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Aquapedia background September 1, 2016 California Water Map Layperson's Guide to California Water

Eel River

The Eel River supports one of California’s largest wild salmon and steelhead runs in a watershed that hosts the world’s largest surviving stands of ancient redwoods.

The Eel flows generally northward from Northern California’s Mendocino National Forest to the Pacific, a few miles south of Eureka. The river and its tributaries drain more than 3,500 square miles, the state’s third-largest watershed.

The Eel River system hosts the longest salmon run in the state. NOAA Fisheries has made the watershed a high priority for rebuilding salmon populations. Portions of the river system are “wild and scenic.” The designation by California (1972) and the federal government (1981)  protects these stretches from dams.

The Eel River is a major water source and recharges the groundwater basins that support agricultural and domestic water supplies. Its flows vary as much as a hundredfold because of the changing Pacific storm patterns.

The River’s Course

The river’s mainstem runs about 200 miles north through the Coast Range toward its mouth just south of Humboldt Bay. Along the way, it joins four tributaries: the Van Duzen River, North Fork, Middle Fork and South Fork. 

The Eel originates on the south side of Bald Mountain in Mendocino National Forest. From there it flows south to Lake Pillsbury, a reservoir built in 1921 — decades before Congress created the National Wild & Scenic Rivers System.

 

The Eel then flows west. On this stretch, Pacific Gas & Electric diverts some of the flows to its Potter Valley hydroelectric turbines in the headwaters of the Russian River.

The river then courses north. It meets the Middle Fork and then the North Fork from the east, enclosing the Round Valley Indian Reservation. The mainstem then joins the South Fork from the west and the Van Duzen from the east before reaching the city of Fortuna where it bends west through an estuary to empty into the Pacific.

Potter Valley Project

The Cape Horn and Scott dams that comprise PG&E’s Potter Valley Project have blocked fish passage for more than 100 years, contributing to the decline of salmon and steelhead populations. Seismic concerns, maintenance costs and endangered species protections prompted PG&E in 2023 to begin the process of surrendering its federal license to operate the hydroelectric project.

PG&E says demolition of the two dams could begin as soon as 2028, pending regulatory approval. The dam removals would make the Eel the longest free-flowing river in California. 

Wildlife and History

The Eel supports steelhead, chinook salmon and lamprey. The river is also home to a population of coho salmon that lives primarily in the South Fork, though there is a run that travels up the mainstem to a tributary called Outlet Creek.

The watershed’s temperate forests of mainly Douglas fire and western hemlock have supplied vast amounts of timber since the arrival of the earliest settlers.

For thousands of years before European settlement, several Athabaskan Indian tribes inhabited the lands surrounding the Eel River, including the Wailaki, Lassik, Nongatl and Sinkyone peoples. 

The Wiyot Tribe’s ancestral territory is near the mouth of the Eel. The tribe’s Natural Resources Department, established in 1996, has collaborated with federal agencies and university researchers in monitoring and managing populations of native fish, including lamprey, green sturgeon and pikeminnow.

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Aquapedia background September 1, 2016 California Water Map Layperson's Guide to California Water
Maps & Posters April 17, 2014 California Water Bundle

California Water Map
Updated December 2016

A new look for our most popular product! And it’s the perfect gift for the water wonk in your life.

Our 24×36-inch California Water Map is widely known for being the definitive poster that shows the integral role water plays in the state. On this updated version, it is easier to see California’s natural waterways and man-made reservoirs and aqueducts – including federally, state and locally funded projects – the wild and scenic rivers system, and natural lakes. The map features beautiful photos of California’s natural environment, rivers, water projects, wildlife, and urban and agricultural uses and the text focuses on key issues: water supply, water use, water projects, the Delta, wild and scenic rivers and the Colorado River.

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Publication May 20, 2014 California Water Map

Layperson’s Guide to California Water
Updated 2021

The 24-page Layperson’s Guide to California Water provides an excellent overview of the history of water development and use in California. It includes sections on flood management; the state, federal and Colorado River delivery systems; Delta issues; water rights; environmental issues; water quality; and options for stretching the water supply such as water marketing and conjunctive use. New in this 10th edition of the guide is a section on the human need for water. 

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