FISHES OF SACRAMENTO-SAN JOAQUIN BASIN. 109 
San Joaquin River, etc.—Continued. 
Kaweah River (Four Creeks). 
St. Johns Channel (Lemon Coye). 
Tule River (Porterville). 
Poso Creek (near foothills). 
Kern Lake (of Tulare Valley). 
Kern River (near Bakersfield). 
Whitney Creek = Volcano Creek. 
Kern Lake. 
South Fork Kern River. 
Caliente Creek. 
Posa Chino Creek. 
Los Gatos Creek. 
Big Panoche Creek. 
Los Banos Creek. 
Orestimber Creek. 
Martinez Creek (hills back of Martinez). 
DESCRIPTIVE NOTES. 
The Sacramento River takes its rise in a group of small lakes in an elevated 
basin about 20 miles west of Sissons, Siskiyou County. The lakes are from 100 to 
300 yards across and are separated by spurs of the mountains. On account of the 
heavy growth of timber and underbrush they are almost inaccessible. One, Cliff 
Lake, is deep; the others are quite shallow and evidently formed by glacial moraines. 
The shores of all are thickly strewn with fallen trees. The one known as Gumboot 
Lake lies farther to the westward and is the true source of the Sacramento River. 
The river makes a rapid descent from the lakes to Box Canyon near Sissons, 
but there are no falls over 6 feet high. At the head of Box Canyon it receives 
Sullaway Creek, which is almost as large as the river itself at that pomt. It is in 
Sullaway Creek that the fry salmon from Sisson hatchery are planted. 
The river continues in a narrow canyon almost to Redding, and is a typical 
mountain stream, a succession of rapids and pools. At Redding it leaves the moun- 
tains and passes through the foothills, becoming broader with fewer rapids. The 
last rapid of any moment is a few miles above Red Bluff, where the river cuts through 
a range of hills by what is known as Iron Canyon. 
Below Iron Canyon the river becomes broader, though short rapids or riffles 
occur during the low water of summer. The current is swift throughout its length. 
Boats ascend as far as Red Bluff. The lower portion flows through a broad valley, 
and the floods from the winter rains have to be held in by levees. It is affected by 
the tides nearly 100 miles from its mouth, though the water is entirely fresh, as is 
also that of the upper portions of Suisun Bay into which the river empties. 
The San Joaquin has much the same character as the Sacramento. The two 
rivers enter Suisun Bay side by side. 
Pitt River is the largest tributary of the Sacramento, being much larger than the 
upper Sacramento. It is formed by the junction of the North and South Forks at 
Alturus, Modoc County. 
North Fork of Pitt River rises immediately south of Goose Lake, and there is 
no doubt that in recent years it has drained the lake. The only barrier to the lake’s 
drainage now is a gravel bank less than 8 feet high. This has evidently been formed 
