North Fork Feather River
The North Fork Feather River is a watercourse of the northern Sierra Nevada in the U.S. state of California. It flows generally southwards from its headwaters near Lassen Peak to Lake Oroville, a reservoir formed by Oroville Dam in the foothills of the Sierra, where it runs into the Feather River. The river drains about of the western slope of the Sierras. By discharge, it is the largest tributary of the Feather.
It rises at the confluence of Rice Creek and a smaller unnamed stream in the southern part of the Lassen Volcanic National Park. The river flows east, receiving Warner Creek from the left, and passes the town of Chester. It then empties into Lake Almanor, which is formed by the Canyon Dam. After leaving the dam the river cuts south into a gorge, and turns southwest to receive Butt Creek from the right. The East Branch North Fork Feather River, the North Fork's largest tributary, comes in from the left near Belden, where the river is impounded again at the Rock Creek Dam. It then flows southwards, through several hydroelectric dams, into the north arm of Lake Oroville.
The fork's portion of the Feather River Canyon is notable as part of the Feather River Route, and the railroad's North Fork Bridge near the river's mouth is the longest reinforced concrete bridge in the US.
The North Fork is heavily developed for hydroelectricity generation and is impounded by five dams, as part of three hydroelectric projects – the Upper North Fork Feather River Project, the Rock Creek-Cresta Hydroelectric Project and the Poe Hydroelectric Project. The system is so extensive that it has been dubbed the "Stairway of Power".
, > in Warner Creek, and > in the North Fork to Lake Oroville's northern arm.
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Watershed
The North Fork Feather Watershed extends from the North Fork headwaters south-southwest to the Lower Feather Watershed. The headwaters are in the Shasta Cascades and the northern Sierras along the Pit River and Eagle-Honey watersheds. The drainage divide for the headwaters begins in Shasta County at the Lassen Peak quadruple watershed point of East Sulpher Creek, Manzanita Creek, Lost Creek, and Kings Creek. The headwater divide to Lassen County, then to the Great Basin Divide triple point of the Feather, Pit, and Susan Rivers. The divide arcs southeast to Pegleg Mountain and along of the Sierra Crest to the triple point with the East Branch North Fork Feather River on the east slope of Indicator Peak. Downstream of Shasta and Lassen counties, the majority of the North Fork Feather Watershed area is in Plumas County. The west divide of the watershed is along the , southward to the West Branch Feather River triple point. The southeast divide of the North Fork Feather Watershed is the watershed of the East Branch to the triple point with the Middle Fork Feather River.The lowest elevations of the North Fork Feather Watershed are in Butte County, with the emergency weir crest at and, at average storage capacity, the Lake Oroville level of .
| description | coordinates | |
| headpoint | summit SSE of Mount Helen | |
| Rice Creek | confluence, headwaters w/ Rice Cr | |
| Rice Creek | inflow to Crumbaugh Lake | 40.447829 121.488361 |
| Rice Creek | border, Shasta/Plumas counties | |
| Rice Creek | border, Stump Ranch Marsh Area | |
| Rice Creek | confluence, South Arm Rice Creek | |
| North Fork | source, North Fork | |
| North Fork | confluence, flow from :File:BuzzardSprings.jpg|Buzzard Sprs | 40.354884 121.366396 |
| North Fork | confluence, Warner Creek | 40.333133 121.306529 |
| North Fork | diversion channel W of Lake Almanor | 40.302538 121.263914 |
| North Fork | road, CA 36 N of Chester | 40.310753 121.228638 |
| North Fork | inflow to Lake Almanor | 40.303225 121.212373 |
| North Fork | Canyon Dam | 40.174578 121.087017 |
| North Fork | confluence, Bear Creek | 40.107487 121.080408 |
| North Fork | dam, Belden ForeBay | 40.076167 121.160789 |
| North Fork | confluence, Mosquito Creek | 40.060731 121.200657 |
| North Fork in Feather River Canyon | confluence, East Branch | |
| North Fork in Feather River Canyon | confluence, Indian Creek | 40.005068 121.264 |
| North Fork in Feather River Canyon | dam, Rock Creek Reservoir | 39.986919 121.28314 |
| North Fork in Feather River Canyon | confluence, Rock Creek | 39.899959 121.359487 |
| North Fork in Feather River Canyon | confluence, Jackass Creek | 39.937283 121.316013 |
| North Fork in Feather River Canyon | road, Rock Creek Camp | 39.925535 121.316013 |
| North Fork in Feather River Canyon | road, CA 70 | 39.918031 121.321507 |
| North Fork in Feather River Canyon | confluence, Bucks Creek | 39.91418 121.326742 |
| North Fork in Feather River Canyon | dam, Cresta Reservoir | 39.876118 121.373477 |
| North Fork in Feather River Canyon | confluence, Mill Creek | 39.805008 121.440425 |
| North Fork in Feather River Canyon | confluence, Flea Valley Creek | 39.802107 121.446948 |
| North Fork | road, 1932 arch bridge | 39.79482 121.451669 |
| North Fork | railroad, trestles S of CA 70 | 39.7948 121.451669 |
| North Fork | dam, Poe Reservoir | |
| North Fork | border, Plumas/Butte counties | |
| North Fork | mouth, North Fork | |
| Lake Oroville, Main Basin | intake, Hyatt powerplant | |
| Oroville Dam | road on crest | |
| Oroville Dam | ||
| Oroville Dam | diversion, Palermo Canal | |
| Oroville Dam | road, Oro Powerhouse | |
| Feather River | source, downstream of dam | |
| Feather River | former community, Quartz | |
| Feather River | confluence, Oroville Spillway |