American River
Encyclopedia : A : AM : AME : American River
- There is also a town on Kangaroo Island, see American River, South Australia
The American River is divided into the North, Middle, and South Forks. The North and the Middle Forks come together at the confluence about 3 miles from Auburn, California. From there, the river (the North Fork) meanders down past the proposed site of the controversial Auburn Dam, and under the Foresthill Bridge to Folsom Lake. These rivers are popular for their verdant canyons, fishing and white water rafting. Below Folsom Lake, the river passes through an urbanized area but is buffered by a riparian park, the American River Parkway, that runs 23 miles (37 km) from Folsom Lake to the river's confluence with the Sacramento River. The American River Parkway incorporates the Jedediah Smith Memorial Trail, a meandering, uninterrupted 32-mile cycle path which hugs the river bank from Old Sacramento to Folsom Lake.
The American River and its tributaries (like most of California's rivers) are extensively dammed and diverted for hydroelectricity production. Since the California Gold Rush was centered along the American river, it was one of the earlier California rivers to be populated and used for milling. By the end of the 19th century some of these former mill sites were converted to some of the earliest hydroelectric plants, with Folsom State Prison using the river to generate electricity in 1893. The Natoma Company completed its Folsom Powerhouse and began delivering power 22-miles away to the city of Sacramento by 1895. Today, the five power plants on the Middle Fork are owned by the Placer County Water Agency (PCWA) and the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) owns eight plants on the South Fork. The SMUD plants are run on a peaking basis, although reservoir flood control capacity and minimum flow requirements impose some constraints on their operation. The Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) owns the Chili Bar power plant on the South Fork downstream from SMUD's plants. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) has two hydroelectric plants downstream at Folsom Dam and Nimbus Dam. The Bureau of Reclamation operates Nimbus as a base load plant and Folsom as an intermediate plant.
See also
External links
- [Sutter's Mill, aka Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park]
- [Folsom Dam]
- [Nimbus Dam]
- [American River Parkway (Sacramento County)]
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