California Aqueduct
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The California Aqueduct is an artificial concrete-lined water transport channel. It is the main water transport structure of the California State Water Project and at nearly 450 miles in length, it is the longest river in California.
It moves water from Northern California to Southern California. It begins at the Sacramento River Delta, carries water south through the Central Valley where it often parallels Interstate 5, and then is pumped up 2,000 feet to cross the Tehachapi Mountains.
At this point it divides into two branches. The east branch feeds Lake Perris in Riverside County, while the west branch heads toward Castaic Lake in the Angeles National Forest.
Sizes of channels vary along the aqueduct, a typical section has a concrete-lined channel 40 feet wide at the base. The water averages about 30 feet deep.
Water flows through the aqueduct in a series of abrupt rises and gradual falls. The water flows down a long segment, built at a slight grade, and arrives at a pumping station. The pumping station raises the water, where it again gradually flows downhill to the next station. The inital pumping station fed by the Sacramento River Delta raises the water 240 feet, while a series of pumps culminating at the Edmonston Pumping Station raises the water 2,000 feet to cross the Tehachapi Mountains.