Napa River
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The Napa River is a
river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...
approximately long in the
U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...
of
California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
. It drains a famous
wine-growing Viticulture (from the Latin word for ''vine'') or winegrowing (wine growing) is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, ran ...
region called the
Napa Valley Napa Valley is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) located in Napa County in California's Wine Country. It was established by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) on January 27, 1981. Napa Valley is considered one of the premier ...
, in the mountains north of the
San Francisco Bay San Francisco Bay is a large tidal estuary in the U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the big cities of San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland. San Francisco Bay drains water from a ...
. Milliken Creek and
Mt. Veeder Mount Veeder AVA is an American Viticultural Area located within Napa Valley AVA among the Mayacamas Mountains. The boundaries of this appellation include with planted on thin volcanic soil. Many vineyards are found on the steep mountain face so ...
watersheds are a few of its many tributaries. The
river mouth A river mouth is where a river flows into a larger body of water, such as another river, a lake/reservoir, a bay/gulf, a sea, or an ocean. At the river mouth, sediments are often deposited due to the slowing of the current reducing the carrying ...
is at Vallejo, where the
intertidal zone The intertidal zone, also known as the foreshore, is the area above water level at low tide and underwater at high tide (in other words, the area within the tidal range). This area can include several types of habitats with various species o ...
of fresh and salt waters flow into the
Carquinez Strait The Carquinez Strait (; Spanish: ''Estrecho de Carquinez'') is a narrow tidal strait in Northern California. It is part of the tidal estuary of the Sacramento and the San Joaquin rivers as they drain into the San Francisco Bay. The strait is lo ...
and the
San Pablo Bay San Pablo Bay is a tidal estuary that forms the northern extension of San Francisco Bay in the East Bay and North Bay regions of the San Francisco Bay Area in northern California. Most of the Bay is shallow; however, there is a deep water ch ...
.


Course

The Napa River rises in northwestern
Napa County Napa County () is a county north of San Pablo Bay located in the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 138,019. The county seat is the City of Napa. Napa County was one of the original c ...
just south of the summit of Mt. St. Helena in the
Mayacamas Mountains The Mayacamas Mountains are located in northwestern California in the United States. The mountain range is part of the Northern Inner Coast Ranges, of the California Coast Ranges System. Geography The Mayacamas Mountains are located south of the ...
of the California
Coast Ranges The Pacific Coast Ranges (officially gazetted as the Pacific Mountain System in the United States) are the series of mountain ranges that stretch along the West Coast of North America from Alaska south to Northern and Central Mexico. Although the ...
. The source begins as seasonal Kimball Canyon Creek in Robert Louis Stevenson State Park at an elevation of which descends the southern slope of Mt. St. Helena to Kimball Canyon Dam. It flows south for 4 miles (6 km), entering the head of the slender Napa Valley north of Calistoga. In the valley, it flows southeast past Calistoga,
St Helena Saint Helena () is a British overseas territory located in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is a remote volcanic tropical island west of the coast of south-western Africa, and east of Rio de Janeiro in South America. It is one of three constitu ...
, Rutherford, Oakville and through Napa, its
head of navigation The head of navigation is the farthest point above the mouth of a river that can be navigated by ships. Determining the head of navigation can be subjective on many streams, as the point may vary greatly with the size or the draft of the ship be ...
. Downstream from Napa, it forms a
tidal estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environment ...
, entering
Mare Island Strait The Mare Island Strait is a channel at in the San Pablo Bay separating Mare Island and the mainland in Vallejo, California in Solano County. The strait was formerly used by the Mare Island Naval Shipyard until its closure in 1995. The strait i ...
, a narrow channel on the north end of
San Pablo Bay San Pablo Bay is a tidal estuary that forms the northern extension of San Francisco Bay in the East Bay and North Bay regions of the San Francisco Bay Area in northern California. Most of the Bay is shallow; however, there is a deep water ch ...
. It discharges into San Pablo Bay through the
Napa Sonoma Marsh The Napa Sonoma Marsh is a wetland at the northern edge of San Pablo Bay, which is a northern arm of the San Francisco Bay in California, United States. This marsh has an area of 48,000 acres (194 km2), of which 13,000 acres (53 km2) are ...
.


Watershed

The Napa River watershed encompasses approximately 426 square miles (1,103 km²). Larger tributaries, such as Dry, Conn, and Soda creeks, show signs of recent incision and have graded to the incised current level of the mainstem Napa River. In some cases, smaller tributaries cutting across the valley floor have not fully adjusted to the lowered level of the mainstem and are elevated at their confluence with the mainstem, forming potential barriers to upstream fish migration. Several large dams were built between 1924 and 1959 on major eastside tributaries ( Conn, Rector, Milliken, and Bell dams) and the northern headwaters of the Napa River (Kimball Dam). In addition, many smaller dams can be found throughout the watershed. These numerous dams are impassable barriers to salmon and steelhead seeking their historic spawning grounds.


Ecology

The river also supports a remarkable diversity of fishes and recovering
salmonid Salmonidae is a family of ray-finned fish that constitutes the only currently extant family in the order Salmoniformes . It includes salmon (both Atlantic and Pacific species), trout (both ocean-going and landlocked), chars, freshwater whitefis ...
populations, especially
chinook salmon The Chinook salmon (''Oncorhynchus tshawytscha'') is the largest and most valuable species of Pacific salmon in North America, as well as the largest in the genus ''Oncorhynchus''. Its common name is derived from the Chinookan peoples. Other ve ...
(''Oncorhynchus tshawytscha'') and
steelhead trout Steelhead, or occasionally steelhead trout, is the common name of the anadromous form of the coastal rainbow trout or redband trout (O. m. gairdneri). Steelhead are native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific basin in Northeast Asia and N ...
(''Oncorhynchus mykiss''). In 2003 the Napa County Resource Conservation District began an ongoing salmon monitoring program, and have recorded a run of approximately 400 - 1000 fall-run Chinook salmon the past several years. The Chinook run begins in late October through January. Conclusive evidence of historical chinook salmon populations in the Napa River basin have not been established, but the river provides appropriate habitat for salmon and its location near the entrance to the
Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...
/ San Joaquin Rivers make it likely that salmon would have at least ventured into the Napa River. In 2013, a genetics study of Napa River chinook salmon revealed that two adults migrated from the
Klamath River The Klamath River (Karuk: ''Ishkêesh'', Klamath: ''Koke'', Yurok: ''Hehlkeek 'We-Roy'') flows through Oregon and northern California in the United States, emptying into the Pacific Ocean. By average discharge, the Klamath is the second larges ...
and successfully spawned in the Napa River, since four juvenile chinook collected from the Napa River in 2010 were proved to be siblings from the close similarity of their DNA and that the latter was characteristic of Klamath River chinook. These findings have important implications for the protection of the federally endangered Coastal California Chinook Salmon ESU since the Napa River, nor any stream in the Bay Area, was included in this ESU. The Napa River basin is estimated to have historically supported a spawning run of 6,000–8,000 steelhead, and as many as 2,000–4,000
coho salmon The coho salmon (''Oncorhynchus kisutch;'' Karuk: achvuun) is a species of anadromous fish in the salmon family and one of the five Pacific salmon species. Coho salmon are also known as silver salmon or "silvers". The scientific species name i ...
(''Oncorhynchus kisutch''). By the late 1960s, coho salmon were extirpated from the watershed and the steelhead population is now reduced to less than a few hundred adults. Flow reductions in key rearing streams have reduced food availability for juvenile steelhead, causing reduced growth and survival. Recently, a
chum salmon The chum salmon (''Oncorhynchus keta''), also known as dog salmon or keta salmon, is a species of anadromous salmonid fish from the genus '' Oncorhynchus'' (Pacific salmon) native to the coastal rivers of the North Pacific and the Beringian A ...
(''Oncorhynchus keta'') was caught in the river. In addition, a fourth salmon species,
sockeye salmon The sockeye salmon (''Oncorhynchus nerka''), also called red salmon, kokanee salmon, blueback salmon, or simply sockeye, is an anadromous species of salmon found in the Northern Pacific Ocean and rivers discharging into it. This species is a P ...
(''Oncorhynchus nerka''), was also identified in the Napa River. Although diminished, the Napa River basin continues to support a fish community of greater diversity than even the Sacramento and San Joaquin River systems, including a nearly intact community of sixteen native fish species, including Steelhead, fall-run Chinook salmon,
Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
(''Lampetra tridentata'') and river lamprey (''Lampetra ayresi''),
hardhead The hardhead (''Aythya australis''), also known as the white-eyed duck, is the only true diving duck found in Australia. The common name "hardhead" has nothing to do with the density of the bird's skull, instead referring to the difficulty encou ...
(''Mylopharodon conocephalus''), hitch (''Lavinia exilicauda''),
tule perch The tule perch ''Hysterocarpus traskii'' is a surfperch ( Embiotocidae) native to the rivers and estuaries of central California, United States of America. It is the sole member of its genus, and the only freshwater surfperch. The tule perch is ...
(''Hysterocarpus traski''), and
Sacramento splittail The splittail (''Pogonichthys macrolepidotus''), also called Sacramento splittail, is a cyprinid fish native to the low-elevation waters of the Central Valley in California. It was first described by William O. Ayres in 1854. It is the sole li ...
(''Pogonichthys macrolepidotus''). Because of this diversity the Napa River has been prioritized for special protection.
White sturgeon White sturgeon (''Acipenser transmontanus'') is a species of sturgeon in the family Acipenseridae of the order Acipenseriformes. They are an anadromous fish species ranging in the Eastern Pacific; from the Gulf of Alaska to Monterey, Californ ...
(''Acipenser transmontanus'') and many other native and non-native fishes currently utilize the Napa River watershed. The California golden beaver (''Castor canadensis subauraticus'') was historically extant. Recently beaver have recolonized the Napa River and have been documented in Napa as well as near Rutherford and Oak Knoll.


Restoration

As part of
urban renewal Urban renewal (also called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address urban decay in cities. Urban renewal involves the clearing out of blighte ...
in the 1970s, a concrete cover was removed from culverted sections of the Napa Creek, re-exposing the water to daylight. There is some debate as to whether this constituted one of the country's earliest "daylighting" projects, since the construction was undertaken with little thought to the river's ecology or restoration of riparian habitat. This construction is not believed to be responsible for later flooding along the river. More recently, vineyard owners with property that borders the Rutherford Reach, a stretch of the Napa River between St. Helena and Oakville, are allowing prime land to return to a natural state in order to help preserve the ecology of the river. The project known as Rutherford Restoration Project involves 23 property owners have combined forces to provide of land to this cause. After the restoration, native
North American beaver The North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') is one of two Extant taxon, extant beaver species, along with the Eurasian beaver (''Castor fiber''). It is native to North America and introduced in South America (Patagonia) and Europe (primari ...
returned to the area, establishing 3-4 beaver dams. These
keystone species A keystone species is a species which has a disproportionately large effect on its natural environment relative to its abundance, a concept introduced in 1969 by the zoologist Robert T. Paine. Keystone species play a critical role in maintaini ...
have been shown to increase fish, bird and mammal abundance and diversity in California rivers and streams. They also benefit trout and salmon by reducing sediment loads and improve water quality. The southern part of the river has also been undergoing restoration as former salt ponds along the river are being restored to their natural state.


Napa Flood of 1986

In 1986, the worst of 23 floods recorded since 1865 on the Napa River occurred. 5,000 people were evacuated, 250 homes were destroyed, and three people lost their lives. After the devastating flood of 1986, the dormant
Napa River Flood Project The Napa River-Napa Creek Flood Protection Project is a Civil Works project of the US Army Corps of Engineers in the city of Napa, California. The Project area includes some 6 miles (10 km) of the Napa River from the Butler Bridge on State Ro ...
was revitalized. The Project underwent a lengthy redesign and was approved by the local voters in 1998. Construction began in 2000 and was completed by 2015.


Recreation

The Napa River and the surrounding watershed provide many recreational opportunities.
Whitewater kayaking Whitewater kayaking is an adventure sport where a river is navigated in a decked kayak. Whitewater kayaking includes several styles. River running; where the paddler follows a river and paddles rapids as they travel. Creeking usually involving s ...
and
rafting Rafting and whitewater rafting are recreational outdoor activities which use an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other body of water. This is often done on whitewater or different degrees of rough water. Dealing with risk is often a ...
can be done on the upper section of river from St. Helena to Napa. The lower section of the Napa River from Napa to San Pablo Bay has flatwater that is suitable for
canoeing Canoeing is an activity which involves paddling a canoe with a single-bladed paddle. Common meanings of the term are limited to when the canoeing is the central purpose of the activity. Broader meanings include when it is combined with other acti ...
,
sea kayaking A sea kayak or touring kayak is a kayak developed for the sport of Watercraft paddling, paddling on open waters of lakes, bays, and the ocean. Sea kayaks are seaworthy small boats with a covered deck and the ability to incorporate a spray deck. T ...
and motorboating. The Napa River Trail has segments at Kennedy Park (N 38.26764 W 122.28373) & between Lincoln Ave (N 38.31055 W 122.27783) and Trancas St (N 38.32496 W 122.28384) in the city of Napa.


See also

*
List of rivers of California This is a list of rivers in the U.S. state of California, grouped by region. Major lakes and reservoirs, if applicable, are indicated in italics. North Coast (north of Humboldt Bay) Rivers and streams between the Oregon border and Humboldt Bay th ...
*
List of watercourses in the San Francisco Bay Area These watercourses (rivers, creeks, sloughs, etc.) in the San Francisco Bay Area are grouped according to the bodies of water they flow into. Tributaries are listed under the watercourses they feed, sorted by the elevation of the confluence so tha ...


References


External links


Napa River WatershedNapa River Flood ProjectNapa River Trail Downtown NapaPhoto documentary of the Napa River
from SamandaDorger.comM {{Authority Control Rivers of Napa County, California Rivers of Solano County, California Tributaries of San Pablo Bay Mayacamas Mountains Napa Valley Napa, California St. Helena, California Rivers of Northern California