Fresno Slough is a
distributary
A distributary, or a distributary channel is a stream channel that branches off and flows a main stream channel. It is the opposite of a ''tributary'', a stream that flows another stream or river. Distributaries are a result of river bifurc ...
of the
Kings River that connects the North Fork Kings River to the
San Joaquin River
The San Joaquin River ( ; ) is the longest river of Central California. The long river starts in the high Sierra Nevada and flows through the rich agricultural region of the northern San Joaquin Valley before reaching Suisun Bay, San Francis ...
in
San Joaquin Valley
The San Joaquin Valley ( ; Spanish language in California, Spanish: ''Valle de San Joaquín'') is the southern half of California's Central Valley (California), Central Valley. Famed as a major breadbasket, the San Joaquin Valley is an importa ...
,
Kings County, California
Kings County is a county located in the U.S. state of California. The population was 152,486 at the 2020 census. The county seat is Hanford.
Kings County comprises the Hanford- Corcoran, CA metropolitan statistical area, which is also inc ...
.
Until 1879 when irrigation diversions prevented it, Fresno Slough was also an outlet of the overflow waters of
Tulare Lake
Tulare Lake () or Tache Lake ( Yokuts: ''Pah-áh-su'', ''Pah-áh-sē'') is a freshwater lake in the southern San Joaquin Valley, California, United States. Historically, Tulare Lake was once the largest freshwater lake west of the Mississippi R ...
into the San Joaquin River in flood years, when its level topped the 210 foot elevation.
Modern diversions
Mendota Dam located at the confluence of the San Joaquin River and Fresno Slough delivers water to the south from Mendota Pool during the irrigation season, and delivers water to Mendota Pool and the San Joaquin River from the Kings River when the Kings River is flooding. Mendota Dam and Mendota Pool have been used for irrigation diversions since the late 1800s.
[Mendota Dam, the Delta-Mendota Canal, and Mendota Pool from www.revivethesanjoaquin.org accessed November 7, 2011.]
References
External links
*
Rivers of Kings County, California
Tributaries of the San Joaquin River
Geography of the San Joaquin Valley
History of Kings County, California
Rivers of Northern California
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