The
Truckee River is a
riverA river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing toward an ocean, a lake, a sea or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water...
, long in northern
CaliforniaCalifornia is the most populous state in the United States, and the third largest by area. California is the second most populous sub-national entity in the Americas, behind only São Paulo, Brazil...
and northern
NevadaNevada is a state located in the western region of the United States. The capital is Carson City and the largest city is Las Vegas. The state's nickname is Silver State, due to the large number of silver deposits that were discovered and mined there...
in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It drains part of the high Sierra Nevada, emptying into Pyramid Lake in the
Great BasinThe Great Basin is a large, arid region of the western United States. Its boundaries vary depending on how it is defined, but it is most commonly defined as the contiguous endorheic basin roughly between the Wasatch Mountains and the Sierra Nevada mountains. Culturally, the Great Basin is home to...
. It is the sole outlet of
Lake TahoeLake Tahoe is a large freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada mountains of the United States. It is located along the border between California and Nevada, west of Carson City, Nevada. Lake Tahoe is the largest alpine lake in North America...
. Its waters are an important source of
irrigationIrrigation is an artificial application of water to the soil. It is usually used to assist in growing crops in dry areas and during periods of inadequate rainfall...
along its valley and adjacent valleys. The water is quite clear.
The river, here alternatively known as the
Upper Truckee River, originates from the mountains south of
Lake TahoeLake Tahoe is a large freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada mountains of the United States. It is located along the border between California and Nevada, west of Carson City, Nevada. Lake Tahoe is the largest alpine lake in North America...
, flowing into the lake at its south end before issuing once more from the lake's northwest side near Tahoe City, California.
The
Truckee River is a
riverA river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing toward an ocean, a lake, a sea or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water...
, long in northern
CaliforniaCalifornia is the most populous state in the United States, and the third largest by area. California is the second most populous sub-national entity in the Americas, behind only São Paulo, Brazil...
and northern
NevadaNevada is a state located in the western region of the United States. The capital is Carson City and the largest city is Las Vegas. The state's nickname is Silver State, due to the large number of silver deposits that were discovered and mined there...
in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It drains part of the high Sierra Nevada, emptying into Pyramid Lake in the
Great BasinThe Great Basin is a large, arid region of the western United States. Its boundaries vary depending on how it is defined, but it is most commonly defined as the contiguous endorheic basin roughly between the Wasatch Mountains and the Sierra Nevada mountains. Culturally, the Great Basin is home to...
. It is the sole outlet of
Lake TahoeLake Tahoe is a large freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada mountains of the United States. It is located along the border between California and Nevada, west of Carson City, Nevada. Lake Tahoe is the largest alpine lake in North America...
. Its waters are an important source of
irrigationIrrigation is an artificial application of water to the soil. It is usually used to assist in growing crops in dry areas and during periods of inadequate rainfall...
along its valley and adjacent valleys. The water is quite clear.
Description
The river, here alternatively known as the
Upper Truckee River, originates from the mountains south of
Lake TahoeLake Tahoe is a large freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada mountains of the United States. It is located along the border between California and Nevada, west of Carson City, Nevada. Lake Tahoe is the largest alpine lake in North America...
, flowing into the lake at its south end before issuing once more from the lake's northwest side near Tahoe City, California. It flows generally northwest through the mountains to
Truckee, CaliforniaTruckee is an incorporated town in Nevada County, California, United States. The population was 13,864 at the 2000 census.-Name:Truckee was named after a Paiute chief. His assumed Paiute name was Tru-ki-zo. He was the father of Chief Winnemucca and grandfather of Sarah Winnemucca. The first...
, then turns sharply to the east and flows into Nevada, past
RenoReno is a city in and the county seat of Washoe County, Nevada, United States. The population was 180,480 at the 2000 census; in 2008, its population was estimated at 217,016, making it the fourth-largest city in the state after Las Vegas, Henderson and North Las Vegas, and the largest outside of...
and
SparksSparks is a city in Washoe County, Nevada, United States. The population was 66,346 at the 2000 census. As of July 1, 2008, the U.S. Census Bureau estimates that the population has grown to 88,602. Although Sparks was originally distinct from Reno, they have both grown toward each other to such a...
and along the northern end of the
Carson RangeThe Carson Range is a range of mountains in eastern California and western Nevada that spurs off of the Sierra Nevada mountain range south of Lake Tahoe.-Geography:...
. At
FernleyFernley is a city in Lyon County, Nevada, United States. The city incorporated in 2001, including land in Lyon and Washoe County; prior to that it was a census-designated place...
it turns north, flowing along the east side of the
Pah Rah RangeThe Pah Rah Range is a mountain range located in western Nevada in the United States. It is a north-south running ridge, approximately long, and is wholly in Washoe County. It is bounded to the south and east by the Truckee River, to which its surface runoff from south and east slopes flow, and...
and entering the southern end of Pyramid Lake, a remnant of prehistoric
Lake LahontanAncient Lake Lahontan was a large endorheic lake that existed during the ice age, covering much of northwestern Nevada, extending into northeastern California and southern Oregon.-Maximum extent:...
, in northern
Washoe CountyWashoe County is a county located in the U.S. state of Nevada. The population was 339,486 at the 2000 census; 2008 Census Bureau estimates listed a population of 410,443. Its county seat is Reno....
in the
Pyramid Lake Indian ReservationThe Pyramid Lake Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation located in northwestern Nevada in the United States. It lies approximately 35 miles northeast of Reno, in Washoe, Storey, and Lyon Counties. It lies almost entirely in Washoe County , with but tiny amounts of land in the other two...
.
The water quality of the river in the Reno area has seen tremendous improvement over the past years, with the redevelopment of Reno and the ever growing popularity of river related activities.
Naming of the river
According to
George R. StewartGeorge Rippey Stewart was an American toponymist, a novelist, and a professor of English at the University of California, Berkeley...
in his book
The Pioneers Go West, the Truckee River was named after a
PaiutePaiute refers to two related groups of Native Americans — the Northern Paiute of California, Nevada and Oregon, and the Southern Paiute of Arizona, southeastern California and Nevada, and Utah...
chief who showed a group of settlers the way in 1844. The chief's real name was not Truckee, but rather his Paiute name was
Tru-ki-zo. He was given the name Chief Truckee by the first group of settlers to cross the Sierra Nevada who encountered his tribe. When Chief Truckee approached the settlers he yelled,
"Tro-kay!" which is Paiute for
"Hello", causing the settlers to assume that was his name. Chief Truckee was the father of Chief Winnemucca, grandfather of
Sarah WinnemuccaSarah Winnemucca was notable for being the first Native American woman known to secure a copyright and to publish in the English language. She was also known by her married name, Sarah Winnemucca Hopkins, under which she was published...
, and also served as a guide for
John C. FrémontJohn Charles Frémont , was an American military officer, explorer, the first candidate of the Republican Party for the office of President of the United States, and the first presidential candidate of a major party to run on a platform in opposition to slavery...
on some of his expeditions.
Uses of the river
Like other rivers in the western United States, the Truckee's flow is highly regulated with most of the river water fully allocated via water rights. Disputes occur among those claiming the water. In the early 20th century, waters of the river were diverted as part of the
Newlands Reclamation ActThe Reclamation Act of 1902 is a United States federal law that funded irrigation projects for the arid lands of 17 states in the American West....
. Currently the
Truckee-Carson Irrigation DistrictThe Truckee-Carson Irrigation District is a political subdivision of the State of Nevada, which operates dams at Lake Tahoe, on the Truckee River and Lake Lahontan as well as of canals and of drains in support of agriculture in Lyon County and Churchill County.Diversion of water by the TCID from...
supervises the diversion of approximately one-third of the river flow at the
Derby DamDerby Dam is a diversion dam on the Truckee River, located between Reno and Fernley in Storey and Washoe counties in the U.S. state of Nevada. It diverts water that would otherwise feed Pyramid Lake into the Carson River watershed for irrigation use...
to the
Lahontan ValleyThe Lahontan Valley and the Carson Sink playa/slough form the central portion of the lakebed of the prehistoric Lake Lahontan of Nevada, which existed at the end of the last ice age, between 20,000 and 9,000 years ago....
to irrigate alfalfa and pastures. Its water is also supplied to the resort communities surrounding Lake Tahoe, the greater metropolitan area of Reno and Sparks, and the Pyramid Lake
PaiutePaiute refers to two related groups of Native Americans — the Northern Paiute of California, Nevada and Oregon, and the Southern Paiute of Arizona, southeastern California and Nevada, and Utah...
Indian Reservation. The
U.S. Fish and Wildlife ServiceThe United States Fish and Wildlife Service is the unit of the U.S. Department of the Interior dedicated to the management and preservation of wildlife.Units within the FWS include:* National Wildlife Refuge System* * Federal Duck Stamp...
uses some of the water to induce
spawningSpawning is the production or depositing of large quantities of eggs in water. The process is done by aquatic animals such as amphibians and fish.- Types of egg-layers :*egg scatterers*nest builders*egg hangers*mouth breeders*egg buriers...
of the endangered fish
cui-uiThe cui-ui, Chasmistes cujus, is a large sucker fish endemic to Pyramid Lake and, previous to its dessication in the Twentieth Century, Winnemucca Lake in northwestern Nevada. It feeds primarily on zooplankton and possibly on nanoplankton...
and to provide drought relief. The river is heavily used for recreation, including whitewater rafting and
fly fishingFly fishing is a distinct and ancient angling method, most renowned as a method for catching trout and salmon, but employed today for a wide variety of species including pike, bass, panfish, grayling and carp, as well as marine species, such as redfish, snook, tarpon, bonefish and striped bass...
. A common rafting run is the River Ranch Run. Starting from the outlet gates at Lake Tahoe stretching about , the run ends at the River Ranch Restaurant. These rapids are almost all class 1 and class 2. This is also the main run for commercial rafting companies, like the Truckee River Raft Company which has been running the river since 1973 and is the original rafting company. In
Reno-Places:United States*Reno, Nevada*Reno, Indiana*Reno, Ohio*Reno, Pennsylvania*Reno, Lamar County, Texas*Reno, Parker County, Texas*Reno County, Kansas*Reno Township, Michigan*Reno Township, MinnesotaCanada*Reno No...
, many people use it for
kayakingA kayak is a small human-powered boat. It typically has a covered deck, and a cockpit covered by a spraydeck also known as a skirt. The kayak was used by the native Ainu, Aleut and Eskimo hunters in sub-Arctic regions of northeastern Asia, North America and Greenland. It historically was, and...
.
Hydrology and water quality
Because of the endangered species present and because the Lake Tahoe Basin comprises the headwaters of the Truckee River, the river has been the focus of several water quality investigations, the most detailed starting in the mid-1980s. Under direction of the
U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyThe U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is an agency of the federal government of the United States charged to regulate chemicals and protect human health by safeguarding the natural environment: air, water, and land...
, a comprehensive dynamic hydrology transport model was developed by Earth Metrics Inc. The model's name was subsequently changed to
DSSAMThe DSSAM Model is a computer simulation developed for the Truckee River to analyze water quality impacts from land use and wastewater management decisions in the Truckee River Basin, an area which include the cities of Reno and Sparks, Nevada as well as the Lake Tahoe Basin...
, and it was applied to analyze land use and wastewater management decisions throughout the Truckee River Basin of and to provide guidance in other U.S. river basins. Analytes addressed included
nitrogenNitrogen is a chemical element that has the symbol N and atomic number 7 and atomic mass 14.00674 u. Elemental nitrogen is a colorless, odorless, tasteless and mostly inert diatomic gas at standard conditions, constituting 78% by volume of Earth's atmosphere.Many industrially important...
, reactive
phosphateA phosphate, an inorganic chemical, is a salt of phosphoric acid. In organic chemistry, a phosphate, or organophosphate, is an ester of phosphoric acid. Organic phosphates are important in biochemistry and biogeochemistry or ecology. Inorganic phosphates are mined to obtain phosphorus for use in...
, dissolved oxygen,
total dissolved solidsTotal Dissolved Solids is an expression for the combined content of all inorganic and organic substances contained in a liquid which are present in a molecular, ionized or micro-granular suspended form. Generally the operational definition is that the solids must be small enough to survive...
and nine other parameters. Based upon use of the model, some decisions have been influenced to enhance riverine quality and aid the viability of associated
biotaBiota may refer to:* Biota , the plant and animal life of a region* Biota , a superdomain in taxonomy* Biota , an evergreen coniferous tree, Platycladus orientalis* Biota , an avant-prog band from Colorado, USA...
. Impacts upon the receiving waters of Pyramid Lake were also analyzed.
Darcy Farrow
"Darcy Farrow," a folk song written by
Steve GilletteSince their marriage in 1989, Steve Gillette and Cindy Mangsen have been traveling, performing and recording together. Their album Live In Concert, recorded at The Ark in Ann Arbor in 1991, is available from their own company, Compass Rose Music. A second duet album, The Light Of The Day, was named...
and Tom Campbell mentions the Truckee River and other landmarks and places in the area (including Yerington, the Carson Valley, and
Virginia CityVirginia City is a city located in Storey County, Nevada.Virginia City may also refer to:* Virginia City, Montana* Virginia City, Nevada* Virginia City, Virginia* Virginia City , a 1940 film starring Errol Flynn...
). The most popular version was performed by
John DenverJohn Denver was an American country music/folk singer-songwriter and folk rock musician. He was one of the most popular acoustic artists of the 1970s in terms of record sales, recording and releasing around 300 songs, of which about 200 were composed by him. He was named Poet Laureate of Colorado...
.
See also
External links