American River

The American River (Río de los Americanos) is a -long river in California that runs from the Sierra Nevada mountain range to its confluence with the Sacramento River in downtown Sacramento. 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 Sutter's Mill in 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. The Maidu, Miwok, Nisenan, and Wintun peoples have inhabited the American River area near present-day Sacramento for at least 5,000 years before Spaniards and colonial Americans arrived in the region; human habitation in what some consider present-day Northern California is believed to date back as far as 12,000 years. These tribes have utilized the vast amount of resources of the American River for shelter, clothes, baskets, and other goods. Europeans and their descendants arrived in the late 18th century. The Nisenan call the river Kum Sayo, meaning 'roundhouse river'. Spanish explorer Gabriel Moraga named the river Rio de las Llagas (River of Wounds) when he passed through the area in the early 1800s, perhaps due to hostile relations with local native peoples. Another member of the expedition recorded the name as Rio de los Lagos (River of the Lakes) which may or may not have been an error, as in those times the area of the Central Valley surrounding the American River was home to vast marshes, which would have given the river the appearance of a series of lakes.

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Related concepts (11)

American River

Sacramento Valley

The Sacramento Valley is the area of the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California that lies north of the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta and is drained by the Sacramento River. It encompasses all or parts of ten Northern California counties. Although many areas of the Sacramento Valley are rural, it contains several urban areas, including the state capital, Sacramento. Since 2010, statewide droughts in California have further strained both the Sacramento Valley's and the Sacramento metropolitan region's water security.

Sacramento, California

(ˌsækrəˈmɛntoʊ ; sakɾaˈmento) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 population of 524,943 makes it the fourth-most populous city in Northern California, sixth-most populous city in the state, and the ninth-most populous state capital in the United States. Sacramento is the seat of the California Legislature and the Governor of California.