The Middle Fork Kings River is a tributary of the Kings River in

Kings Canyon National Park Kings Canyon National Park is a national park of the United States in the southern Sierra Nevada, in Fresno and Tulare Counties, California. Originally established in 1890 as General Grant National Park, the park was greatly expanded and ren ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, in the southern

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada ( ) is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primari ...

. Draining – almost all of it

wilderness Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plurale tantum, plural) are Earth, Earth's natural environments that have not been significantly modified by human impact on the environment, human activity, or any urbanization, nonurbanized land not u ...

– the Middle Fork is one of the largest wholly undeveloped watersheds in the state, with no dams or paved roads within its basin. The entire length of the Middle Fork is designated a

National Wild and Scenic River The National Wild and Scenic Rivers System was created by the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968 (Public Law 90-542), enacted by the U.S. Congress to preserve certain rivers with outstanding natural, cultural, and recreational values in a free-f ...

Course

The Middle Fork originates at Helen Lake in the high Sierra, near

Muir Pass Muir Pass is a mountain pass in the Sierra Nevada of California, United States, in Kings Canyon National Park. It is named for John Muir. The pass is near the midway point of the John Muir Trail and around mile 841 of the Pacific Crest Trail. ...

in Kings Canyon National Park. From its headwaters at above sea level, it descends rapidly east down Le Conte Canyon, turning south at Big Pete Meadow. It passes the Le Conte Ranger Station and receives Dusy Creek from the east and then the much larger Palisade Creek, also from the east, a short distance downstream. Flowing south, it enters a narrower canyon where it drops over a waterfall known as Devil's Washbowl. It receives Cartridge Creek from the east, then turns southwest through Simpson Meadow, a broad subalpine valley at about elevation, where it receives Goddard Creek from the north. Below Simpson Meadow the Middle Fork turns west-southwest, flowing along the bottom of the Slide Bluffs and receiving many small tributaries before reaching the dramatic glacial canyon of

Tehipite Valley Tehipite Valley, a glacial valley of the Middle Fork Kings River, is located in Kings Canyon National Park in the Sierra Nevada of California. The valley is in Fresno County about southwest of Bishop and east of Fresno and is known for its Yose ...

, one of the most isolated parts of the park. Tehipite Dome, rising above the river, is the largest granite dome in the Sierra. Many rattlesnakes inhabit the canyon, especially from Simpson Meadow down to the junction with the South Fork. Blue Canyon Creek and Crown Creek tumble down the north wall of the valley, forming waterfalls before they merge with the Middle Fork. Downstream, the Middle Fork flows through Little Tehipite Valley and then enters a rugged, trailless deep canyon in the

Monarch Wilderness The Monarch Wilderness (also Monarch Wilderness Complex) is a federally designated wilderness area located 70 miles east of Fresno, California, in the Sierra Nevada mountain range. It encompasses within both the Sequoia National Forest and the ...

just outside the western boundary of the park. It joins with the

South Fork Kings River The South Fork Kings River is a tributary of the Kings River in the Sierra Nevada of Fresno County, California. The river forms part of Kings Canyon, the namesake of Kings Canyon National Park and one of the deepest canyons in North America wi ...

to form the main stem of the Kings River, about upstream of

Pine Flat Lake Pine Flat Lake is an artificial lake or reservoir in the Sierra Nevada foothills of eastern Fresno County, California on the western north-south border to the Sierra- and Sequoia National Forests, about east of Fresno. The lake is managed by the ...

Kings Canyon National Park - Kings River - confluence of middle and south forks

References

* Kings River Middle Kings River Middle Kings River Middle Kings River Middle Rivers of the Sierra Nevada in California Wild and Scenic Rivers of the United States {{California-river-stub

Course

See also

References