Pit River
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The Pit River is a tributary of the Sacramento River, approximately 110 mi (176 km) long, in northeastern California in the United States. The longest tributary of the Sacramento, it drains an area sparsely-populated volcanic highlands area, passing through the south end of the Cascade Range in a spectacular canyon northeast of Redding.
Description
It rises in several forks in Modoc County in the northeastern corner of California, west of the Warner Mountains. The South Fork (40 mi/64 km long) is formed from the confluence of several creeks in the Jess Valley 10 mi (16 km) northeats of Madeline and flows west through a narrow canyon, then generally through a broad ranching valley, where its waters are diverted for irrigation in an extensive system of canals. The North Fork (20 mi/32 km) is formed by the confluence of several creeks 5 mi (8 km) south of Goose Lake. It flows generally SSW, joining the South Fork from the north at Alturas.
The combined river flows WSW in a winding course across Modoc County, past Canby and through the Modoc National Forest in a narrow gorge. It turns south to flow into northern Lassen County, past Bieber to emerge into the Big Valley, a ranching region. North of Little Valley it runs east into northeastern Shasta County, passing through the Cascades in a serpentine narrow canyon in the Shasta National Forest. It flows past Fall River Mills and joins the Sacramento as the eastern arm of the Shasta Lake reservoir, approximately 15 mi (24 km) north of Redding. The lower 15 mi (24 km) of the river now forms part of Lake Shasta, which is formed by Shasta Dam on the Sacramento downstream from the original confluence.
At the end of the last ice age the Pit provided the drainage for Goose Lake. In the late 19th century the area of the river was the setting for the Modoc War. The river is a popular destination for fly fishing in its lower reaches in the Cascades.