Sacramento River
From Free net encyclopedia
Image:Headwaters of the Sacramento River-spring-750px.JPG The Sacramento River is the longest river in the U.S. state of California. Starting near Mount Shasta in the Cascade Range, the Sacramento flows 382 miles (615 kilometres) southwest through the northern Central Valley of California, between the Pacific Coast Range and the Sierra Nevada. Not far downstream of the confluence with the American River, the Sacramento (along with the San Joaquin River) forms the Sacramento River Delta and then flows into the northern arm of San Francisco Bay. Its chief tributaries are the Pit, Feather, McCloud and American rivers. The Pit River is the longest of these, but the Feather and American rivers carry larger volumes of water.
Man-made channels make the river navigable for 180 miles upstream of San Francisco Bay; ocean-going ships travel as far inland as the City of Sacramento. Marine animals such as gray whales and sea lions are occasionally found far inland after navigating the river for food or refuge and then losing track of how to get back to the Pacific Ocean. In October 1985 a humpback whale affectionately named "Humphrey" by locals traveled 70 miles up the Sacramento River before being rescued. Rescuers broadcast humpback whale sounds to draw the whale back to the ocean.
Image:Headwaters of the Sacramento River-750px.JPG
