page_title: American River
section_title: South Fork
hierarchical_section_title: American River / Geography / South Fork
caption_attribution_description: English: South Fork of the American River at Sutter's Mill, Coloma, California, looking upriver
context_page_description: The American River is a ~30-mile-long river in California that runs from the Sierra Nevada mountain range to its confluence with the Sacramento River in the Sacramento Valley. Via the Sacramento River, it is part of the San Francisco Bay watershed. This river is fed by the melting snowpack of the Sierra Nevada and its many headwaters and tributaries, including the North Fork American River, the Middle Fork American River, and the South Fork American River.
  The American River is known for the discovery of gold at Coloma in 1848 that started the California Gold Rush and contributed to the initial large-scale settlement of California by European immigrants. Today, the river still has high quality water, and it is the main source of drinking water for Sacramento.
  This river is dammed extensively for irrigation, flood control, and hydroelectric power. The American River watershed supports Mediterranean, temperate, and montane ecosystems, and it is the home of a diverse array of fish and wildlife.
context_section_description: The South Fork is 87 miles (140 km) long. It originates at Echo Summit near Echo Lake south of Lake Tahoe in El Dorado County, just south of where U.S. Route 50 makes a sharp curve northward to descend into Tahoe Valley. The South Fork has multi-use recreational areas, including the Rubicon Trail for motorized adventuring and whitewater rafting venues.  The South Fork also features the historic town of Coloma, where the California Gold Rush began in 1848. Trout fishing and recreational gold panning are popular activities on the South Fork.
  The Silver Fork American River is a 20-mile-long (32 km) tributary of the South Fork American River, that has its origin at Silver Fork Lake
caption: South Fork at Sutter's Mill
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