South Fork Eel River
| South Fork Eel River | |
|---|---|
Meander in the South Fork Eel River | |
Map of the Eel River drainage basin showing the South Fork | |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| State | California |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • location | Branscomb, California |
| • coordinates | 39°36′46″N 123°29′34″W / 39.61278°N 123.49278°W |
| • elevation | 2,500 ft (760 m) |
| Mouth | Eel River |
• location | Dyerville/Founders' Grove, California |
• coordinates | 40°21′21″N 123°55′10″W / 40.35583°N 123.91944°W |
• elevation | 100 ft (30 m) |
| Length | 105 mi (169 km) |
| Basin size | 689 sq mi (1,780 km2) |
| Discharge | |
| • location | USGS gage 11476500, near Miranda, CA, river mile 20 |
| • average | 1,845 cu ft/s (52.2 m3/s) |
| • minimum | 10 cu ft/s (0.28 m3/s) |
| • maximum | 199,000 cu ft/s (5,600 m3/s) |
| Basin features | |
| Tributaries | |
| • left | Hollow Tree Creek, Bull Creek (California) |
| • right | Tenmile Creek (South Fork Eel River), Rattlesnake Creek (California), Cedar Creek (South Fork Eel River), East Branch South Fork Eel River |
| Designated | January 19, 1981 |
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The South Fork Eel River is the largest tributary of the Eel River in north-central California in the United States. The river flows 105 miles (169 km) north from Laytonville to Dyerville/Founders' Grove where it joins the Eel River. The South Fork drains a long and narrow portion of the Coast Range of California in parts of Mendocino and Humboldt counties. U.S. Route 101 follows the river for much of its length.
The Kai Pomo, a branch of the Pomo people, once lived in the upper portion of the watershed. Before industrial development in the 1800s, many native tribes relied on the river's abundant runs of salmon and steelhead. In the 1920s, a private company built the Benbow Dam, blocking fish migration to a large area of the basin.
The South Fork is designated as a National Wild and Scenic River from the confluence of Section Four Creek to the mouth.