San Joaquin River
San Joaquin River is a major California watercourse flowing from the Sierra Nevada to the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta. Known for fisheries, wildlife habitat, and regional water supply, it passes through Fresno, Clovis, and Stockton before reaching the bay.
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Geography
| Continent | North America |
|---|---|
| Region | California |
| Subregion | California Central Valley |
| Country | United States |
| State | California |
| County | Fresno County |
| District | San Joaquin Basin |
| Timezone | AmericaLos Angeles |
| Latitude | 36.7 |
| Longitude | -119.8 |
| Maps |
6:15 PM LOCAL TIMESan Joaquin River is a vital north-south artery in California, draining approximately 5,300 km² from the southern Sierra Nevada to the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta. Rising in the Sierra near Edison Lake, it flows southwest through Fresno and Clovis, bolstered by tributaries such as the Tulare and Kings rivers, before reaching the low-elevation reservoir systems and ultimately emptying into the San Francisco Bay via the Delta. The river's lower reach is integral to regional water supply, irrigation, and fisheries — historically supporting runs of Oncorhynchus tshawytscha Chinook salmon and Oncorhynchus mykiss steelhead trout. Along its course, urban areas like Stockton and Manteca have grown near its banks, while wetlands and floodplain zones near the delta serve as critical habitat and natural flood buffers.
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