Russian River (California)
Russian River Slavyanka River Rio San Ygnacio, Rio San Ignacio[1] | |
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Native name | Ashokawna, Bidapte (Southern Pomo) |
Location | |
Country | United States |
State | California |
Region | Sonoma County, Mendocino County |
Cities | Ukiah, Healdsburg |
Physical characteristics | |
Source | Laughlin Range |
• location | 5 mi (8 km) east of Willits, California |
• coordinates | 39°23′0″N 123°14′18″W / 39.38333°N 123.23833°W[2] |
• elevation | 1,960 ft (600 m)[3] |
Mouth | Pacific Ocean |
• location | Jenner, California |
• coordinates | 38°27′2″N 123°7′46″W / 38.45056°N 123.12944°W[2] |
• elevation | 0 ft (0 m) |
Length | 115 mi (185 km)[4] |
Basin size | 1,485 sq mi (3,850 km2)[4] |
Discharge | |
• location | Guerneville[5] |
• average | 2,261 cu ft/s (64.0 m3/s)[5] |
• minimum | 0.75 cu ft/s (0.021 m3/s) |
• maximum | 102,000 cu ft/s (2,900 m3/s) |
Basin features | |
Tributaries | |
• left | Mark West Creek, Maacama Creek, Green Valley Creek, Big Sulphur Creek |
• right | Dry Creek, Austin Creek, Fife Creek |
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The Russian River (Southern Pomo: Ashokawna, Spanish: Río Ruso) is a southward-flowing river that drains 1,485 sq mi (3,850 km2)[4] of Sonoma and Mendocino counties in Northern California. With an annual average discharge of approximately 1,600,000 acre feet (2.0 km3),[6] it is the second-largest river (after the Sacramento River) flowing through the nine-county Greater San Francisco Bay Area, with a mainstem 115 mi (185 km) long.
Names
The Southern Pomo know the river as Ashokawna (ʔaš:oʔkʰawna), "east water place" or "water to the east",[7] and as Bidapte, "big river."[8] Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo and his expedition may have travelled as far north as the Russian River in November 1542 before storms forced them to turn back south towards Monterey. The earliest Slavic name for the river, Slavyanka, appears on a Russian-American Company chart dated 1817.[9] In 1827 the Spanish called it the San Ygnacio,[1] and in 1843 the Spanish land grant referred to it as Rio Grande.[10]
The river takes its current name from Russian Ivan Kuskov of the Russian-American Company, who explored the river in the early 19th-century and established the Fort Ross colony 10 mi (16 km) northwest of its mouth. The Russians called it the Slavyanka River, meaning "Slav River".[1] (Slavyanka in Russian means "Slavic woman".) They established three ranches near Fort Ross, one of which, the Kostromitinov Ranch, stretched along the Russian River near the mouth of Willow Creek.[11] The redwoods that lined its banks drew loggers to the river in the late 19th century.
According to the USGS, variant names of the Russian River include Misallaako, Rio Ruso, Shabaikai, and Slavyanka.[2]
Course
The Russian River springs from the Laughlin Range about 5 mi (8 km) east of Willits in Mendocino County. It flows generally southward to Redwood Valley, then past Calpella, where it is bordered by U.S. Route 101, to join the East Fork Russian River just below Lake Mendocino.
From there the Russian River flows south, past
East of Healdsburg, Maacama Creek joins the Russian River. After it makes a series of sweeping bends, the Healdsburg Memorial Bridge carries Old Redwood Highway over the river just upstream of U.S. Route 101's Healdsburg crossing. It receives water from Lake Sonoma via Dry Creek. The river turns westward, where it is spanned by the Wohler Bridge, and it is joined by Mark West Creek north of Forestville, followed by Green Valley Creek to the south. The river passes Rio Nido and Guerneville. In that area, State Route 116 parallels the river, bordering it past Guernewood Park and Monte Rio.
Austin Creek enters from the north before the River passes through Duncans Mills. State Route 1 crosses over the river before it flows into the Pacific Ocean between Jenner and Goat Rock Beach. The Russian River estuary is recognized for protection by the California Bays and Estuaries Policy.[12] The mouth is about 60 mi (100 km) north of the San Francisco Bay's Golden Gate bridge.
The lower Russian River is a popular spring, summer, and fall destination for navigation and recreation. It is very safe at that time for swimming and boating, with a gentle current.[13] The river is dangerous in the winter, with swift current and muddy water.
Geology
The geographer
After establishing a connection to Clear Lake, the Russian River was beheaded from Clear Lake by a slide (at Cow Mountain, east of Ukiah). Now Clear Lake flows into the Sacramento River.[15] The river incised a canyon into Fitch Mountain at an early time, before land levels were eroded to their present levels.[16] The Russian River was prevented from flowing south into San Pablo Bay, due to a 113-foot high ridge at Cotati.[17] Guerneville is built on an abandoned meander of the river. Near Guerneville, another meander cut short Smith Creek.[18]
The Mendocino Plateau is a part of the
River modifications
A portion of the
Water transferred from the Eel River and released from Lake Mendocino flows through the Russian River channel to withdrawal points in Sonoma County. Although this method of transport supports aquatic and riparian zone habitats, it is vulnerable to chemical contamination from transportation accidents where the river is in close proximity to highway 101 and Northwestern Pacific Railroad transportation corridors in locations like the canyon between Cloverdale and Hopland. This vulnerability was demonstrated in March 1982 when a tank car of formaldehyde was vandalized in Ukiah. Emergency response personnel were able to clean up approximately half of the 21,000 US gallons (79,000 L) spilled, and a fortuitous combination of Lake Mendocino reservoir inventory and late winter storms helped flush the remainder through the river and into the ocean before local water storage inventories were exhausted.[21]
The Russian River reached flood stage of 32 feet (9.8 m) at Guerneville about five times per decade through the last half of the 20th century. Historic flood peaks were 49.5 feet (15.1 m) in February 1986, 48 feet (15 m) in January 1995, 47.6 feet (14.5 m) in December 1955, 47.3 feet (14.4 m) in December 1964, and 46.9 feet (14.3 m) in February 1940. Through effective use of Lake Mendocino and Lake Sonoma flood capacity the river has exceeded flood stage at Guerneville less frequently in the 21st century,[22] but in late February 2019 it flooded to levels comparable to 1986.[23]
Ecology
The river provides wildlife habitat including warm and cold freshwater habitat for fish migration and spawning. White sturgeon are the largest freshwater fish in the United States.
The Russian River is the largest river in the Central California Coast
Until recently, most reviews indicated that
In 2001 the Coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) had dwindled to less than four returning spawners per year. These low numbers were the catalyst for the Russian River Coho Salmon Captive Broodstock Program, a recovery effort in which offspring from hatchery-reared adults are released into the river system. In 2011, biologists estimate that more than 190 adult coho may have returned to the Russian River watershed, beginning with early storms in October and peaking in December.[29] High priority tributaries for restoration of stream flows and habitat for Coho include Dutch Bill, Grape, Green Valley, Mark West and Mill Creeks.[30]
Similarly, early twentieth-century naturalists were skeptical that
The Russian River State Marine Reserve and Russian River State Marine Conservation Area protect the Russian River Estuary. Like underwater parks, these marine protected areas help conserve ocean and freshwater wildlife and marine ecosystems.
Russian River Valley
The river provides groundwater recharge and a water supply for agriculture.[13] The river's floodplain includes many vineyards, and an area of the Russian River Valley was approved as an American Viticultural Area in 1983 and enlarged in 2006.[41] It produces Chardonnay and pinot noir wines in addition to other wine varietals, and is home to many small and several large commercial wineries.
See also
- Bohemian Grove
- Floods in California
- List of rivers in California
- List of watercourses in the San Francisco Bay Area
- Russian River State Marine Reserve & Russian River State Marine Conservation Area
- Sonoma County wine
- Frog Woman Rock
- California Wine Country
- California Fur Rush
- Monte Rio
References
- ^ ISBN 978-0-520-24217-3. Retrieved June 27, 2010.
- ^ a b c "Russian River". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
- ^ Google Earth elevation for source coordinates
- ^ a b c "Water Supply". Sonoma County Water Agency. Archived from the original on November 2, 2018. Retrieved February 14, 2010.
- ^ a b "USGS Gage #11467000 on the Russian River near Guerneville, CA" (PDF). National Water Information System. U.S. Geological Survey. Retrieved April 28, 2011.
- .
- ^ Oswalt, Robert (1981). Southern Pomo Word List and Map of Native Place Names in the Warm Springs Dam Area. San Francisco: US Army Corps of Engineers.
- ^ Oswalt, Robert; Peri, David W.; Fredrickson, Vera-Mae (1979). Language Study. San Francisco: US Army Corps of Engineers.
- ISBN 978-0-520-25258-5.
- ^ Praetzellis, Mary; Praetzellis, Adrian; Stewart, Suzanne B. (1985). "Before Warm Springs Dam: A History of the Lake Sonoma Area" (PDF). US Army Corps of Engineers. p. 28. Retrieved November 14, 2008.
- OCLC 17396569. Retrieved March 25, 2010.
- ^ State Water Resources Control Board Water Quality Control Policy for the Enclosed Bays and Estuaries of California (1974) State of California
- ^ a b c State of California Water Quality Control Plan North Coastal Basin 1B July 1975 p.13
- ^ Ruliff Stephen Holway (1917). The Russian River: A Characteristic Stream of the California Coast Ranges. University of California Press. pp. 12.
- ^ Holway, page 13
- ^ Holway, pages 20–21
- ^ Holway, pages 25–26
- ^ Holway, page 29
- ^ "Sonoma Water - Home Page". www.sonomawater.org. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
- ^ "Sonoma County Water Agency Structure". Archived from the original on November 20, 2008. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
- ^ "Formaldehyde released down Russian River". Lodi News-Sentinel. Lodi, California. March 31, 1982. p. 4.
- ^ "Historic Crests". Russian River at Guerneville. National Weather Service. Retrieved November 1, 2018.
- ^ Fimrite, Peter (February 27, 2019). "Eye of the storm: Life on the flooded, deserted island of Guerneville". San Francisco Chronicle.
- JSTOR 3632910.
- ISBN 978-0-912006-42-0.
- ISBN 978-0-520-22754-5. Retrieved July 5, 2010.
- S2CID 6159852.
- ^ Shawn D. Chase; David J. Manning; David G. Cook; Sean K. White (2007). "Historic Accounts, Recent Abundance, and Current Distribution of Threatened Chinook Salmon in the Russian River, California" (PDF). California Fish and Game: 130–148. Retrieved June 11, 2011.
- ^ Paul Olin; Christina S. Johnson (March 23, 2011). Endangered Coho Salmon Return to Russian River (Report). California Sea Grant. Retrieved June 12, 2011.
- ^ "Russian River Coho Water Resources Partnership". Retrieved June 12, 2011.
- ^ Tappe, Donald T. (1942). "The Status of Beavers in California". Game Bulletin No. 3.
- ISBN 978-0-559-89342-1. Retrieved January 23, 2011.
- JSTOR 25178215.
- ISBN 978-0-87595-147-8.
- ISBN 978-0-520-02806-7. Retrieved January 23, 2011.
- ^ Nunis, Doyce (1968). A. R. McLeod, Esq. to John McLoughlin, Esq. Dated Fort Vancouver 15 Feby. 1830, in The Hudson's Bay Company's First Fur Brigade to the Sacramento Valley: Alexander McLeod's 1829 Hunt. Fair Oaks, California: Sacramento Book Collectors Club. p. 34.
- ^ Kenneth L. Holmes (1967). Ewing Young: Master Trapper. Portland, Oregon: Binsford and Mort, Publishers. p. 87.
- ^ J. W. Weeks (1877). James W. Weeks reminiscences.
- ISBN 978-0-520-22270-0. Retrieved January 23, 2011.
- ^ "Pacific Coast Items". Sacramento Daily Union. 1881. Retrieved July 18, 2011.
- ^ "Russian River Valley Winegrowers Association". Archived from the original on September 25, 2008. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
External links
- Russian River Watersheds at Fish Friendly Farming
- Russian River Chamber of Commerce
- "District Watersheds". Sonoma Resource Conservation District.
- "Stewardship Guide for the Russian River" (PDF). Sonoma Resource Conservation District.
- Google Street View Aug 2015