The Kings River is a 132.9 mile (213.9 km) river that flows Sierra Nevada in central California in the United States. Upstream originates along the Sierra Crest in and around Kings Canyon National Park and forms the eponymous Kings Canyon, one of the deepest river gorges in North America. The river was confiscated in Pine Flat Lake before flowing into San Joaquin Valley (southern half of Central Valley) in southeast Fresno. With its upper and middle lanes in Fresno County, the Kings River deviates into branches in Kings County, with some water flowing south to the old Lake Tulare mattress and the rest flowing north to the San Joaquin River. However, most water is consumed for irrigation upstream of both points.
Housed for thousands of years by Yokuts and other indigenous groups, the Kings River has fed a vast seasonal wetland network around Lake Tulare that supports millions of waterfowl, fish, and game animals, ultimately providing sustenance for indigenous peoples. Lake Tulare was once the largest freshwater lake in the western US, amid an endorheic basin also fed by the Kaweah, Tule, and Kern Rivers. The river was named by the commander of a Spanish military expedition in 1806, but it was not until California became a US state in 1850 that many Europeans arrived and settled along the Kings River, expelling the natives of the area. Livestock logging and livestock cause significant environmental damage at the top of the river, before the federal government moves to build a national park and preserve it.
The Kings have a long history of water development, back to the mid-19th century when farmers made their first attempt to irrigate with the Kings River water, extending into the early 1900s when Lake Tulare and surrounding wetlands were curated, dried and reclaimed for agriculture , and culminated in the 1950s with the construction of the Pinus Dam, which tame the seasonal flood of the river. The battle to control the waters of the Kings River resulted in an extended conflict, including a set of proposed dams in Kings Canyon National Park. Today, the river irrigates about 1.1 million acres (4,500 km 2 ) of some of the country's most productive agricultural land, and is also widely used for hydroelectric, water-based and inland recreation.
Video Kings River (California)
Course
The three branches of the Kings River come from the high melting snow in the Sierra Nevada. The Central and South Forks begin in Kings Canyon National Park, and join the Monarch Forest (Sierra and Sequoia National Forests) to form the King River. The North Fork, which begins in the Wilderness of John Muir of the Sierra National Forest, joins the Kings River further downstream near Pine Flat Lake, the only major reservoir in the river. Most of the upper Kings River consists of remote hinterlands and wilderness areas, accessible only by non-motorized lines. The entire upper part of the Kings River is in Fresno County; in the Middle Valley, the King River also flows through parts of Tulare and Kings County Regencies.
Hulu
The 44-mile (71Ã, km) South Fork is the longest tributary of the Kings River, originating from the Sierra Crest at the far eastern end of Kings Canyon National Park. It flows south, then west through the Cedar Grove section of Kings Canyon, a glacial valley with high granite cliffs and grassland floors comparable in appearance to the Yosemite Valley. Middle Fork flows 37 miles (60 km) through some of the more wild and more difficult parts of the park, including Simpson Meadow and Tehipite Valley. The South and Central Forks gather in the Monarch wilderness just outside the national park to form the Kings River at the deepest part of Kings Canyon. With mountains on both sides looming over 8,000 feet (2,400 m) above the river, Kings Canyon is deeper and narrower than the Grand Canyon.
Under the meeting of Middle and South Forks, King River flows quickly westward for about 30 miles (48 km) through a canyon over 5,000 feet (1,500 m). The main tributaries of the Kings River in this section include Tenmile and Mill Flat Creeks, both from the south; a dam in Tenmile Creek creates Hume Lake. Another important feature along the Kings Canyon area is the Garlic Falls, a tiered waterfall in the Kings River over 800 feet (240 m) in height. The canyon is endless as far as Upper Kings Campground near Verplank Creek; under the camp, the river followed by Trimmer Springs Road.
The Kings River passes Rodgers Crossing and receives North Fork from the right near Balch Camp. The North Fork is about 40 miles (64 km) long and flows primarily through the Sierra National Forest. It was dammed in the Wishon Reservoir, which serves as a lower reservoir for the Helms Pumped Storage Plant, one of the largest pumped hydroelectric plants in California. North Fork passes several other hydro generators before joining the Kings River. The main kings then flow into Pine Flat Lake, a large reservoir made by Pine Flat Dam, which can store up to 1,000,000 acre feet (1.2 km 3 ) of water. Built in 1954, Pine Flat Dam provides flood control, irrigation and hydroelectric power for the southern San Joaquin Valley.
Lower river
The Kings River emerges from the foothills of the Sierra Nevada near Piedra, about 10 miles (16 km) downstream of the Pinus Dam. From there it flows across the gently sloping alluvial plain of the San Joaquin Valley, which is now one of the most productive agricultural areas in the United States. Here the Raja River faces a large number of diversions that serve the purpose of irrigation and flood control. The two main irrigation structures along the lower river are Fresno Dam and Bendung Rakyat; both transfers most of the stream into the canal. The Kings flows south-southwest through Sanger and Reedley, crossing briefly to northwest Tulare before entering Kings County. In Kingsburg Cole Slough splits northwest, rejoining the main master about 10 miles (16 km) downstream of Laton.
About 6 miles (9.7 km) north of Lemoore The Kings River is divided into a pair of distributors, North Fork and South Fork (not to be confused with North and South Forks upstream in Sierra Nevada). The Army Weir controls the amount of water flowing into one of the branches. Fresno Slough deviates from the North Fork and flows to the northwest, seasonally carrying floods from the Kings River to the San Joaquin River in Mendota. This is the only branch of the Kings River to reach San Joaquin, and consequently the Pacific Ocean. The rest of the North Fork veered south below Fresno Slough, rejoining the South Fork in west Lemoore. There is also a smaller distribution called Fork Clark which is separate from the South Fork and enters North Fork just above where all the forks rejoin.
From there the Kings River flowed south through Kings County, past Stratford, and approached the old Lake Tulare bed. At this point, Kings are usually a small stream or completely dry because of all upstream diversions. The river ends about 10 miles (16 km) northeast of Kettleman at the intersection with a canal carrying water from the Tule River. Currently, a lake of 44,000 hectares (18,000 hectares) is used for agriculture and confined to prevent flooding; flooding is pumped to about 4,700 hectares (1,900Ã, ha) of evaporative reservoirs. In most years, dams in Kings and other rivers flowing into Lake Tulare, and extensive canal transfer systems around the lake, are enough to prevent flooding. However, the lake sometimes undergoes reforms in very wet years.
Maps Kings River (California)
Characteristics of water flow and natural
The Kings River is the largest river that soaks in the southern Sierra Nevada. The average flow of 1,791,000 acre feet (2,209 km 3 ) makes it larger than the combined Kern, Kaweah and Tule Rivers. Prior to the construction of the Pinus Dam in 1954, the Raja River reached a monthly average of 12,000 to 14,000 cubic feet per second (340 to 400 m 3 /s) in May and June where water flows to San Joaquin Valley, and averages as low as 100 to 200 cubic feet per second (2.8-5.7 m 3 /s) in the driest months of September and October. Once the dam is built, the high water flow in late spring in early summer has decreased, and the late-summer-fall stream has greatly improved.
In the winter of mid-November to April, rain storms at lower altitudes usually flood the Kings River, albeit with less volume than the melting summer. Annual rainfall can be as high as 20 to 50 inches (510 to 1,270 mm) in the Sierra; However, in San Joaquin Valley, the climate is semi-arid and dry with annual rainfall of 5 to 12 inches (130 to 300 mm), decreases as one moves further west.
The majority of runoff, approximately 71%, comes from a snow melt between April and July in a 1.544 square-mile drainage basin (4,000 km 2 ) above the Datar Pinus Dam. Three quarters of this resilient watershed is one mile (1,600 m) or more above sea level; The watershed reached a peak at 14,248 feet (4,343 m) of North Palisade, the highest point in Kings Canyon National Park. The Kings River gorge is relatively young in geology; most were carved during the Pliocene and the Pleistocene (5 million-12,000 years ago) during the period of rapid appointment in the Sierra Nevada.
During and before the Pleistocene, the upper part of the watershed was highly glaciated during consecutive ice ages, with glacier valleys flowing as much as 40 miles (64 km) beneath three river forks, carving the valley of the "V" shaped river into the U-shaped "U" Canyon, Tehipite Valley and others. Sierra consists mainly of granite frozen rocks; However, in the hills of the King River flows through older pendants and metamorphic rock pendant roof formations added to the Sierra Nevada crustal block as it rises above the surrounding landscape.
Lower Lower Rivers form a wide and gently sloping delta, or an alluvial fan, stretching laterally across the Central Valley - material produced from millions of years of erosion that carved Kings Canyon. The alluvial fan lifts the valve floor elevation and blocks the water flowing north to the San Joaquin River, basically creating a large bowl in the southern part of the valley, forming the Tulare Lake basin. The soils on alluvial slopes are generally sandy, permeable and fertile, creating ideal conditions for agriculture; in the lowlands and old lakes, the soil is more alkaline and less fertile.
Before people started building dikes and embankments in the 19th century to accommodate floods, the Kings River often experienced channel avulsion during high flow events, sometimes flowing northward to the San Joaquin River through sloughs, other times south to Lake Tulare, and often become second. Historically, the river has a vast floodplain characterized by vernal pool systems, oxbow lakes, and seasonal channels and swamps that support riparian habitats. The "overflow" area started near the Kingsburg area now and continues from there south to Lake Tulare.
In the very wet years, Lake Tulare can fill in such a way that it supports the Lower King River and overflows through Fresno Slough to the San Joaquin River. All these thousands of years of floods have built up huge basin water reserves, which today are an important source of water for agriculture. The Kings Subbasin aquifer, as defined by the California Department of Water Resources, was contained in 1961 with a total of 93 million acre feet (115 km 3 ), a rate gradually decreasing since then due to intensive pumping for irrigation.
Ecology
Although most of the original wetlands and riparian zones in the valley have disappeared for development, the narrow riparian corridor still exists 40 miles (64 km) from the Kings River between Pine Flat Dam and People's Weir (under Highway 99), and in other places, places like the lower Fresno Slough. The largest riparian habitat is concentrated in the Centerville Bottoms, east of Sanger, where the river is divided into several channels around a 5 mile wide area (8.0 km). Under Highway 99 river channels, with few exceptions, are almost completely channeled and modified from their home country. The King River flow of at least 100 cubic feet per second (2.8 m 3 /s) is maintained at all times through the release of the Pine Flood Dam, to support fish populations and riparian habitats.
At the foot of the hill, California's oak forests consisting mostly of blue and black oak trees occur along the Kings River, Mill Creek, and other immortal tributaries. The other foothills are dominated by thick chapars and brushes. In the lowlands to the lower part of the Sierra Nevada, mixed conifer forests are the primary habitat, with the dominant ponderosa and pine pine. Some areas, such as the steeper and more open northern wall of Kings Canyon, remain mainly cotton-shaped and brush. Giant sequoia are found in these watersheds. General Grant Grove is located about 10 miles (16 km) southwest of the Central and South Fork meetings; The rivers at Kings River, a set of four small gardens, are located lower in altitude and close to the South Fork.
Higher in the Sierra, subalpine forests below the alpine zone without trees marked by red firs, lodgepole pines, whitebark pines, hemlock mounts and foxtail pines. Above 10,000 feet (3,000 m) in elevation, glacial features such as cirques and landscape features, with various species of wildflowers and shrubs that occur between bare rock areas. Although high countries are usually covered in snow from November to May, as many as 600 plant species occur in the mountain zone of Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Park, and twice as many are present in other parts of the park. Beginning in 2002, the US Forest Service manages a certain area in the King's basin under the River King Experimental Watershed program, whose activities include vegetation depletion and burning that are determined to cope with overgrowth, erosion and risk of forest fires with the overall goal of improving water quality. These sites are concentrated around North Fork and Pine Flat Lake.
On top of the Pine Flat Dam, the Kings River holds the original rainbow trout and introduces brown trout and smallmouth bass; The Upper Kings were designated as "Wild Trout Water" by the California Department of Fish and Game. Rainbow trout is also in the river under the dam; however, the installation of a hydroelectric plant in Pine Flat Dam in 1984 reduced the supply of cold water in reservoirs and rainbow trout habitats that deteriorated as a result. In 1999, the state of California implemented the Kings River Fisheries Management Program, which has helped restore fisheries by requiring a minimum of 100,000 acre feet (0.12 km) of cold water at the Pinus Datar Reservoir and imposing fishing restrictions. Other fish species in the lower kings include the native Sacramento pikeminnow and the Sacramento sucker (also present in smaller numbers upstream), and introduced species such as carp, catfish channels and bass stripes.
Initial history
The Sungai Raja watershed is a traditional Yokuts area; at the time of the first European contact of at least 5,000, but perhaps as many as 15,000-20,000 indigenous people in various subgroups lived in the Central Valley along the lower King River and many of its branches. The Kings River dialect of Yokutsan is divided among Choynimni, who live about 10 miles (16 km) from the King's River between Piedra and Sanger today; Chukaymina along the creek Mill Creek, and Michahay further south. At least two other dialects, Aiticha and Toyhicha, are spoken further downstream to Kings, but these groups have not been properly documented.
Yokuts live along the Kings River at the foot of the hill and along the shores of the swampy Lake Tulare. Extensive oak forests in the King's riparian zone provide grain, their main food source. Wetlands give them abundant fish, waterfowl, feathered animals including beavers and river otters, and edible roots. Tule rushes to provide materials for their pit roofs and build rafts and canoes, the main form of transport in low-lying countries that are often flooded. Yokuts are traded with the Paiute (Mono) in the Great Basin in the east, through various paths through the Sierra Nevada, one of which is possible through the Kearsarge Pass at the eastern end of Kings Canyon. About 500 years ago, some of the Monos migrated westward, settling in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada over the Yokuts region, where they eventually formed a distinct subgroup known as the West Mono.
The first recorded Spanish explorer to see the River King was a member of the Gabriel Moraga expedition, which encamped along the river on January 6, 1806, Epiphany day. So they named the river of El Rio de los Santos Reyes ("The River of the Holy Kings"), then shortened to Rio Reyes , Rio de los Reyes /i> or other variations. Father Pedro MuÃÆ' Â ± oz, a member of the expedition of 1806, wrote: "All the meadows are covered with oak, alder, cottonwood and willow trees.The river is full of beavers and fish.This is a suitable location for missions, though there are also must be a presidio. "Expanding California's mission system into the interior was the main goal of the Spanish Empire in the 1800s. However, no mission was established along the Kings River or elsewhere in the Central Valley.
Jedediah Smith was the first American explorer to see the Kings River, facing it during a feather trap expedition in 1827. The expedition of John C. Fremont in 1844 sought to find a route over the Sierra Nevada through the Kings River, but was forced to return by deep snow and terrain difficult. Fourteen years later a party led by J.H. Johnson successfully crossed the Kearsarge Pass - a route Fremont failed to find - became the first non-Native American to know to do so. The initial map of this era labeled Kings River under various names. Smith records the river as Kimmel-che or Wimmel-che after the "Indian with that name on it", possibly the Yokuts clan or the village along the bottom of the river. Fremont calls it River Lake or Lake Fork , because this is the largest river that flows into Lake Tulare. Some of the older map labels are King's River , translated from the original Spanish name. In 1852, the name Kings River was used in general.
After California became the US state in 1850, the upper Hulu Basin watershed was intermittently used by growers, miners and loggers, and lower streams were used primarily for cattle and sheep farming. Scottsburg, one of the first American cities on the Kings River, was founded in 1854. Destroyed twice by the flood, it was rebuilt as Centerville today in 1867. Smith's Ferry, founded by James Smith in 1855, is one of several ferries founded in Kings River for travelers on Stockton-Los Angeles Road and therefore the only one accessible during high water, remains the most important crossing of the Kings River for nearly twenty years. When settlers penetrated into the territory of the Native America, the conflict broke out, and in 1852 the US Senate rejected the promise of a reservation plot to Yokuts, which eventually led to the Tule River War. Most of the natives who were not killed in combat or surrendered to European diseases were forced to move from their lands along the Kings River to the Tule River Indian Reservation, where their descendants live today.
From the 1860s to the early 1900s, wood was one of the largest industries on the upper Kings River. In 1890, two San Francisco businessmen bought 30,000 acres (12,000 ha) in the upper DAS of the Kings and founded Kings River Lumber Company, which intends to record the gigantic giant sequoia in the area. Between 1890 and 1926, a massive timber operation was extended across the mountains, an area including Converse Basin Grove - then the largest collection of sequoias in the world - almost entirely clear. The dam was built to form Hume Lake, feeding flots that flow more than 40 miles (64 km) down Kings Canyon to bring logs to the plant in Sanger. Although the scale of the business was ultimately unprofitable. Wood sequoia is soft and unsuitable for most constructions; In addition, the trees were so high that they often crumbled into pieces that could not be used when they fell to the ground.
When John Muir visited and wrote about the Kings River and the canyon at the end of the 19th century, he brought attention to the potential of the area as a tourist attraction and its benefits as a nature reserve. Muir lobbied for the preservation of the sequoia forest above the Kings River, which included General Grant Grove, where the world's second largest tree. Because of his efforts and those of local politicians and civil activists, President Benjamin Harrison signed a bill establishing General Grant National Park in October 1890. However, it will not be until 1940 when the park was extended to the central and southern fork of Kings. River and renamed Kings Canyon National Park.
Kings delta completion
The area of ​​the Kings River was initially unattractive to the peasants, because for the most part its path through river valleys flowed in the chute between the low cliffs (an area known as Centerville Bottoms), leaving the surrounding plains high and dry, suitable only for grazing livestock. Further downstream, approaching Lake Tulare, the land is too swampy for agriculture in addition to being a seasonal flood. For this reason, early farming preferred the more Kaweah Delta to the south, where Visalia is now. The farm along the Kings River was confined to Centerville Bottoms until the trenches extended from the upper reaches further to supply the surrounding land, the first being the short Byrd Ditch in 1858. The Great Flood of 1862 and others in 1868 destroyed most of the early settlements along the Kings River , and also remove the economic cattle ranch from the San Joaquin Valley, accelerating the economic shift to agriculture.
Beginning in 1870, the settlements in the region began earnestly, and a larger and more permanent permanent water supply system was built. The long canals carry water to a large, semi-arid grassland between the Kings and San Joaquin rivers, allowing Fresno's growth and attracting more settlers into the area. Agricultural cooperatives or "colonies", where large landowners divide many small plots for individual farmers, are a popular pattern of early settlements and attracts immigrants from the eastern United States, Europe and Asia. Some people were able to collect large lands by exploiting loopholes in Homestead Law and Land Swamp Act, the most successful being J.G. Boswell and his son James G. Boswell II, who acquired 135,000 acres (55,000 ha) under Kings and Tulare Lake; the Boswell family farm remains the largest privately owned farm in the world.
The Wright Act of 1887 allows farmers to organize into irrigation districts, enabling them to gather their resources and greatly expand the reach of the channel system. Alta Irrigation District, founded in 1888, was the first; it will be followed by at least eighteen others (some of which have been consolidated). However, drought breeds conflicts between previous landowners with riparian rights and their newly arrived counterparts. In the days before the Pine Flat Dam, rivers often dropped too low in August or September to meet all demands on it, and often disputes escalated to armed conflict over the control of the canal gates. In 1897 the first King River water treaty was made, establishing the priority of irrigation district law for water, completed many lawsuits. However, in 1913 almost all of the Kings River water was used and the peasants demanded a solution. In 1919, the engineer of the state of Charles L. Kaupke was assigned as the first "King of Water" of the King of Rivers - a role he served until 1956 - to resolve the rationing issue and establish a "diversion schedule" to reduce water waste.
All of these actions were not enough to solve the basic problems of seasonal drought, and in 1925 a local council was held to discuss the possibility of building a dam at Pine Flat. The Kings River Water Association (KRWA), which represents most of the local water district, was established two years later with Kaupke as its head. However, when the Great Depression struck, the districts were unable to sell the necessary bonds to build the dam, and the federal government was asked to enter. The US Reclamation Bureau wants to build the dam as part of the Central Valley Project and the US Army Corps of Engineers wants to build it as a separate flood control project. KRWA liked the Corps proposal because the reclamation project will be subject to a restriction of 65 hectares per acre - the product of the Newlands Reclamation Act - and many farms in the area are larger than that (although no one has nearly as much land as Boswell, who lobbied for the project Corps).
Political conflicts raged for over ten years, with the Corps finally given the authority to build dams, and the Bureau was authorized to manage water storage. The dam was built between 1949 and 1954; just 19 months after his dedication, he stopped a devastating flood in December 1955, the largest flood recorded in the Kings since at least 1862, avoiding downstream cities from heavy damage. In 1963, all Kings Kings water users signed an agreement with the Reclamation Bureau to build their stock storage in Pine Flat Lake, giving them "continuous rights to use subordinate storage only for flood control purposes," and in 1969 the Department of Air California Resources power states that the Kings River is fully adjusted, meaning that no new water rights can be claimed, unless purchased from existing rights holders.
The modern usage
Irrigation
Almost all Kings River water is consumed for agriculture. The river irrigates about 1.1 million acres (4,500 km 2 ) of some of the most productive farmland in the United States; in 2009 the King delta produced crops worth more than $ 3 billion. Fresno County, which is mostly supplied by Kings River water, ranks first among US countries for agricultural sales in 2012. Tulare and Kings County are ranked second and tenth.
The main crops grown in the Kings River service area are grapes, oranges, grains, and various fruits and nuts. Other plants include alfalfa, berries, rice, and nurseries and crops. More than 1,000 miles (1,600 km) of man-made channels deliver water to fourteen irrigation areas in San Joaquin Valley. The Fresno District, Kings River, Consolidated, Raisin City, Liberty and Laguna lie to the west of the river; Tri-Valley district, Hills Valley, Orange Cove, Alta and Kings County are located in the south. Kings River Water also supplies Riverdale, Stilson, James, Tranquility and Mid-Valley districts via Fresno Slough.
The surface water delivery has been managed by the Kings River Water Association (KRWA), headed by the Kings River watermaster, since 1927. KRWA oversees water supplies for the 28 member agencies and about 20,000 fields in the Kings River service area, and is responsible. to judge water rights and regulate water quality. The monthly "water rights schedule" determines how much water each institution receives, depending on the flow of the Kings River.
The Friant-Kern Canal, part of the Central Valley Project (CVP), is the only source of surface water from outside the Kings River basin. Only Fresno Irrigation District is contracted for CVP water, but other Kings River users can also purchase CVP water when needed, such as drought. The water requirement for summer irrigation usually ranges from 6,000 to 7,000 cubic feet per second (170 to 200 m 3 /s).
Ground water is another major source of water supply for the river basin, providing most of the agricultural supplies and all the water used by regional towns. The Raja River Conservation District (KRCD), among other functions, is the main agency that manages the use of ground water. The Kings Basin Water Authority also monitors groundwater use, as well as certain water conservation, water quality and environmental functions. The Kings River provides more than 100,000 acre feet (120,000,000 m 3 ) from groundwater recharge to the local aquifer every year. However, the depth to groundwater has increased over the years, showing concern for the safe outcome of the aquifers. The annual overdraft is estimated at 100,000 to 150,000 acre feet (120,000,000 to 190,000,000 m 3 ).
Hydro Power Station
- More information: North Fork Kings River and Kings Canyon Dam dam
The Kings River system has several major hydropower plants; the only one on the main trunk is the 165 megawatt Jeff L. Taylor's Pine Flat Power Plant, located at the base of the Pine Flat Dam. KRCD has operated the power plant since its completion in 1984. The power plant in Pine Flat Dam is incidental, which means it is governed by demand for irrigation water or flood control requirements rather than load on the power grid. There is a proposal to add another dam on the Kings River near Piedra, which will create a small afterbay reservoir under the Pine Flat Dam, allowing power plants to be used for peaking purposes while regulating downstream flows for irrigation. Due to environmental problems and poor cost-benefit ratios, the project was never built.
Further downstream, the King's three forks have considerable hydroelectric potential due to their altitude drop from the Sierra peak. However, since Middle and South Forks is located in Kings Canyon National Park, only North Fork is used for hydroelectric power. Haas power plant, Balch No.1 and No.2, and Kings River in North Fork were built between 1927 and 1959 by Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG & E) and collectively produced 335 megawatts. In 2010, four North Fork power plants plus Pine Flat generated more than 2 billion kilowatt hours of energy. Between 1977 and 1984, PG & amp; E built the 1.212 Mega Pumping Powerhouse Storage Center located between Wishon and Courtright Reservoirs. The Helms plant, which pumps water to Courtright during low demand periods and releases it during periods of high demand, is critical to stabilizing California's power grid by providing peaking power.
During the first half of the 20th century, the Kings River was the focus of a political battle over a Los Angeles proposal to stem Middle and South Forks for power generation. Local farmers fear the city's real intention is to divert Kings water to the south, since it has become famous for waging a water war in the Owens Valley. The KRCD, however, also wanted to stem these rivers for irrigation, and thus the proposed dam sites were excluded from Kings Canyon National Park as established in 1940. It was not until 1965 when these areas were finally added to the park, ending the debate which has lasted more than sixty years. Today, 11,449 feet (3,490 m) fall from the South Fork head to the Pine Flat Reservoir remains a knockout drop thrown from every US river.
Flood control
Datar Pinus Dam , holds up to 1,000,000 acre feet (1.2 km 3 ) of water, is a primary flood control facility in the Kings River Basin. Reservation of winter and spring flood control is 475,000 acre feet (0.586 km 3 ), although reservoirs can be further derived depending on Sierra snowpack size.
During winter and spring, the US Army Engineer Corps is responsible for determining the discharge of water from the Pinus Datar Dam. The dam provides flood protection for 80,000 hectares (32,000 hectares) of agricultural land along the Kings River and 260,000 hectares (110,000 ha) on old Tulare Lake beds. Pine Flat Dam is operated so that the flow at Crescent Weir (about 50 miles (80 km) downstream of the Flat Pine, near Riverdale) does not exceed 4,750 cubic feet per second (135 m 3 /s), although this number is often exceeded due to the large size and heavy runoff of the Raja watershed.
The Kings River flood capacity dropped dramatically downstream, from 50,000 cubic feet per second (1,400 m 3 /s) between the Pinus Dam and the Highway 180 to 13,000 cubic feet per second (370 m 3 /s) in Kingsburg. The main flood control facilities on the lower river are Weir Island and Army Dam , which controls the flow of water to the north and south of the Kings River fork, respectively. Floods flowing up to 4750 cubic feet per second (135 m 3 /s) are sent to the north; current of up to 1,200 cubic feet per second (34 m 3 /s) above the level that is diverted southward to the Lake Tulare bed, and flows over that combined level sent to the north.
In the north flooding again flood again in Crescent Weir with 4,750 cubic feet per second first (135 m 3 /s) sent north through Fresno Slough and James Bypass to River San Joaquin, and the next 2,000 cubic feet per second (57 m 3 /s) south to the Lake Tulare bed. The flow exceeds the total of 7,950 cubic feet per second (225 m 3 /s) channel capacity from north and south of Forks divided where the current direction is safer.
The Raja River Conservation District (KRCD) is responsible for maintaining the channel system and the flood control dependency. At the bottom of the river west of Highway 99, KRCD has been working since the 1950s to protect the flood-bearing capacity of the Kings River system. Maintenance efforts have focused on approximately 140 miles (230 km) of dikes along the river from below Kingsburg near 8Ã,½ Avenue in Kings County to Highway 41 near Stratford on the South Fork river, and to McMullin Grade (Highway 145) in North Garpu. During the floods, KRCD maintained a 24-hour patrol monitoring bank embankments for decay, erosion and ulcers.
Since its construction in 1954, Pine Flat Dam has yet to provide the high-level flood protection originally intended by the project. An average of 200,000 acres feet (water spilled every year) because the reservoir is not large enough to hold it. In 1969, a total of 1,017,000 acre feet (1,254 km 3 ), more than the entire capacity of the lake, flowed over the spillway, causing severe damage downstream. The Reclamation Bureau has studied the possibility of cultivating Pine Flat Dam to store more water.
In addition, local irrigation districts are involved in attempting to use flood water to refill groundwater rather than allowing it to drift, including the use of certain agricultural land as flood basins while in winter. This will reduce the damage caused by the flood and provide more water for the farmers.
Recreation
The upper part of the Kings River, including the whole of the Middle Fork and part of the South Fork, flows through rugged interior that can only be reached on foot or on horseback. The Central and South Forks are part of the National Wilderness and River System, such as about 15 miles (24 km) from the main Kings under their meetings. Approximately 65.5 miles (105.4 km) are classified as Wild and 15.5 miles (24.9 km) as Recreation. North Fork is more accessible, with boating facilities, camping and visitors at the Wishon Reservoir and boat launches at Courtright Reservoir.
Whitewater rafting and kayaking in Middle and South Forks is "very dangerous" and usually only done by experts. However, the main Kings between Garnet Dike put in and Pine Flat Lake are popular runs for commercial rafting companies and private sailors. According to the Forest Service, "The Raja River has the highest water volume that can easily be aired in the Sierra Nevada", and due to its large size and high elevation of the drainage pool, this season has a longer season than most of the other Sierra. river.
The Kings River and the forks above Pine Flat Lake naturally reproduce rainbow trout populations, brown trout, and trout. Fishing access on Pine Flat Lake extends upstream like Garlic Falls; out there, the canyon is too narrow to enter safely on foot except during very low water periods. At low altitudes reaching and in reservoirs, smallmouth bass and spotted bass are common.
Under the Pine Flat Dam, the Kings River is wide and flowing slowly, with tailwater fishing for trout roughly between dams and Highway 180; further downstream, carp, bass, and catfish are more common. The lower river is suitable for swimming, hovering and canoeing with many public access points between the dam and Lake Alpukat. Below there, most banks are privately owned, with the exception of Pierce's Park on Highway 180. Although there are some natural barriers along the lower Kings, there are some weighing dams that pose a danger to sailors and must be transported.
List of tributaries
The river from the King River is listed upstream of the Fork North/South Fork split near Lemoore. The main lakes/reservoirs and dams are also listed. The distribution of Kings River under Lemoore is outlined in the Course section.
See also
- California river list
References
External links
- Kings River Handbook
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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