South Yuba River

For the park on this river, see South Yuba River State Park.
South Yuba River
South Fork
View of South Yuba from N Bloomfield Road Nevada City, CA
Location
CountryUnited States
StateCalifornia
RegionUpper Yuba Watershed
Physical characteristics
SourceLake Angela[1]
 • locationTahoe National Forest
MouthEnglebright Lake
 • location
Yuba River
Length65 mi (105 km), east-west
Basin size340 sq mi (880 km2)
Discharge 
 • locationnear Jones Bar
 • average454 cu ft/s (12.9 m3/s)
 • minimum1 cu ft/s (0.028 m3/s)
 • maximum53,600 cu ft/s (1,520 m3/s)
Namesakes: South Yuba River State Park
South Yuba River Citizens League[2]
High water in the South Yuba River at the old CA-49 bridge, 8 January 2017
Interstate 80 East crossing the South Yuba River in Placer County (1965)

The 65.0-mile-long (104.6 km) [3] South Yuba River is a left-entering tributary of the Yuba River originating in the northern Sierra Nevada at Lake Angela in Nevada County about three quarters of a mile north of Donner Pass, about three miles east of the town of Soda Springs. After passing through Lake Van Norden with Upper Castle Creek (longer than the Lake Angela stem) entering from the right, it gathers numerous snow-fed tributaries running west through a marshy, lake-filled valley, criss-crossing Interstate 80. The river briefly enters Placer County, then flows into Lake Spaulding, then plunges westward into a steep-sided valley. Canyon Creek enters from the right, then Poorman Creek also from the right near the town of Washington. The river continues west into the foothills, crossing under State Route 49. Its mouth is on the east shore of upper Englebright Lake, formed by a dam across the Yuba River.[4]

The California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment has issued a safe eating advisory for any fish caught in South Yuba River due to elevated levels of mercury and PCBs.[5]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference GNIS was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Motion to Intervene" (pdf). Friends of the River, Sierra Club, & South Yuba River Citizens League. October 17, 2005. Retrieved 2010-09-29.
  3. ^ U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map, accessed March 10, 2011
  4. ^ USGS Topo Maps for United States (Map). Cartography by United States Geological Survey. ACME Mapper. Retrieved 2010-08-23.
  5. ^ Admin, OEHHA (2018-09-13). "South Yuba River". OEHHA. Retrieved 2018-11-09.