Chowchilla River

Chowchilla River
Chowchilla River is located in California
Chowchilla River
Location of the mouth of the Chowchilla River in California
Location
CountryUnited States
StateCalifornia
CountiesMerced, Madera, Mariposa
Physical characteristics
SourceSierra Nevada Range
 • locationconfluence of the East Fork and West Fork of the Chowchilla River, Mariposa, California
 • coordinates37°19′40″N 119°49′51″W / 37.32778°N 119.83083°W / 37.32778; -119.83083[1]
MouthSan Joaquin River
 • location
On border of Merced County and Madera County, California
 • coordinates
37°6′21″N 120°30′38″W / 37.10583°N 120.51056°W / 37.10583; -120.51056[1]
 • elevation
131 ft (40 m)[1]
Length54.2 mi (87.2 km)[2]
Basin size254 sq mi (660 km2)
Discharge 
 • locationbelow Buchanan Dam
 • average99.8 cu ft/s (2.83 m3/s)
 • minimum0 cu ft/s (0 m3/s)
 • maximum30,000 cu ft/s (850 m3/s)

The Chowchilla River is a river in central California, United States and a minor tributary of the San Joaquin River. It flows for 54.2 miles (87.2 km) from the western side of the Sierra Nevada Range to the San Joaquin River system in the San Joaquin Valley.[2]

Most of the lower half of the river forms the border between Merced and Madera County.

  1. ^ a b c U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Chowchilla River
  2. ^ a b U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map Archived 2012-03-29 at the Wayback Machine, accessed March 11, 2011