It drains the fertile Sacramento Valley in the northern part of the Central Valley of California. The river rises near the slope of Mount Shasta and flows south into a delta, where it joins the San Joaquin River. Both rivers empty into San Francisco Bay. The Sacramento receives many important tributaries from the Sierra Nevada.
Feather River is the main eastern tributary.
Oroville Dam extends across Feather River. The dam is a major part of the State Water Project, which supplies irrigation water to central and southern California. Shasta Dam is located on the Sacramento River. The dam is part of the Central Valley Project. See Shasta Dam .