Stanislaus River

The Stanislaus River (Spanish: Río Estanislao) in the U.S. state of California is one of the largest tributaries of the San Joaquin River. The river is 95.9 miles (154.3 km) long and has north, middle and south forks. It drains a long, narrow area of the western Sierra Nevada and the northern part of the San Joaquin Valley.

Course

The river originates as North, Middle and South Forks along the crest of the Sierra Nevada, mainly in the Stanislaus National Forest. The Middle Fork, the longest at 45.7 miles (73.5 km), originates near Leavitt Peak and Sonora Pass, then flows southwest and west through a deep canyon to its confluence with the 31.2-mile (50.2 km) long North Fork. The confluence of these two forks forms the Stanislaus River proper. Directly downstream the river flows into New Melones Lake, the reservoir formed by the 625-foot (191 m) high New Melones Dam. The South Fork of the Stanislaus and a number of smaller tributaries join within New Melones Lake.

Downstream from New Melones Dam, there is Tulloch Dam, which forms Tulloch Reservoir, and Goodwin Dam, a smaller irrigation diversion dam. Below Goodwin Dam, the Stanislaus flows west through the Central Valley, past Oakdale, Riverbank and Ripon. Below Caswell Memorial State Park the Stanislaus meets the San Joaquin River which eventually flows into the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta.