The Susan River (, ''bush creek'')Simmons, W. S., Morales, R., Williams, V., & Camacho, S. (1997). Honey Lake Maidu Ethnogeography of Lassen County, California . Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology, 19(1), 2–31. ISSN 0191-355

/ref> is a northeastern List of California rivers, California river of approximately lengthU.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data
The National Map
, accessed March 17, 2011 that drains from an arid

plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; : plateaus or plateaux), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. ...

volcanic A volcano is commonly defined as a vent or fissure in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often fo ...

highlands along the Great Basin Divide to intermittent Honey Lake. The river flows from eastern Lassen County from east of

Lassen Volcanic National Park Lassen Volcanic National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States in northeastern California. The dominant feature of the park is Lassen Peak, the largest lava dome, plug dome volcano in the wo ...

generally east past Susanville and emerging into a ranching valley to enter the north end of Honey Lake. Along with Fredonyer Pass, the Susan River is the northern boundary of the

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 ...

History

Susan River and the town of Susanville were named for Susan Roop, daughter of early settler Issac Roop, in 1857.

Watershed

Susan River begins at Caribou Lake at elevation , which is dammed by Caribou Lake 234 Dam. It flows eastward, curving southeasterly as it enters the Great Basin, where it is joined on the left by Bridge Creek and dammed to form McCoy Flat Reservoir, approximately 11 miles northwest of Susanville. It next receives order from the right (heading downstream) Crazy Harry Gulch, Willard Creek, and Williams Creek before entering Susanville, where it receives Piute Creek from the left. Below Susanville, it receives from the left Gold Run Creek, Lassen Creek and Sand Slough, the latter at Johnstonville. At Johnstonville, the Lake Leavitt Inlet Canal diverts Susan River flows south to Lake Leavitt. After being joined by Willow Creek from the left, the Susan River passes below Litchfield and is extensively modified by a complicated system of canals and levees for

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering of plants) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has bee ...

of the surrounding ranching areas. Next, the river reaches the Honey Lake State Wildlife Area and finally Honey Lake itself at elevation .

References

{{Authority control Rivers of Lassen County, California Rivers of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Rivers of the Great Basin Lassen National Forest Rivers of Northern California Rivers of the Sierra Nevada in California