Owens River

Owens River
Wakopee[1][2]
Owens River south of Poverty Hills
Map of the Owens Lake watershed, including Los Angeles Aqueduct system
Owens River is located in California
Owens River
Location of the mouth of the Owens River in California
Location
CountryUnited States
StateCalifornia
DistrictMono County, Inyo County
CitiesMesa, Bishop, Big Pine, Elna (site), Chrysopolis (site), Independence, Lone Pine
Physical characteristics
SourceConfluence of Deadman Creek and an unnamed stream
 • locationInyo National Forest, Mono County
 • coordinates37°45′01″N 118°56′20″W / 37.75028°N 118.93889°W / 37.75028; -118.93889[2]
 • elevation7,251 ft (2,210 m)
MouthOwens Lake
 • location
A few miles northwest of Keeler, Inyo County
 • coordinates
36°32′31″N 117°58′45″W / 36.54194°N 117.97917°W / 36.54194; -117.97917[2]
 • elevation
3,592 ft (1,095 m)
Length183 mi (295 km), north-south
Basin size2,604 sq mi (6,740 km2)
Discharge 
 • locationBig Pine, CA[3]
 • average389 cu ft/s (11.0 m3/s)[3]
 • minimum51.9 cu ft/s (1.47 m3/s)
 • maximum3,220 cu ft/s (91 m3/s)
Basin features
Tributaries 
 • leftSpring Valley Wash, Silver Canyon Creek, Coldwater Canyon Creek
 • rightHot Creek, Rock Creek, Bishop Creek, Big Pine Creek, Birch Creek, Independence Creek, Lone Pine Creek
DesignatedMarch 30, 2009

The Owens River is a river in eastern California in the United States, approximately 183 miles (295 km) long.[4] It drains into and through the Owens Valley, an arid basin between the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada and the western faces of the Inyo and White Mountains. The river terminates at the endorheic Owens Lake south of Lone Pine, at the bottom of a 2,600 sq mi (6,700 km2) watershed.

In the early 1900s, the Owens River was the focus of the California Water Wars, fought between the city of Los Angeles and the inhabitants of Owens Valley over the construction of the Los Angeles Aqueduct. Since 1913, the Owens River has been diverted to Los Angeles, causing the ruin of the valley's economy and the drying of Owens Lake. In winter 2006, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power restored 5% of the pre-aqueduct flow to the river by court order, allowing the Owens River Gorge, the river bed in the valley, and Owens Lake to contain a small amount of water.[5]

  1. ^ "Query Form For The United States And Its Territories". U.S. Board on Geographic Names. Retrieved 2010-05-13.
  2. ^ a b c "Owens River". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. 1981-01-19. Retrieved 2010-06-05.
  3. ^ a b "USGS Gage #10227500 on the Owens River near Big Pine, CA". National Water Information System. U.S. Geological Survey. 1975-12-19. Retrieved 2011-12-15.
  4. ^ U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map, accessed March 17, 2011,
  5. ^ "L.A. Returns Water to the Owens Valley". NPR.org. NPR