page_title: Stanislaus River
section_title: Course
hierarchical_section_title: Stanislaus River / Course
caption_attribution_description: Stanislaus River At Camp 9
context_page_description: The Stanislaus River is a tributary of the San Joaquin River in north-central California in the United States. The main stem of the river is 96 miles long, and measured to its furthest headwaters it is about 150 miles long. Originating as three forks in the high Sierra Nevada, the river flows generally southwest through the agricultural San Joaquin Valley to join the San Joaquin south of Manteca, draining parts of five California counties. The Stanislaus is known for its swift rapids and scenic canyons in the upper reaches, and is heavily used for irrigation, hydroelectricity and domestic water supply.
  Originally inhabited by the Miwok group of Native Americans, the Stanislaus River was explored in the early 1800s by the Spanish, who conscripted indigenous people to work in the colonial mission and presidio systems. The river is named for Estanislao, who led a native uprising in Mexican-controlled California in 1828, but was ultimately defeated on the Stanislaus River. During the California Gold Rush, the Stanislaus River was the destination of tens of thousands of gold seekers; many of them reached California via Sonora Pass, at the headwaters of the Middle Fork.
context_section_description: The Stanislaus River headwaters consist of three forks in the high Sierra Nevada, in parts of Alpine County, Calaveras County and Tuolumne County. The Middle Fork, 46 miles (74 km) long, is the largest tributary and is sometimes considered part of the main stem. It begins in the Emigrant Wilderness of the Stanislaus National Forest about 5 miles (8.0 km) west of 9,624-foot (2,933 m) Sonora Pass.  It flows northwest then west, receiving the Clark Fork below Dardanelle, before feeding Donnell Lake and Beardsley Lake, both formed by hydroelectric power dams. Below the Beardsley dam, it continues west to its confluence with the North Fork at Camp Nine, a popular swimming and fishing area near Hathaway Pines. The 31-mile (50 km)-long North Fork rises in the Carson-Iceberg Wilderness and flows in a generally southwest direction to its confluence with the Middle Fork, passing through several small hydropower dams. For most of their lengths, both forks flow in deep canyons through rugged, heavily forested terrain. The total length of the Stanislaus River, measured from its mouth to the head of Kennedy Creek in the Emigrant Wilderness, is about 150 miles (240 km).
  The confluence of the Middle and North Forks marks the start of the Stanislaus River proper. It flows southwest through a canyon to the 12,500-acre (5,100 ha) New Melones Lake reservoir in the Sierra Nevada foothills, forming the boundary between Calaveras County (west) and Tuolumne County (east). At the reservoir, it is joined by the smaller South Fork, which descends for 42 miles (68 km) from the Sierra Nevada to the east. Much of State Route 108 (the Sonora Pass Highway) runs parallel to the South Fork, as well as the upper part of the Middle Fork, linking a number of small communities in the upper Stanislaus basin.  At the lower end of New Melones Lake is the 625-foot (191 m) tall New Melones Dam, the sixth tallest dam in the U.S., completed in 1979 for flood control, irrigation, hydropower generation and fisheries management. Below New Melones, the river flows through the smaller Tulloch Reservoir before reaching Goodwin Dam, the oldest dam on the river (completed 1913) where large volumes of water are diverted for irrigation.
  Reduced considerably in size, the Stanislaus River leaves the foothills and enters agricultural Stanislaus County at the historic Gold Rush town of Knights Ferry. It is paralleled by State Route 120 as it flows west into the Central Valley, through Oakdale, the largest town on the river, and along the northern edge of the Modesto metro area.  At Riverbank it begins to form the border of Stanislaus County (south) and San Joaquin County (north). At Ripon, it is crossed by Highway 99. Below Ripon the Stanislaus flows west-southwest through a low-lying area known as River Junction and past Caswell Memorial State Park. It joins the San Joaquin River at a point about 2 miles (3.2 km) northeast of Vernalis and 5 miles (8.0 km) south of Manteca, 75 miles (121 km) upstream (south) of the larger river's mouth at Suisun Bay.
caption: Stanislaus River at Camp Nine, near the confluence of the North and Middle Forks.
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