Cosumnes River
| Cosumnes River | ||
 Mokelumne River basin map, Cosumnes River highlighted |
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| Data | ||
| Water code | US : 254780 | |
| location | California (USA) | |
| River system | Sacramento River | |
| Drain over | Mokelumne River → San Joaquin River → Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta | |
| Source at the confluence of the North Fork and Middle Fork |
Sierra Nevada in El Dorado County 38 ° 33 ′ 0 ″ N , 120 ° 51 ′ 0 ″ W |
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| Source height | 240 m | |
| muzzle | in Sacramento County near Galt in the Mokelumne River Coordinates: 38 ° 15 ′ 22 " N , 121 ° 26 ′ 24" W 38 ° 15 ′ 22 " N , 121 ° 26 ′ 24" W |
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| Mouth height | 4 m | |
| Height difference | 236 m | |
| Bottom slope | 2.8 ‰ | |
| length | 84.5 km | |
| Catchment area | 1875 km² | |
| Medium-sized cities | Elk Grove | |
| Small towns | Plymouth, California , Galt, California | |
| Communities | Rancho Murieta (California) , Sloughhouse (California) , Wilton (California) | |
 View of the lower Cosumnes River |
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The Cosumnes River is a river in northern California in the United States . It rises on the western slope of the Sierra Nevada and flows about 84.5 kilometers through the California Long Valley before flowing over the Mokelumne River into the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta .
The Cosumnes is one of the few rivers in the west of the Sierra without major dams. The Cosumnes River Preserve , a nature reserve, is located directly above the delta. Towns and settlements along the Cosumnes River include a. Elk Grove , Plymouth , Galt , Rancho Murieta , Sloughhouse and Wilton .
Surname
It is assumed that the name Cosumnes, like the Mokelumne and the Tuolumne River, is derived from the Miwok language of kosum (= salmon) and the suffix -umne (= people of the), which means people of the salmon . The rise of Pacific salmon has been observed, if at all, above Rancho Murieta as a result of river relocations.
Many local residents pronounce the name of the river like [ kən'suːmnəs ], adding an "n" to the first syllable where none is written. If there is an etymological similarity between "Cosumnes" on the one hand and "Tuolumne" or "Mokelumne" on the other (see next sentence), the thesis can be made that the most correct historical pronunciation would be "Casumne" because the "n" in "Tuolumne" and "Mokelumne" must be silent and there is neither an "s" or a "z" sound at the end of the two names. An older common pronunciation in California's long valley is [ kən'suːməs ] with an epenthetic [n] in the first syllable, leaving out the initial [n] in the final syllable (as in "Tuolumne" and "Mokelumne"). This results in the expected value for the letter in an open syllable (caused by the omission of the last [n] and the preferred use of a final [s] over a [z]).
The Cosumnes River College (CRC), a public college with two years of training in the south of Sacramento (California) , is named after the river. This flows only a few miles from the campus. The CRC's mascot is a hawk , as these birds are abundant in the river basin.
geography
Coming from the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada, the actual Cosumnes River starts from the confluence of the Northern, Middle and Southern swelling river, the gorges through the Gold Country of El Dorado County and the Amador County have dug before they just east which California State Route 49 merge . The North Fork , about 79.3 km long, has its source at Singleton Springs in El Dorado County, at the upper end of the Leak Spring Valley at an altitude of about 2,300 m. It flows westwards, past Meiss and takes on the right side of the Van Horn Creek and the Butte Creek. In Somerset it unites with its largest, right-hand tributary, Camp Creek. Below Camp Creek, the North Fork flows through the Cosumnes River Gorge, formed by granite boulders, an area popular with rock climbers. The river turns abruptly south and passes Nashville before merging with the Middle Fork near Enterprise .
The Middle Fork , about 71.1 km long, also rises in El Dorado County, only two ridges separated from the origin of the North Fork. It flows westward over its entire course, almost parallel to the North Fork. The upper half of the river flows along a steep canyon, past Croft , and takes on Dogtown Creek to the right at Omo Ranch . Below Omo Ranch it flows through a gentler valley, past Outingdale , and reaches another short canyon, where it takes up the South Fork on the left side .
The smaller South Fork , approximately 20 miles long, flows generally westward, later northwestward along the border between El Dorado and Amador Counties. Just below the confluence of the South Fork and Middle Fork , they merge with the North Fork to jointly form the Cosumnes River.
The Cosumnes River flows strictly west from here, takes the Big Indian Creek in the south (left side) and passes under California State Route 49 (Golden Chain Highway). It winds through the picturesque foothills of the Sierra through a series of short canyons, which are interrupted by small valleys with pasture use. It takes the Big Canyon Creek on the right and the Little Indian Creek on the left before it penetrates through its last gorge and emerges at the former mining settlement Michigan Bar . The complete course of the Cosumnes River from the confluence of the headwaters to about a mile (1.6 km) above Michigan Bar forms the border of the counties El Dorado and Amador; below this point the river flows through Sacramento County .
The Cosumnes flows west through Rancho Murieta , an affluent outer suburb of the Sacramenta Metropolitan Area . Two small dams near Van Vleck Park divert water from the river just above the city. Below Rancho Murieta, the Cosumnes River flows through an agricultural valley and turns southwest near Sloughhouse . A few miles below the Folsom South Canal crosses under the Cosumnes by means of a culvert . The Cosumnes continues to flow to the southwest, passes Sheldon and Wilton , takes on Deer Creek on the right and is crossed by California State Route 99 near Elk Grove . Below this highway he reaches the approximately 20,000 hectare Cosumnes River Preserve , which is home to some of the largest remaining wetlands and alluvial forests in California's long valley. It reaches the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta near Mokelumne City , turns again to the west and unites with the Mokelumne on the border of the counties Sacramento and San Joaquin .
Flow regulations
One of the last rivers to flow off the western slope of the Sierra without a major dam, the Cosumnes is a living example of a healthy river basin. Still, salmon and trout populations are damaged by invasive fish species and pollution from illegal mining activities; two irrigation branches near Rancho Murieta also contributed. There are plans to reintroduce migrating salmon.
In the Camino area , irrigation water is derived from two North Fork tributaries , Camp Creek and Sly Park Creek. Sly Park Dam , which forms the 51,000,000 m³ Jenkinson Lake, is the largest water reservoir in the catchment area of the Cosumnes River. The dam and reservoir are part of the extensive Central Valley Project . However, the project has only a minor impact on runoff and does not block historical salmon migration routes.
Dams were designed in the main stream to control floods, but these plans have been halted due to the river's unique status as a free flowing body of water and its importance as a habitat. Sacramento County officials continue to advocate the construction of a drywall flood control dam above Rancho Murieta in Michigan Bar. These plans continue to be the subject of continued debate.
See also
Individual evidence
- ^ A b Cosumnes River ( English ) In: Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey . Retrieved October 6, 2011.
- ↑ a b c National Hydrography Dataset via National Map Viewer . US Geological Survey. Retrieved October 2, 2017.
- ↑ USGS Gage # 11336000 on the Cosumnes River at McConnell, CA (Annual Statistics) . In: National Water Information System . US Geological Survey. 1942-1980. Retrieved October 6, 2011.
- ↑ California Place Names of Indian Origins ( Memento of the original from July 20, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . 1916. University of California Publications in American Archeology and Ethnology, 12 (2): 31-69, p.41
- ↑ ACME Mapper. USGS Topo Maps for United States [map]. Cartography from United States Geological Survey . Retrieved October 6, 2011.
- ↑ About Cosumnes River Preserve . Cosumnes River Preserve. Retrieved October 6, 2011.
- ↑ http://www.casalmon.org/salmon-snapshots/about/cosumnes-river
- ^ Beach Stone Lakes and Point Pleasant Flood Control Study - Evaluation of Cosumnes River Dry Dam Alternative . Sacramento County Municipal Services Agency. July 27, 2006. Archived from the original on April 25, 2012. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved October 6, 2011.
Web links
- Cosumnes Research Group
- Cosumnes River Task Force
- Lower Cosumnes-Lower Mokelumne Watershed Profile - US EPA Region 9
- Cosumnes River Preserve
- Cosumnes River Watershed Project datasets ( page no longer available ) - California Environmental Information Catalog
- Cosumnes River in the Geographic Names Information System of the United States Geological Survey ( Geographic Names Information System )