The Susan River is a northeastern California river of approximately lengthU.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data
The National Map
, accessed March 17, 2011 that drains from an arid

plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides ...

volcanic A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plat ...

highlands along the

Great Basin Divide The Great Basin Divide in the western United States is the ridgeline that separates the Great Basin from the Pacific Ocean watershed, which completely surrounds it. The Great Basin is the largest set of contiguous endorheic watersheds of No ...

to intermittent

Honey Lake Honey Lake is an endorheic sink in the Honey Lake Valley in northeastern California, near the Nevada border. Summer evaporation reduces the lake to a lower level of and creates an alkali flat. Honey Lake dries almost completely in most years. H ...

. The river flows from eastern

Lassen County Lassen County () is a county in the northeastern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 32,730. The county seat and only incorporated city is Susanville. Lassen County comprises the Susanville, Calif ...

from east of

Lassen Volcanic National Park Lassen Volcanic National Park is an American national park in northeastern California. The dominant feature of the park is Lassen Peak, the largest plug dome volcano in the world and the southernmost volcano in the Cascade Range. Lassen Vol ...

generally east past

Susanville Susanville (formerly known as Rooptown) is a town in and the county seat of Lassen County, California, United States. Susanville is located on the Susan River in the southern part of the county, at an elevation of . Its population is 16,728 ...

and emerging into a ranching valley to enter the north end of

. Along with

Fredonyer Pass Fredonyer Pass, elevation , is a high mountain pass in Lassen County, California, southwest of Susanville and southeast of Mount Lassen. It lies on the Great Basin Divide between the Feather River to the west and the Susan River and Honey Lak ...

, the Susan River is the northern boundary of the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primar ...

History

Susan River and the town of Susanville were named for Susan Roop, daughter of early settler

Issac Roop Isaac Newton Roop (March 13, 1822 – February 14, 1869) was a United States politician, pioneer and member of the Whig party. In 1859, he was the first elected (provisional) governor of the newly proposed Nevada Territory. Early life Roop wa ...

, in 1857.

Watershed

Susan River begins at Caribou Lake at elevation , which is dammed by Caribou Lake 234 Dam. It flows eastward, curving southeasterly as it enters the Great Basin, where it is joined on the left by Bridge Creek and dammed to form McCoy Flat Reservoir, approximately 11 miles northwest of Susanville. It next receives order from the right (heading downstream) Crazy Harry Gulch, Willard Creek, and Williams Creek before entering Susanville, where it receives Piute Creek from the left. Below Susanville, it receives from the left Gold Run Creek, Lassen Creek and Sand Slough, the latter at Johnstonville. At Johnstonville, the Lake Leavitt Inlet Canal diverts Susan River flows south to Lake Leavitt. After being joined by Willow Creek from the left, the Susan River passes below Litchfield and is extensively modified by a complicated system of canals and levees for

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has been devel ...

of the surrounding ranching areas. Next, the river reaches the Honey Lake State Wildlife Area and finally

itself at elevation .

References

{{Authority control Rivers of Lassen County, California Rivers of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Rivers of the Great Basin Lassen National Forest Rivers of Northern California Rivers of the Sierra Nevada in California