Kaweah River Information | Kaweah River Rafting (original) (raw)

Just north of the Kern River, a 3 hour drive from Los Angeles in South-Central California, the Kaweah River pants and plunges through a multitude of great rapids. The River ends up in a lake after being drained for various resources.

Kaweah River Geography

Kaweah River is a river in Tulare County, California, located in the foothills of the southern Sierra Nevada mountains. The river's headwaters are in the Sequoia National Park at about the 12,000 foot elevation. The river begins as the Middle Fork, it is then joined by Cliff Creek, the Marble Fork, the East Fork, the North Fork and the South Fork. As the rivers drops in elevation, it goes down about 70 feet per mile. The river passes through the town of Three Rivers shortly after the North Fork joins the Middle Fork, and then it drains into Lake Kaweah. The lake is formed by Terminus Dam, which is one of four dams on the river owned by Southern California Edison for hydroelectricity production. The other three dams are diversion dams for run-of-the-river plants.

The Kaweah River, like its neighboring rivers, never sees the Pacific Ocean. Instead, it splits into many channels upon entering the San Joaquin Valley. Most of the water from the river is now used for irrigation in the valley. If any of the water is not diverted, it end in Tulare Lake, CA.

Flow Data for the river is updates regularly by the government and private individuals. (http://c2.com/kaweah/flowdata.html).

Kaweah River History

The Kaweah got its named from ancient Indians who lived in the area long before modern day settlers. The first white settler arrived in 1856. That man, a cattleman named Hale Dixon Tharp (1829-1912), settled on Horse Creek nears its confluence with the Kaweah River.

During the 1860s, other stockmen and ranchers began to locate along the various forks of the Kaweah River. Much of the land being claimed in the area was under the provisions of the Homestead Act of 1862, which allowed a settler to occupy 160 acres, or 320 acres for a man and wife. Early homesteads were located along the South, Middle, and North forks of the Kaweah River.

In 1886, the Kaweah Colony was established as a tent camp at Advance on the North Fork. The utopian socialists began to attract attention, both locally and nationwide, with the building of a road to access timber claims in the Giant Forest.

In 1963, the river was run from Pumpkin Hollow Bridge per Holback and Stanley.

The river is fast running and drop quickly in elevation. In 1997, the river was flooded and measured a peak output of over 56,595 cfs. Normally the river runs in the low thousands. Many areas along the river were damaged, and the river changed from how it was originally before the flood. The river is claimed to have become wider and shallower now than it was before the flood. Most rapids and holes were changed by the rapidly moving debris and rocks.

Kaweah River Recreation

The Kaweah River is a fast dropping, quick running river. White water rafting the challenging class IV+ run on the Kaweah is recommended only for fit, active, experienced paddlers with strong swimming ability who are able to stay in a wildly tossing boat all the while paddling vigorously.

This river is not recommended for casual recreational floating or private boating without experience or guides.

The river is however located near the Seqoia National Park which is a popular California tourists and vacation attraction.