Wild & Scenic Rivers

Fact Sheet: Surprise Canyon Wild & Scenic River
Fact Sheet: Surprise Canyon Wild & Scenic River 1024 398 CalWild

Surprise Canyon is a rare perennial desert stream flowing from the Panamint Mountains adjacent to the western boundary of Death Valley National Park. The year-round stream flow, riparian vegetation, spring…

read more
Fact Sheet: Whitewater Wild & Scenic River
Fact Sheet: Whitewater Wild & Scenic River 1024 362 CalWild

From its 10,000-foot-high source in the San Bernardino Mountains, the Whitewater River flows east and south into the Coachella Valley desert. The Whitewater River is one of the most pristine…

read more
Deep Creek Prop WSR photo courtesy of Friends of the River
Fact Sheet: Deep Creek Wild & Scenic River
Fact Sheet: Deep Creek Wild & Scenic River 1024 669 CalWild

Deep Creek and its tributary, Holcomb Creek, flow from the heart of the San Bernardino Mountains northward to the Mojave Desert in southern California. the creek is an important migration…

read more
Mokelumne WSR by Steve Evans
Fact Sheet: Mokelumne Wild & Scenic River
Fact Sheet: Mokelumne Wild & Scenic River 1024 683 CalWild

The California Legislature protected 37 miles of the Mokelumne River in the western Sierra Nevada in 2018. The bill passed after the California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA) Legislature-mandated conducted a…

read more
Fact Sheet: Piru Creek Wild & Scenic River
Fact Sheet: Piru Creek Wild & Scenic River 1024 768 CalWild

Congress added to the federal system the segment of Piru Creek downstream of Pyramid Dam in northern Los Angeles County in 2009 as part of an omnibus bill signed by…

read more
Fact Sheet: Palm Canyon Creek Wild & Scenic River
Fact Sheet: Palm Canyon Creek Wild & Scenic River 786 1024 CalWild

Palm Canyon Creek flows from the edges of the San Jacinto and Santa Rose Mountains through an arid landscape of rugged canyons and ridges into the Coachella Desert. Congress added…

read more
Fact Sheet: Owens Headwaters Wild & Scenic River
Fact Sheet: Owens Headwaters Wild & Scenic River 973 660 CalWild

Glass and Deadman Creeks flow east from San Joaquin Peak on the Sierra Nevada crest and join just upstream of Highway 395. Downstream of the Glass/Deadman confluence, flows are significantly…

read more
Fact Sheet: Merced Wild & Scenic River
Fact Sheet: Merced Wild & Scenic River 1024 683 CalWild

Flowing west from the Sierra Nevada crest in Yosemite National Park’s, the Merced River is perhaps best known for its unique and beautiful setting in Yosemite Valley. In 1987, Congress…

read more
Fact Sheet: Klamath Wild & Scenic River
Fact Sheet: Klamath Wild & Scenic River 1024 716 CalWild

From Upper Klamath Lake in south-central Oregon, the Klamath River flows southwest into California and ultimately into the Pacific Ocean. The Klamath is the second-largest river in California. The entire…

read more
West Walker River
Fact Sheet: West Walker Wild & Scenic River
Fact Sheet: West Walker Wild & Scenic River 1024 683 CalWild

The California Legislature added The West Walker River and a short segment of Leavitt Creek (a tributary), to the state system in 1989. The river’s designation was in response to…

read more