Sacramento River Watershed
The Sacramento River is the longest river entirely within the state of California. Starting near Mount Shasta in the Cascade Range, the Sacramento flows south for 447 miles through the northern Central Valley between the Pacific Coast Range and the Sierra Nevada. Not far downstream from its confluence with the American River, the Sacramento River joins the San Joaquin River in the Sacramento River Delta, which empties into Suisun Bay, the northern arm of San Francisco Bay.
The Sacramento is the second-largest river by volume in the continental USA to drain into the Pacific Ocean, trailing only the Columbia River. The river's bank configuration and location change constantly due to the terrain it flows through, which includes rock and basalt cliffs, peat bogs, rocky banks, and flat shores that open into wetlands and sandy beaches.
As the river meanders into populated areas, a massive levee system helps curtail its movement and protect against floods. The chief tributaries of the Sacramento River are the Pit, Feather, McCloud, and American Rivers. Hundreds of smaller seasonal creeks and runoff streams empty into these tributaries, feeding into the Sacramento. These "fingers" of water are known as a watershed system, and they are essential for the river's primary functions: recreation and farm irrigation.
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To log this cache email or send the following through the message center:
1. The name of the cache, "Sacramento River at Turtle Bay"
2. Take a photo of you (or your signature item if you don't want to show your face) at the posted coordinates. This photo MUST be uploaded to your "found it" log. Each log MUST have a unique and different photo. No two logs may contain the same photo.
3. The name of the watershed stream/creek emptying into the Sacramento at Turtle Bay
4. Looking down river from the bridge, explain the difference in the left and right river banks from your view at the bridge.