Little Humboldt River

The Little Humboldt River is a tributary of the

Humboldt River The Humboldt River is an extensive river drainage system located in north-central Nevada. It extends in a general east-to-west direction from its headwaters in the Jarbidge, Independence, and Ruby Mountains in Elko County, to its terminus in the ...

, approximately long, in northern

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, 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. N ...

in the western United States. It is an intermittent stream draining a rugged area on the edge of the

Owyhee Desert The Owyhee Desert ecoregion, within the deserts and xeric shrublands biome, is in the Northwestern United States. The Owyhee Uplands Byway passes through the desert. Geography An arid region of canyons, volcanic rock, sagebrush and grass makes up ...

in the

Great Basin The Great Basin is the largest area of contiguous endorheic basin, endorheic watersheds, those with no outlets, in North America. It spans nearly all of Nevada, much of Utah, and portions of California, Idaho, Oregon, Wyoming, and Baja California ...

. It rises in two forks in northern Nevada. The North Fork (45 mi/72 km) rises in northeastern Humboldt County, on the northeast end of the

Santa Rosa Range The Santa Rosa Range is a mountain range in Humboldt County, Nevada, United States. Most of the range is included within the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest. The highest peaks in the range are Granite Peak (9732 feet, 2966 m) and Santa Rosa Pe ...

, and flows intermittently to the ESE along the southeast edge of the

. The South Fork (40 mi/64 km) rises in extreme western Elko County north of Jake Creek Mountain and generally flows WNW. The two forks join in eastern Humboldt County northwest of Winnemucca, with the combined stream flowing southwest along the east side of the Santa Rosa Range to join the Humboldt approximately northeast of Winnemucca. It is impounded to form

Chimney Dam Reservoir A chimney is an architectural ventilation structure made of masonry, clay or metal that isolates hot toxic exhaust gases or smoke produced by a boiler, stove, furnace, incinerator, or fireplace from human living areas. Chimneys are typi ...

near the confluence of its forks in eastern Humboldt County. The river has recently been the subject of environmental controversies regarding charges of

overgrazing Overgrazing occurs when plants are exposed to intensive grazing for extended periods of time, or without sufficient recovery periods. It can be caused by either livestock in poorly managed agricultural applications, game reserves, or nature res ...

on the federal lands surrounding the river. Tributaries of the Humboldt River Rivers of Nevada Rivers of Humboldt County, Nevada Rivers of the Great Basin {{Nevada-river-stub