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121-725: The Kaweah River is a river draining the southern Sierra Nevada in Tulare County , California in the United States. Fed primarily by high elevation snowmelt along the Great Western Divide , the Kaweah begins as four forks in Sequoia National Park , where the watershed is noted for its alpine scenery and its dense concentrations of giant sequoias , the largest trees on Earth. It then flows in

242-550: A freeway -to-freeway interchange with SR 99 as it enters Visalia , the largest city it passes through, and goes by the Visalia Municipal Airport . It remains a freeway until east of Visalia , intersecting SR 65 and passing by College of the Sequoias . SR 198 starts to climb the forested Sierra Nevada and ends at the Sequoia National Park boundary, near Lake Kaweah , where the road continues through

363-661: A 255-foot (78 m) high earthfill dam, has the primary purpose of flood control but also supplies water for irrigation and hydroelectricity. Below the dam the Kaweah River passes Lemon Cove , receives Dry Creek (also known as Lime Kiln Creek) from the right and flows into the San Joaquin Valley where it divides into several major distributaries . At the McKay Point Dam, the St. John's River splits off to

484-601: A chain of 13,000-foot (4,000 m) peaks in the middle of Sequoia National Park. The divide separates the Kaweah drainage from the Kern River drainage to the east. The Middle Fork, sometimes considered part of the main stem, flows southwest from the confluence of Lone Pine Creek and Hamilton Creek, whose lake sources lie at or above 12,000 feet (3,700 m) in the Mount Stewart area. The Middle Fork receives Cliff Creek near Redwood Meadow. The Marble Fork begins in

605-532: A foreman working for Sacramento pioneer John Sutter , found shiny metal in the tailrace of a lumber mill Marshall was building for Sutter on the American River . Rumors soon started to spread and were confirmed in March 1848 by San Francisco newspaper publisher and merchant Samuel Brannan . Brannan strode through the streets of San Francisco, holding aloft a vial of gold, shouting "Gold! Gold! Gold from

726-526: A high plateau area known as the Tableland and drops 1,200 feet (370 m) over a glacial headwall , forming Tokopah Falls , before flowing west past Lodgepole Village and turning south. The two forks join at the bottom of a deep gorge directly below Moro Rock to form the main stem of the Kaweah River. The Kaweah River flows in a southwest direction, paralleled by Highway 198 in its narrow canyon. A short distance outside Sequoia National Park it picks up

847-619: A long hike is required to reach it. A California fishing license is required for visitors older than age 16 in the park. The upper Kaweah is also home to many hiking trails. Day hikes include the walk along Marble Fork to 1,200-foot (370 m) Tokopah Falls , and the Mineral King area along the East Fork also has a number of short trails. Backpacking is popular on the High Sierra Trail , which runs from Giant Forest through

968-571: A portion of the area, a triangle whose vertices are Reno, Nevada ; Fresno, California ; and Las Vegas, Nevada , has been dubbed the " Nevada Triangle ", in reference to the Bermuda Triangle . Some counts put the number of crashes in the triangle at 2,000, including millionaire and record-breaking flyer Steve Fossett . Hypotheses that the crashes are related in some way to the United States Air Force 's Area 51 , or to

1089-448: A powerful stream or jet of water at gold-bearing gravel beds. It is estimated that by the mid-1880s, 11 million troy ounces (340 metric tons) of gold (worth approximately US$ 16 billion in 2020 prices) had been recovered by "hydraulicking". A consequence of these extraction methods was that large amounts of gravel, silt , heavy metals , and other pollutants were washed into streams and rivers. As of 1999 , many areas still bear

1210-528: A project to widen a two-lane, 10-mile (16 km) section of SR 198 between SR 43 and SR 99 into a four-lane expressway. The $ 60 million project was completed in December 2012. The Kings County Association of Governments has plans to improve the state highways within the county. Developers are interested in building distribution warehouses in Kings County because of its strategic location midway between

1331-706: A publication of his photographs under the title Parmelian Prints of the High Sierras , commented, "The name Sierra is already a plural. To add an s is a linguistic, Californian, and mountaineering sin." The Sierra Nevada lies primarily in Central and Eastern California , with the Carson Range , a small but historically important spur, extending into Nevada. West-to-east, the Sierra Nevada's elevation increases gradually from 500 feet (150 m) in

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1452-595: A remote interchange with US 101 south of King City in the Salinas River Valley . Leaving US 101, SR 198 passes through the Priest Valley, climbs the Diablo Range as a two-lane road and crosses over an unnamed pass. It then descends along Warthan Canyon to the town of Coalinga in the agricultural Central Valley , where it briefly runs concurrently with SR 33 . On both sides of Coalinga

1573-501: A short period, and the lightning can start fires. Summer high temperatures average 42–90 °F (6–32 °C). Winters are comparatively mild, and the temperature is usually only just low enough to sustain a heavy snowpack. For example, Tuolumne Meadows , at 8,600 feet (2,600 m) elevation, has winter daily highs about 40 °F (4 °C) with daily lows about 10 °F (−12 °C). The growing season lasts 20 to 230 days, strongly dependent on elevation. The highest elevations of

1694-502: A southwest direction to Lake Kaweah – the only major reservoir on the river – and into the San Joaquin Valley , where it diverges into multiple channels across an alluvial plain around Visalia . With its Middle Fork headwaters starting at almost 13,000 feet (4,000 m) above sea level, the river has a vertical drop of nearly two and a half miles (4.0 km) on its short run to the San Joaquin Valley, making it one of

1815-416: A trickle, although the river often experiences flooding during rainstorms. Most of the water is diverted above Visalia for irrigation and groundwater recharge. With the exception of agricultural wastewater , water rarely flows any further downstream except in wet years. Extremely large storms can temporarily refill Tulare Lake, as occurred most recently in 2023. Due to its steep fall from the Sierra Nevada to

1936-447: Is Mount Lyell (13,120 ft or 3,999 m). The Sierra rises to almost 14,000 feet (4,300 m) with Mount Humphreys near Bishop, California . Finally, near Lone Pine , Mount Whitney is at 14,505 feet (4,421 m), the highest point in the contiguous United States . South of Mount Whitney, the elevation of the range quickly dwindles. The crest elevation is almost 10,000 feet (3,000 m) near Lake Isabella , but south of

2057-969: 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 primarily in Nevada . The Sierra Nevada is part of the American Cordillera , an almost continuous chain of mountain ranges that forms the western "backbone" of the Americas. The Sierra runs 400 mi (640 km) north-south, and its width ranges from 50 mi (80 km) to 80 mi (130 km) across east–west. Notable features include General Sherman ,

2178-536: Is an eligible property for the National Register of Historic Places . Terminus Dam was constructed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1962 to help relieve the Kaweah Delta's chronic flooding. Prior to damming, the river could reach very high flows during winter storms, with a maximum of 80,700 cubic feet per second (2,290 m/s) in December 1955. However, the capacity of the main channel of

2299-456: Is either protected from development or strictly managed. The mountain range is home to three National Parks  – Yosemite , Kings Canyon , and Sequoia  – and two national monuments  – Devils Postpile and Giant Sequoia . Ten national forests span much of the mountain range's remaining area. Within these national parks, monuments, and forests lie 26 wilderness areas , which together protect 15.4% of

2420-581: Is eligible to be included in the State Scenic Highway System , but it is not officially designated as a scenic highway by the California Department of Transportation . All of SR 198 was added to the state highway system in the three bond issues floated to pay for the construction of the system. The first bond issue, approved by the state's voters in 1910, included the road from Visalia west to Hanford , connecting

2541-499: Is free-flowing above Lake Kaweah so the rafting season depends entirely on the natural snowmelt, typically between April and July. Access to the Kaweah River for fishing, swimming and water play can be difficult in the Three Rivers area, because most of the river banks are on private property. In Sequoia National Park the river flows at the bottom of a deep canyon and can also be difficult to reach. The river just above Lake Kaweah

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2662-542: Is higher in the east. A list of biotic zones, and corresponding elevations, is presented below: Archaeological excavations placed Martis people of Paleo-Indians in northcentral Sierra Nevada during the period of 3,000 BCE to 500 CE. The earliest identified sustaining indigenous people in the Sierra Nevada were the Northern Paiute tribes on the east side, with the Mono tribe and Sierra Miwok tribe on

2783-579: Is publicly accessible at the Slick Rock Recreation Area; however, this location is inundated most summers when the level of Lake Kaweah is high. Slick Rock, known to locals as "Boulder Beach", has rock climbing areas and historic Native American bedrock mortars. Lake Kaweah itself offers shoreline fishing and flatwater boating. The upper South Fork in Sequoia National Park has good fishing for wild rainbow trout, although

2904-771: Is the source of much of the sedimentary rock in California. In the Cretaceous , a subduction zone formed at the edge of the continent. This means that an oceanic plate started to dive beneath the North American Plate . Magma, formed through the subduction of the ancient Farallon Plate , rose in plumes ( plutons ) deep underground, their combined mass forming what is called the Sierra Nevada batholith . These plutons formed at various times, from 115  Ma to 87 Ma. The earlier plutons formed in

3025-462: The Basin and Range Province . As this andesitic volcanism began waning about five million years ago, the rivers were able to begin eroding away the 100s of meters of volcanic deposits and resume the incision that had been halted by the first period of volcanism. Some studies have argued that this recent incision is a sign of recent tectonic uplift. Other geologists claim that the elevations of many of

3146-661: The Carson River runs into Carson Sink , the Walker River into Walker Lake ; Rush , Lee Vining and Mill Creeks flow into Mono Lake ; and the Owens River into dry Owens Lake . Although none of the eastern rivers reach the sea, many of the streams from Mono Lake southwards are diverted into the Los Angeles Aqueduct which provides water to Southern California . The height of the mountains in

3267-487: The Central Valley to more than 14,000 feet (4,300 m) atop the highest peaks of its crest 50 to 75 miles (80 to 121 km) to the east. The east slope forms the steep Sierra Escarpment . Unlike its surroundings, the range receives a substantial amount of snowfall and precipitation due to orographic lift . The Sierra Nevada's irregular northern boundary stretches from the Susan River and Fredonyer Pass to

3388-673: The East Fork , which originates above 9,000 feet (2,700 m) elevation in the Mineral King valley, from the left. It continues past the town of Three Rivers , where it receives the North Fork , which begins in the Grant Grove area of Kings Canyon National Park . The South Fork enters from the left before the river empties into Lake Kaweah , the reservoir formed by Terminus Dam in the Sierra Nevada foothills. Terminus Dam,

3509-493: The Gabriel Moraga party in 1806). Early Spanish names for the river included Rio de San Gabriel and Rio San Francisco. Several such expeditions were sent into the region, in order to conscript Native Americans into the mission system . Father Pedro Muñoz wrote that the Kaweah would be a good place for a mission, but none were ever established there, because it was too far from the coast and could not be easily defended. In

3630-595: The Nevadan orogeny , granite formed deep underground. The range started to uplift less than five million years ago, and erosion by glaciers exposed the granite and formed the light-colored mountains and cliffs that make up the range. The uplift caused a wide range of elevations and climates in the Sierra Nevada, which are reflected by the presence of five life zones (areas with similar plant and animal communities). Uplift continues due to faulting caused by tectonic forces, creating spectacular fault block escarpments along

3751-611: The North Fork Feather River . It represents where the granitic bedrock of the Sierra Nevada dives below the southern extent of Cenozoic igneous surface rock from the Cascade Range . It is bounded on the west by California 's Central Valley , on the east by the Basin and Range Province , and on the southeast by the Mojave Desert . The southern boundary is at Tehachapi Pass . Physiographically,

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3872-527: The Paiute peoples of the Great Basin . Around 700 to 500 years ago, the Western Mono came to settle in the region as well. Oak trees grew in abundance along low-elevation, permanent streams and provided the staple food of acorns, which were used to make cakes and bread. Native Americans ground acorns into a fine mush using holes in the local granite bedrock as mortars . Permanent winter settlements in

3993-461: The San Joaquin Valley to the rest of the state in the 1870s. This facilitated the nationwide distribution of lumber. In addition, technological advancements, such as the shay locomotive and the v-shaped log flume , made it easier to transport lumber across mountainous terrain. The tourism potential of the Sierra Nevada was recognized early in the European history of the range. Yosemite Valley

4114-537: The United States started to move to California via Sonora and Walker Passes . In the winter of 1844, Lt. John C. Frémont , accompanied by Kit Carson , was the first European American to see Lake Tahoe . The Frémont party camped at 8,050 ft (2,450 m). The California Gold Rush began at Sutter's Mill , near Coloma , in the western foothills of the Sierra. On January 24, 1848, James W. Marshall,

4235-524: The endorheic basin of Tulare Lake , which rarely overflows into the San Joaquin during wet years. The eastern slope watershed of the Sierra is much narrower; its rivers flow out into the endorheic Great Basin of eastern California and western Nevada . From north to south, the Susan River flows into intermittent Honey Lake , the Truckee River flows from Lake Tahoe into Pyramid Lake ,

4356-543: The "River Francis", a corruption of the old Spanish name. Hale Tharp , a stockman and early settler in Three Rivers, discovered the Giant Forest in 1858 with the help of Native American guides. In 1861 Tharp returned to this area between the Middle and Marble forks of the Kaweah River, using a hollowed-out fallen sequoia log ( Tharp's Log ) as a cabin. In 1873, a silver boom in Mineral King attracted thousands of people to

4477-446: The 1850s by American colonists, before its upper reaches became part of Sequoia National Park in 1890. The name "Kaweah" (commonly rendered as / k ə ˈ w iː ə / kə- WEE -ə ; the traditional pronunciation is / ˈ ɡ ɑː w iː h ɑː / GAH -wee-hah ) comes from a native Yokutsan ethnonym for the Kaweah tribelet, traditionally said to mean "crow cry," from gá "raven" and wea "to weep." Frank F. Latta traced

4598-499: The 1860s and the 1880s when the U.S. government began establishing timber reserves in the area, under pressure from conservationists , including John Muir , who visited the Kaweah's Marble Fork and named Giant Forest in 1875. Logging mostly ended after Sequoia National Park was founded in 1890; the bill establishing the park was pushed through in part due to the actions of the Southern Pacific Railroad , which saw

4719-742: The American River!" On August 19, 1848, the New York Herald was the first major newspaper on the East Coast to report the discovery of gold. On December 5, 1848, President James Polk confirmed the discovery of gold in an address to Congress . Soon, waves of immigrants from around the world, later called the "forty-niners", invaded the Gold Country of California or "Mother Lode". Miners lived in tents, wood shanties, or deck cabins removed from abandoned ships. Wherever gold

4840-409: The Kaweah Delta. Surface water provided the main supply as late as 1900, after which the area's abundant groundwater reserves were pumped at increasing rates. Tulare Lake disappeared by the early 1900s, and by the 1930s, agricultural development had surpassed the capacity of local water resources. In the 1960s Disney proposed to construct a ski resort in Mineral King, which would have brought one of

4961-451: The Kaweah River is only 5,500 cubic feet per second (160 m/s), and its distributaries have an even lower capacity. Four years after the dam's completion, it prevented $ 19.6 million of damage during a single storm in December 1966. However, the capacity of the reservoir, Lake Kaweah, was too small to control the most severe floods, and was so for many years until the completion of a spillway enhancement project in 2004. Six huge fuse gates ,

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5082-402: The Kaweah basin was timber; many logging camps sprang up in the heavily forested western slopes of the Sierra, including in the watershed's sequoia groves. The Kaweah Colony was a utopian socialist community founded in 1886, along the Kaweah River in what is now Sequoia National Park. Although giant sequoia wood is generally too soft to be useful in construction, many sequoias were felled between

5203-607: The Kaweah colony as a competitor to logging operations that it owned elsewhere. Some settlers in the Kaweah Colony attempted to continue their operations but were later convicted of illegal logging, after which the colony dissolved in 1892. The Kaweah Delta (historically also known as the "Four Creeks area", after the four major branches of the Kaweah River) was one of the earliest places in the San Joaquin Valley to be populated and farmed by U.S. settlers, although before

5324-464: The Los Angeles and San Francisco Bay areas, but they are currently turned off by the lack of freeway access. For SR 198, the plan is to extend the freeway segment from Naval Air Station Lemoore to I-5. However, Kings County voters have shown little interest in passing any transportation taxes to fund these projects. Except where prefixed with a letter, postmiles were measured on the road as it

5445-669: The Middle Fork canyon, and summits the Great Western Divide via Kaweah Gap en route toward the John Muir Trail to Mount Whitney . The Bearpaw Meadow High Sierra Camp is located along the High Sierra Trail near the headwaters of the Middle Fork. Sierra Nevada (U.S.) The Sierra Nevada ( / s i ˌ ɛr ə n ɪ ˈ v æ d ə , - ˈ v ɑː d -/ see- ERR -ə nih- VA(H)D -ə )

5566-446: The Middle Fork. The company then applied for permission to construct a third power plant on the Middle Fork inside Sequoia National Park, which was approved partly because at the time, this was an infrequently visited area of the park. The Kaweah No. 3 plant was completed by 1913, and was followed by more plans to construct a reservoir at Wolverton and at least two additional power plants. The Kaweah plants brought electricity to Visalia for

5687-806: The Pacific Ocean at San Francisco . The northern third of the western Sierra is part of the Sacramento River watershed (including the Feather , Yuba , and American River tributaries), and the middle third is drained by the San Joaquin River (including the Mokelumne , Stanislaus , Tuolumne , and Merced River tributaries). The southern third of the range is drained by the Kings , Kaweah , Tule , and Kern rivers, which flow into

5808-722: The Park in 1906. In the same year, Sequoia National Park was formed to protect the Giant Sequoia: all logging of the Sequoia ceased at that time. In 1903, the city of San Francisco proposed building a hydroelectric dam to flood Hetch Hetchy Valley . The city and the Sierra Club argued over the dam for 10 years, until the U.S. Congress passed the Raker Act in 1913 and allowed dam building to proceed. O'Shaughnessy Dam

5929-505: The San Joaquin Valley, the Kaweah River passes through a wide range of climate and vegetation zones in a relatively short distance. Historically, the lower Kaweah flowed into a vast area of seasonally flooded wetlands surrounding Tulare Lake, almost all of which have been diked and drained for agriculture. The Kaweah historically formed a large overflow area east of Visalia known as the "Visalia Swamp" and in areas west of Visalia stream channels were poorly defined, often simply disappearing into

6050-478: The Sierra Nevada increases gradually from north to south. Between Fredonyer Pass and Lake Tahoe, the peaks range from 5,000 feet (1,500 m) to more than 9,000 feet (2,700 m). The crest near Lake Tahoe is roughly 9,000 feet (2,700 m) high, with several peaks approaching the height of Freel Peak (10,881 ft or 3,317 m). Farther south, the highest peak in Yosemite National Park

6171-559: The Sierra Nevada is influenced by the Mediterranean climate of California. During the fall, winter and spring, precipitation in the Sierra ranges from 20 to 80 in (510 to 2,030 mm) where it occurs mostly as snow above 6,000 ft (1,800 m). Precipitation is highest on the central and northern portions of the western slope between 5,000 and 8,000 feet (1,500 and 2,400 m) elevation, due to orographic lift . Above 8,000 feet (2,400 m), precipitation diminishes on

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6292-508: The Sierra Nevada started in the early 1800s, when settlers relied on hand tools and ox-teams. Before the California Gold Rush, the industry was relatively small, and most of the lumber used in the state was imported. However, as the demand for lumber to support the mining industry increased, logging became a major industry in the region. Initially, most of the lumber produced in California was used in mining. The Comstock Lode

6413-431: The Sierra have an alpine climate . The Sierra Nevada snowpack is the major source of water and a significant source of electric power generation in California. Many reservoirs were constructed in the canyons of the Sierra throughout the 20th century, Several major aqueducts serving both agriculture and urban areas distribute Sierra water throughout the state. However, the Sierra casts a rain shadow , which greatly affects

6534-424: The Sierra is a section of the Cascade–Sierra Mountains province, which in turn is part of the larger Pacific Mountain System physiographic division. The California Geological Survey states that "the northern Sierra boundary is marked where bedrock disappears under the Cenozoic volcanic cover of the Cascade Range." The range is drained on its western slope by the Central Valley watershed, which discharges into

6655-445: The Sierra's 63,118 km (24,370 sq mi) from logging and grazing. The United States Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management currently control 52% of the land in the Sierra Nevada. Logging and grazing are generally allowed on land controlled by these agencies, under federal regulations that balance recreation and development on the land. The California Bighorn Sheep Zoological Area near Mount Williamson in

6776-424: The Sierra. The combination of river and glacier erosion exposed the uppermost portions of the plutons emplaced millions of years before, leaving only a remnant of metamorphic rock on top of some Sierra peaks. Extension of the Basin and Range continues today, leading to downdropping of crustal blocks just east of the Sierra Nevada during large earthquakes, such as the Lone Pine earthquake of 1872. The climate of

6897-425: The Tuolumne and Merced River drainage. The group may have been the first non-indigenous people to see Yosemite Valley . The Walker Party probably visited either the Tuolumne or Merced Groves of giant sequoia , becoming the first non-indigenous people to see the giant trees, but journals relating to the Walker party were destroyed in 1839, in a print shop fire in Philadelphia. Starting in 1841, emigrants from

7018-444: The activities of extra-terrestrial aliens , have no evidence to support them. The Sierra Nevada is divided into a number of biotic zones , each of which is defined by its climate and supports a number of interdependent species. Life in the higher elevation zones adapted to colder weather, and to most of the precipitation falling as snow. The rain shadow of the Sierra causes the eastern slope to be warmer and drier: each life zone

7139-399: The area around Yosemite National Park and what would become Kings Canyon National Park . James S. Hutchinson , a noted mountaineer, climbed the Palisades (1904) and Mount Humphreys (1905). By 1912, the USGS published a set of maps of the Sierra Nevada, and the era of exploration was over. Logging in the Sierra Nevada has significantly impacted the landscape. The logging industry in

7260-420: The area as part of Sequoia National Park. In order to make the Kaweah Delta suitable for agriculture and eventually urban development, the tangle of diverging seasonal channels and marshes had to be drained and diked extensively. As early as the 1870s local irrigation companies were dredging some creeks and blocking off side channels in order to direct floodwater away from farms. A major early 20th century project

7381-419: The area but were hunted or trapped out entirely by the early 1900s. The mountain areas continue to provide habitat for black bears , mule deer, and bighorn sheep , and the Kaweah River above Three Rivers has native rainbow trout and introduced brown trout and bass. In alpine areas above the tree line, small mammals such as marmots and pika are common. The Kaweah River watershed was originally inhabited by

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7502-405: The climate and ecology of the central Great Basin . This rain shadow is largely responsible for Nevada being the driest state in the United States. Precipitation varies substantially from year to year. It is not uncommon for some years to receive precipitation totals far above or below normal. The height of the range and the steepness of the Sierra Escarpment, particularly at the southern end of

7623-407: The construction of Terminus Dam the entire area was frequently flooded; the Great Flood of 1862 temporarily changed the course of the river, creating the distributary today known as St. John's River. Agriculture began in the Kaweah Delta around 1864 when a group of local farmers dug the Consolidated Peoples' Ditch. The people of Visalia hired Native Americans to extend a canal from Mill Creek to power

7744-412: The crest and north of 37.2°N. In the Triassic and into the Jurassic , an island arc collided with the west coast of North America and raised a chain of volcanoes, in an event called the Nevadan orogeny . Nearly all subaerial Sierran Arc volcanoes have since disappeared; their remains were redeposited during the Great Valley Sequence and the subsequent Cenozoic filling of the Great Valley, which

7865-547: The district utilizes Central Valley Project water from the Friant-Kern Canal , which delivers water from the San Joaquin River to the Tulare Basin. Water can be turned out into either the Kaweah or St. Johns rivers, augmenting the water supply available to Kaweah Delta users. Groundwater is the other important source of water supply for the basin. The local aquifer has suffered from overdraft for many decades with an estimated annual deficit of 40,000 acre-feet (49,000,000 m) between pumping and replenishment. In order to increase

7986-439: The diversion of its waters for irrigation , the river flowed into Tulare Lake , the usually dry terminal sink of a large endorheic basin in the southern San Joaquin Valley, also fed by the Kern and Tule Rivers and southern branches of the Kings River . The Yokuts and Western Mono are the main Native American groups in the Kaweah River basin, which was explored by the Spanish in the early 1800s and heavily logged after

8107-407: The eastern edge of the southern Sierra. The Sierra Nevada has played an important role in the history of California and the United States. The California gold rush occurred in the western foothills from 1848 through 1855. Due to its inaccessibility, the range was not fully explored until 1912. Used in 1542 by Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo to describe a Pacific Coast Range ( Santa Cruz Mountains ),

8228-400: The etymology of gá to an onomatopoeia of a corvid 's call, cf. "caw" . An informant for Latta, Aida Icho, provided an idiom related to the allegedly quarrelsome nature of the (by then extinct) Kaweah: Gawea been gone long time. Now, when crow come in tree and quarrel, we say, Gáwea, he ahm tahnse [The Gáwea have come back].” The Kaweah River originates along the Great Western Divide ,

8349-423: The expanding settlement's flour mill. In addition, multiple channels had to be dug to redirect the flow of St. John's River back into the Kaweah, which had been blocked by sediment during the 1862 flood. It was not until after the Wright Act of 1887 , however, that farming expanded significantly. The Wright Act allowed the formation of the Tulare Irrigation District, which began to establish a network of canals across

8470-402: The first time, and the power was also used by farmers to pump groundwater . However, construction of the Wolverton dam was thwarted by bad foundation rock and the other power plants were also never built. Taken over by Southern California Edison in 1917, the system today consists of six dams, three powerhouses, three forebays and many miles of concrete and wooden flumes. The Kaweah No. 3 plant

8591-402: The following decades, Native American resistance to Spanish colonial government prompted many military raids, killing many of the natives who had not already succumbed to European diseases. After California became a U.S. state, the California Gold Rush drew some prospectors to the Kaweah in the 1850s, but not much gold mining occurred in the area. During this time, the Kaweah was often known as

8712-414: The foothills consisted of pit houses thatched with tules (vast amounts of which once grew in the marshes of the Kaweah delta) up to 31 feet (9.4 m) in diameter. Hospital Rock, a flat next to the Middle Fork, was used as a camp possibly as early as the 1300s AD. Spanish explorers came to the Kaweah River area in the early 1800s, although it is not clear who first explored the Kaweah Delta (possibly

8833-459: The high mountain valley along the East Fork. The peak of mining had passed by 1882, when the Empire Mine (owned by state senator Thomas Fowler, who invested most of his fortune in the mine) went under. Small operations continued, sporadically, into the late 1920s. After the end of silver mining, Mineral King became a popular summer resort. The one resource extraction industry that succeeded in

8954-465: The highest peak in the range. In 1873, Mount Whitney was climbed for the first time by 3 men from Lone Pine, California, on a fishing trip. From 1892 to 1897 Theodore Solomons made the first attempt to map a route along the crest of the Sierra. Other people finished exploring and mapping the Sierra. Bolton Coit Brown explored the Kings River watershed in 1895–1899. Joseph N. LeConte mapped

9075-474: The indigenous Yokuts people of the Central Valley . By at least 3,000 years ago, a group known as the Wukchumni had permanent settlements along the river. The greatest concentration of Native American settlements was along the foothill reach of the Kaweah River, in what is today Three Rivers and Lake Kaweah. The Wukchumni spent summers hunting game and gathering herbs along the East Fork, and they traded with

9196-522: The lake, the peaks reach only a modest 8,000 feet (2,400 m). There are several notable geographical features in the Sierra Nevada: Communities in the Sierra Nevada include Paradise , South Lake Tahoe , Truckee , Grass Valley , Lee Vining , Mammoth Lakes , Sonora , Nevada City , Placerville , Pollock Pines , Portola , Auburn , Colfax and Kennedy Meadows . Much of the Sierra Nevada consists of federal lands and

9317-497: The lands drained and crossed by the river's many distributaries down to the Tulare Lake bed, the Kaweah River hydrologic region covers 1,523 square miles (3,940 km). The annual runoff of the Kaweah River between 1975 and 1995 was 443,000 acre-feet (546,000,000 m), or about 600 cubic feet per second (17 m/s). The river's highest flows are during the peak snowmelt months of May and June; winter flows are usually more of

9438-464: The largest of their type in the world, were added to the dam; the reservoir can now safely hold 185,600 acre-feet (228,900,000 m) of water, an increase of 30 percent from the original capacity. All the forks of the Kaweah River are located in Sequoia National Park, which receives more than 1.2 million recreational visitors each year. The river is a major park attraction for boating and fishing, but can be "extremely hazardous" during high water in

9559-499: The largest tree in the world by volume. Redwood Mountain Grove, the largest sequoia grove in the world at 3,100 acres (1,300 ha), and 21 other groves are also located in the Kaweah watershed. A relatively small portion of the Kaweah basin is high, craggy alpine country typical of the southern Sierra; such treeless, lake-studded areas of exposed granite are mostly found along the crest of the Great Western Divide. Today, mule deer are

9680-683: The largest tree in the world by volume; Lake Tahoe , the largest alpine lake in North America; Mount Whitney at 14,505 ft (4,421 m), the highest point in the contiguous United States ; and Yosemite Valley sculpted by glaciers from one-hundred-million-year-old granite , containing high waterfalls . The Sierra is home to three national parks , twenty-six wilderness areas, ten national forests, and two national monuments. These areas include Yosemite , Sequoia , and Kings Canyon National Parks , as well as Devils Postpile National Monument . More than one hundred million years ago during

9801-421: The largest wild animal inhabiting the valley and foothill area; historically, large herds of tule elk frequented the area, but their habitat in the Kaweah Delta has been almost eliminated by agriculture. There are many species of foxes, wildcats, squirrels, and rabbits including the endemic San Joaquin kit fox , San Joaquin antelope squirrel , and others. California grizzly bear and beaver were once common to

9922-495: The late 1800s due to several factors. The Timber and Stone Act of 1878 allowed individuals to claim ownership of old-growth timber tracts, which were later consolidated under joint-stock companies , such as those founded by Midwestern lumber magnates. These companies had the financial resources to transport timber from remote locations and build sawmills near the tracks of the Southern Pacific railroad which connected

10043-455: The late 1800s, the logging industry moved westward due to the depletion of white pine forests in the upper Midwest. This shift was encouraged by the positive portrayal of the Sierra Nevada as a promising timber region. In 1859, Horace Greely marveled, "I never saw anything so much like good timber in the course of any seventy-five miles' travel as I saw in crossing the Sierra Nevada." The logging industry experienced significant growth in

10164-454: The main cities are Visalia and Tulare . The length of the Kaweah River is 33.6 miles (54.1 km) between the confluence of the Middle and Marble Forks and the bifurcation of Mill and Packwood Creeks. However, including its tributaries and distributaries, the river is much longer. Mill Creek (the largest distributary stream) flows westward for 25.1 miles (40.4 km) to Cross Creek, for a total distance of 58.7 miles (94.5 km). Including

10285-448: The marsh lands during periods of high water. The foothill zone is characterized mostly by grassland and rangeland; California oak woodland occurs along the Kaweah River and its perennial tributaries, although its range has been much reduced since Native American times. Further upstream and higher in elevation, the watershed is mostly mixed coniferous forest (pines and firs). The largest concentrations of giant sequoias, which grow only on

10406-499: The miners, provoking counter-attacks on native villages. The Native Americans, out-gunned, were often slaughtered. The Gold Rush populated the western foothills of the Sierra Nevada, but even by 1860, most of the Sierra was unexplored. The state legislature authorized the California Geological Survey to officially explore the Sierra (and survey the rest of the state). Josiah Whitney was appointed to head

10527-492: The modern rivers flowing down the range are only 100–300 meters (300–1,000 ft) lower than their ancient counterparts from 30–40 million years ago and the overall elevation and bedrock topography of the northern Sierra Nevada has changed little since at least 30–40 million years ago. About 2.5 Ma, the Earth's climate cooled, and ice ages started. Glaciers carved out characteristic U-shaped canyons throughout

10648-551: The most intense developments in the history of the upper Kaweah watershed. The resort would have included 22 ski lifts, a 1,030-room hotel, ten restaurants, and a railroad along the canyon of the East Fork Kaweah River to transport visitors from a parking area further down the mountain. Environmentalists fought against the proposal for many years, and in 1978 the National Parks and Recreation Act designated

10769-712: The mountains were amongst a group led by fur trapper Jedediah Smith , crossing north of the Yosemite area in May 1827, at Ebbetts Pass . In 1833, a subgroup of the Bonneville Expedition led by Joseph Reddeford Walker was sent westward to find an overland route to California . Eventually the party discovered a route along the Humboldt River across present-day Nevada , ascending the Sierra Nevada, starting near present-day Bridgeport and descending between

10890-409: The mountains. Washo and Maidu were also in this area prior to the era of European exploration and displacement. American exploration of the mountain range started in 1827. Although prior to the 1820s there were Spanish missions , pueblos (towns), presidios (forts), and ranchos along the coast of California, no Spanish explorers visited the Sierra Nevada. The first Americans to visit

11011-399: The northern Sierran valleys with volcanic deposits. These pyroclastic flows, which continued for about 10 million years, were followed by andesitic lahars which nearly completely buried the northern Sierran landscape such that only the tallest peaks emerged above a volcanic plain. This second period of volcanism appears to have been triggered by crustal extension associated with extension of

11132-410: The northwest, making a wide loop around Visalia before becoming Cross Creek north of Goshen , from where it flows south. The main channel of the Kaweah River continues to the southwest through farmland, with Outside Creek and Deep Creek splitting to the south before the Kaweah itself divides into Mill Creek and Packwood Creek . Mill Creek continues westward through Visalia, and Packwood Creek skirts to

11253-696: The oldest being metasedimentary rocks from the Cambrian in the Mount Morrison region. These dark-colored hornfels , slates , marbles , and schists are found in the western foothills (notably around Coarsegold , west of the Tehachapi Pass ) and east of the Sierra Crest. The earliest granite of the Sierra started to form in the Triassic period. This granite is mostly found east of

11374-720: The park as the Generals Highway . This is one of the main routes providing access to Sequoia National Park, the other being SR 180 to the north. SR 198 is part of the California Freeway and Expressway System , and east of I-5 is part of the National Highway System , a network of highways that are considered essential to the country's economy, defense, and mobility by the Federal Highway Administration . SR 198

11495-521: The plural ( Smokies , Rockies , Cascades , etc.), since Sierra is already pluralized in its native language, some locals who live in "the Sierra" are not hesitant to admonish those who refer to the area as "the Sierras". However, there are historical and literary references that use the plural, such as the 1871 collection of Joaquin Miller poems, Songs of the Sierras . Ansel Adams , in response to

11616-420: The range, produces a wind phenomenon known as the "Sierra Rotor". This is a horizontal rotation of the atmosphere just east of the crest of the Sierra, set in motion as an effect of strong westerly winds. Because of the large number of airplanes that have crashed in the Sierra Nevada, primarily due to the complex weather and atmospheric conditions such as downdrafts and microbursts caused by geography there,

11737-593: The rate of groundwater recharge , more than 40 recharge basins or spreading grounds totaling 5,000 acres (2,000 ha) have been constructed throughout the district, which allow floodwaters to percolate into the ground. Hydroelectric power development on the Kaweah River began when the Mount Whitney Power Company built a diversion, flume and the Kaweah No. 1 powerhouse on the East Fork in 1899. In 1905 it completed Kaweah No. 2 powerhouse on

11858-633: The road passes through the enormous Coalinga Oil Field . SR 198 then intersects Interstate 5 (I-5) in Fresno County near the Harris Ranch Airport before becoming a freeway west of Lemoore . The landscape becomes a bit less rural as it goes through Hanford and passes near the Hanford Municipal Airport , where it continues as a four-lane expressway from the intersection with SR 43 until SR 198 encounters

11979-506: The routing of SR 65. The projected cost in 1958 of the entire freeway east of Visalia was $ 13 million (equivalent to $ 105 million in 2023 ) and was scheduled to be completed by 1964. The freeway through Visalia was completed by 1965, with an expressway connecting it to US 99. Also completed was the expressway heading west out of Hanford, with part of it access-controlled west of Lemoore . Construction began in November 2009 on

12100-559: The scars of hydraulic mining, since the resulting exposed earth and downstream gravel deposits do not support plant life. It is estimated that by 1855, at least 300,000 gold-seekers, merchants, and other immigrants had arrived in California from around the world. The huge numbers of newcomers brought by the Gold Rush drove Native Americans out of their traditional hunting, fishing and food-gathering areas. To protect their homes and livelihood, some Native Americans responded by attacking

12221-610: The south of the city, terminating in a small flood control basin. Mill Creek ends at a confluence with Cross Creek, which flows southward to the old Tulare Lake bed near Corcoran , joining a channel carrying water from the Tule River . The Kaweah Delta region, as defined by the Kaweah Delta Water Conservation District, covers about 340,000 acres (140,000 ha) in Tulare and Kings Counties;

12342-458: The southern Sierra was established to protect the endangered Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep . Starting in 1981, hikers were unable to enter the Area from May 15 through December 15, in order to protect the sheep. As of 2010, the restriction has been lifted and access to the Area is open for the whole year. The earliest rocks in the Sierra Nevada are metamorphic roof pendants of Paleozoic age,

12463-584: The spring and summer. Several commercial outfitters serve the traditional Class IV section of the Kaweah River between the Pumpkin Hollow bridge (near the park entrance) and Lake Kaweah. Advanced kayakers frequent the Class V Middle Fork at Hospital Rock, further upstream in Sequoia National Park; the North Fork is a wilderness run, requiring boaters to carry all their equipment to the put-in. The river

12584-452: The steepest river drainages in the United States. Although the main stem of the Kaweah is only 33.6 miles (54.1 km) long, its total length including headwaters and lower branches is nearly 100 miles (160 km). The lower course of the river and its many distributaries – including the St. John's River and Mill Creek – form the Kaweah Delta, a productive agricultural region spanning more than 300,000 acres (120,000 ha). Before

12705-459: The streams have either disappeared or been channelized, and Tulare Lake itself is now a dry, diked basin that only very occasionally floods. The Kaweah Delta Water Conservation District manages the distribution of water to irrigation districts and city water districts over a 340,000-acre (140,000 ha) service area. The primary crops grown in the district are cotton, various fruits, nuts, alfalfa, and other field crops. In addition to surface water,

12826-425: The survey. Men of the survey, including William H. Brewer , Charles F. Hoffmann and Clarence King , explored the backcountry of what would become Yosemite National Park in 1863. In 1864, they explored the area around Kings Canyon . In 1869, John Muir started his wanderings in the Sierra Nevada range, and in 1871, King was the first to climb Mount Langley , mistakenly believing he had summited Mount Whitney ,

12947-490: The term "Sierra Nevada" was a general identification of less familiar ranges toward the interior. In 1776, Pedro Font 's map applied the name to the range currently known as the Sierra Nevada. The literal translation is "snowy mountains", from sierra "a range of mountains", 1610s, from Spanish sierra "jagged mountain range", lit. "saw", from Latin serra "a saw"; and from fem. of Spanish nevado "snowy". While many mountain ranges are unanimously referred to in

13068-492: The two county seats with the central north–south highway ( Route 4 , now SR 99 ). As part of the 1916 bond issue, the route was extended west from Hanford through Coalinga to the coast trunk highway ( Route 2 , now US 101 ) near San Lucas , and assigned it the Route 10 designation. The third bond issue, passed in 1919, included a further extension east from Visalia to Sequoia National Park . The entire length of Route 10

13189-429: The upstream Middle Fork, which is about 15 mi (24 km) long, and the length of Cross Creek below Mill Creek, which is 21.7 miles (34.9 km), some water in the Kaweah system flows 95 miles (153 km) from the head of the Middle Fork to the Tulare Lake bed. Most of the Kaweah River's runoff comes from the mountain watershed above Visalia, which covers a total of 658 square miles (1,700 km). Including all

13310-424: The water from an entire river into a sluice alongside the river, and then dig for gold in the newly exposed river bottom. By 1853, most of the easily accessible gold had been collected, and attention turned to extracting gold from more difficult locations. Hydraulic mining was used on ancient gold-bearing gravel beds on hillsides and bluffs in the gold fields. In hydraulic mining, a high-pressure hose directed

13431-529: The western half of the Sierra, while the later plutons formed in the eastern half of the Sierra. At this time, the Sierra Nevada formed the western ramp of a high plateau to the east, the Nevadaplano . During this period, rivers cut deep canyons into the range, generating topographic relief similar to the modern Sierra Nevada. This period of incision was halted approximately 30 million years ago by vast outpourings of pyroclastic flows from Nevada which filled

13552-509: The western side, and the Kawaiisu and Tübatulabal tribes in the southern Sierra. Today, some historic intertribal trade route trails over mountain passes are known artifact locations, such as Duck Pass with its obsidian arrowheads . The California and Sierra Native American tribes were predominantly peaceful, with occasional territorial disputes between the Paiute and Sierra Miwok tribes in

13673-483: The western slope of the Sierra Nevada, are found in this section of the Kaweah watershed at mean elevations of 6,600 feet (2,000 m), although specimens have been found as low as 2,800 feet (850 m). The Kaweah watershed includes Giant Forest , the most visited and accessible of all the sequoia groves, located on the divide between the Middle and Marble Forks; it includes the General Sherman Tree ,

13794-511: The western slope up to the crest, since most of the precipitation has been wrung out at lower elevations. Most parts of the range east of the crest are in a rain shadow , and receive less than 25 inches of precipitation per year. While most summer days are dry, afternoon thunderstorms are common, particularly during the North American Monsoon in mid and late summer. Some of these summer thunderstorms drop over an inch of rain in

13915-470: Was a major center for logging, with operations supplying lumber for the construction of mine structures, such as tunnels, shafts, and buildings, as well as fuel for the mines. Dan DeQuille observed in 1876, "the Comstock Lode may truthfully be said to be the tomb of the forests of the Sierra. Millions upon millions of feet of lumber are annually buried in the mines, nevermore to be resurrected.” In

14036-418: Was completed in 1923. California State Route 198 The highway that would become SR 198 was approved for construction in the 1910s through three bond issues , and was added to the state highway system in 1934. Parts of the highway were upgraded to freeway during the 1960s. Another portion was converted to an expressway in between Hanford and Visalia, and was completed in late 2012. The road begins at

14157-479: Was discovered, hundreds of miners would collaborate to put up a camp and stake their claims. Because the gold in the California gravel beds was so richly concentrated, the early forty-niners simply panned for gold in California's rivers and streams. However, panning cannot take place on a large scale, and miners and groups of miners graduated to more complex placer mining. Groups of prospectors would divert

14278-440: Was first protected by the federal government in 1864. The Valley and Mariposa Grove were ceded to California in 1866 and turned into a state park. John Muir perceived overgrazing by sheep and logging of giant sequoia to be a problem in the Sierra. Muir successfully lobbied for the protection of the rest of Yosemite National Park: Congress created an Act to protect the park in 1890. The Valley and Mariposa Grove were added to

14399-538: Was in 1964 , based on the alignment that existed at the time, and do not necessarily reflect current mileage. R reflects a realignment in the route since then, M indicates a second realignment, L refers to an overlap due to a correction or change, and T indicates postmiles classified as temporary ( for a full list of prefixes, see California postmile § Official postmile definitions ). Segments that remain unconstructed or have been relinquished to local control may be omitted. The numbers reset at county lines;

14520-487: Was marked as Sign Route 198 in 1934, and this number was adopted legislatively in the 1964 renumbering . The portion east of Interstate 5 near Coalinga was added to the California Freeway and Expressway System in 1959, and parts of it have been built as such. The construction of the freeway east of Visalia to Road 192 was approved in January 1961, with the remainder of the freeway unplanned at that time as contingent on

14641-423: Was the channelization of Mill Creek, which runs through the middle of Visalia and posed a major flooding threat before it was straightened, deepened and widened in 1910 at a cost of $ 70,000. Dams were built in the 1920s and 1930s at McKays Point to divide water flow between the Kaweah and St. Johns Rivers, to satisfy downstream water rights. Today, the Kaweah Delta has very little resemblance to historic times; most of

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