page_title: Rice Fork
section_title: Watershed
hierarchical_section_title: Rice Fork / Watershed
caption_attribution_description: English: Snow Mountain, French Ridge, in the Mendocino National Forest, Lake County, California
context_page_description: The Rice Fork is a 22.7-mile-long tributary of the Eel River in Lake County, California. The Rice Fork begins on the upper northwest side of Goat Mountain, on the Colusa-Lake County line, at an elevation of over 6,000 feet. It quickly descends the steep western slope of the mountain, then bends northward, and flows northwesterly down a narrow winding steep walled canyon for about 18 miles, crossing two forest roads and adding many tributaries, ending its journey at the southern tip of Lake Pillsbury, at a varied elevation around 1,800 feet, depending on the lake level. Before the construction of Scott Dam in the 1920s, which formed Lake Pillsbury, the Rice Fork ran directly into the Eel River. It is one of Lake County's longest streams.
  The many tributaries to Rice Fork are Salt Creek, French Creek, Parramore Creek, Bevans Creek, Bear Creek, Packsaddle Creek, Willow Creek, Deer Creek, Rice Creek, and Soda Creek.
context_section_description: Snow Mountain-West at 7,038 feet (2,145 m) dominates the landscape on the east side of the Rice Fork watershed. Its massive west ridge drops down to Lake Pillsbury and divides the Rice Fork from the Eel River watershed, and its southern ridge connects with 6,121-foot (1,866 m) Goat Mountain about 9 miles (14 km) southeasterly to separate Rice Fork from the South Fork Stony Creek (Sacramento River) waters.
  To the west of Snow Mountain-West, the ridges of 4,057-foot (1,237 m) Pine Mountain, 4,688-foot (1,429 m) Horse Mountain, and 4,191-foot (1,277 m) Elk Mountain connect to form the western boundary of Rice Fork's watershed, while French Ridge joins with 3,420-foot (1,040 m) Little Horse Mountain and the west ridge of Goat Mountain to define the southern limit, with all the waters flowing into Lake Pillsbury, the Eel River and on to the Pacific Ocean.
  The average slope of Rice Fork is 200 feet per mile (38 m/km), and 2,110 feet per mile (400 m/km) between 4,000 feet (1,200 m) and 5,000 feet (1,500 m) elevation. The Rice Fork drains 33 percent of the total drainage area of Lake Pillsbury, and may contribute a like percentage of the amount of inflow. The Rice Fork arm contains 7 percent of the surface area and 6 percent of the total volume of the reservoir. Most of the sediment in Lake Pillsbury is deposited in the upper reaches of the Eel River and Rice Fork arms.
caption: Snow Mountain from French Ridge
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