeville it receives a major tributary, Markleeville Creek, before flowing north into

Douglas County, Nevada Douglas County is a county in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. As of th2020 Census the population was 49,488. Its county seat is Minden. Douglas County comprises the Gardnerville Ranchos, NV Micropolitan Statistical Area, wh ...

. In Nevada the river enters the agricultural

Carson Valley Douglas County is a county in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. As of th2020 Census the population was 49,488. Its county seat is Minden. Douglas County comprises the Gardnerville Ranchos, NV Micropolitan Statistical Area, w ...

and passes through the Washoe Indian Reservation, past Dresslerville, Gardnerville and Minden. It joins with the West Fork Carson River on the western edge of the valley, near

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...

to form the Carson River. Below this confluence the Carson River continues to its eventual terminus in the

Carson Sink Carson Sink is a playa in the northeastern portion of the Carson Desert in present-day Nevada, United States of America, that was formerly the terminus of the Carson River. Today the sink is fed by drainage canals of the Truckee-Carson Irrigat ...

Churchill County, Nevada Churchill County is a county in the western U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 25,516. Its county seat is Fallon. Named for Mexican–American War hero brevet Brigadier General Sylvester Churchill, the county wa ...

. The

United States Bureau of Reclamation The Bureau of Reclamation, and formerly the United States Reclamation Service, is a federal agency under the U.S. Department of the Interior, which oversees water resource management, specifically as it applies to the oversight and opera ...

(USBR) proposed their intention in 1962 to build a $23 million dam to both provide irrigation water for a Carson canal, and generate 800 kW of power. The waters from the dam would have extended nine miles into California. Neither the canal nor dam was never built.

References

External links

Rivers of Alpine County, California Rivers of Nevada Rivers of the Great Basin {{Nevada-river-stub

Description

See also

References

External links