List of rivers of California


This is a list of rivers in the U.S. state of California, grouped by region. Major lakes and reservoirs, if applicable, are indicated in italics.

North Coast (north of Humboldt Bay)

Rivers and streams between the Oregon border and Humboldt Bay that empty into the Pacific Ocean. Bold indicates rivers with more detailed lists in following sections.
Primary streams entering Humboldt Bay are listed north to south beginning north of the entrance to the bay and continuing in a clockwise direction. Tributaries entering nearest the bay are listed first.
For additional detail on Humboldt Bay streams, see Humboldt Bay: Bay tributaries and sloughs.
Rivers and streams between Humboldt Bay and the Golden Gate that empty into the Pacific Ocean :
For details of the Sonoma and Marin coasts, see List of watercourses in the San Francisco Bay Area.

San Francisco Bay

Streams that empty into San Francisco Bay or its tributary bays. The Central Valley watershed feeding into Suisun Bay via the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta is excluded; see the following section for the Sacramento and San Joaquin river systems.
For additional detail on Bay Area creeks, see List of watercourses in the San Francisco Bay Area.

San Pablo Bay (north of Carquinez Strait)

For additional detail on Bay Area creeks, see List of watercourses in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta

The Sacramento and San Joaquin River systems drain the western slope of the Sierra Nevada and most of the Central Valley, forming the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta before emptying into Suisun Bay; together, they are the largest river system in California.

Sacramento River

Note: In the Delta the Mokelumne River divides into two short branches, also called the "North Fork" and "South Fork", which recombine before reaching the San Joaquin River.

Calaveras River

Usually an endorheic basin, waters in this region all eventually would reach Tulare Lake. This region would overflow into the San Joaquin River during flood years when Tulare Lake overflowed. Streams are listed clockwise around the Tulare Basin, starting at the Kings River:
Rivers that empty into the Pacific Ocean between the Golden Gate and Point Arguello, arranged in order from north to south.
For details of the San Mateo coast, see List of watercourses in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Rivers that empty into the Pacific Ocean southeast of Point Arguello, arranged from north to south:

[Point Arguello] to Santa Monica">Santa Monica, California">Santa Monica

Tributaries entering San Diego Bay are arranged from North to South:
Rivers that empty into the Gulf of California:
The Carrizo Plain is a large enclosed valley near the Central Coast which drains into Soda Lake.
Rivers that empty into the Salton Sea:
Rivers in the Great Basin, arranged roughly north to south:

[Tule Lake]

Rivers draining into saline and endorheic Mono Lake in eastern California, from north and proceeding counterclockwise:
Streams terminating in the Badwater Basin in Death Valley National Park.
Streams terminating in various dry lakes in the Antelope Valley and Fremont Valley, draining from the southeastern Tehachapi Mountains and northern San Gabriel Mountains, listed counterclockwise starting from north: