The North Fork American River is the longest branch of the

American River , name_etymology = , image = American River CA.jpg , image_size = 300 , image_caption = The American River at Folsom , map = Americanrivermap.png , map_size = 300 , map_caption ...

in Northern California. It is long from its source at the crest of the Sierra Nevada, near Lake Tahoe, to its mouth at Folsom Lake northeast of

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

. Prior to the construction of

Folsom Dam Folsom Dam is a concrete gravity dam on the American River of Northern California in the United States, about northeast of Sacramento. The dam is high and long, flanked by earthen wing dams. It was completed in 1955, and officially opened th ...

the river was about longer making for a total length of . It rises at Mountain Meadow Lake near the peak of

Granite Chief Granite Chief is a mountain located in the Sierra Nevada near Lake Tahoe. The mountain rises to an elevation of and receives consistent heavy snowfall during the winter months. The summit is the highest point in the Granite Chief Wilderness and ...

in the

Tahoe National Forest Tahoe National Forest is a United States National Forest located in 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 co ...

. Flowing initially northwest, the river soon swings west into a gorge, paralleling the Forest Hill Divide on the south. Big Granite Creek then joins the North Fork of the American River coming in from the right. The canyon shallows as the river turns southwest, carving through the Sierra foothills, then turning abruptly south near Colfax. About downstream, it receives Shirttail Creek from the left then is impounded in Lake Clementine (or North Fork Lake) which is formed by the North Fork Dam, built in 1939 to contain hydraulic mining debris. Below the dam, the river bends south, passing under the

Foresthill Bridge The Foresthill Bridge, also referred to as the Auburn-Foresthill Bridge or the Auburn Bridge, is a road bridge crossing over the North Fork American River in Placer County and the Sierra Nevada foothills, in eastern California. It is the highest br ...

, the highest bridge in California, then receives the Middle Fork American River, its largest tributary, from the left. The valley widens as the river flows south past Auburn, soon emptying into the north arm of Folsom Lake, a reservoir formed in 1955 by the Folsom Dam. Its waters merge in the lake with those of the

South Fork American River The South Fork American River is a major tributary of the American River in El Dorado County, California, draining a watershed on the western slope of the Sierra Nevada east of Sacramento. The river begins in pristine Desolation Wilderness and fl ...

and form the American River, a tributary of the

Sacramento River The Sacramento River ( es, Río Sacramento) is the principal river of Northern California in the United States and is the largest river in California. Rising in the Klamath Mountains, the river flows south for before reaching the Sacramento� ...

References

External links

North Fork American Wild and Scenic River
- BLM page {{Authority control * Rivers of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Rivers of El Dorado County, California Rivers of Placer County, California Tributaries of the Sacramento River Rivers of Northern California Rivers of the Sierra Nevada in California

See also

References

External links