Carson River Watershed

The Carson River is a lifeline connecting several communities in two states. Its precious water supports our watershed’s environment, economy, and quality of life. It meanders nearly 200 miles, from the snowpack in California’s High Sierra through green alpine meadows, wide valleys, rock-lined canyons, cottonwood galleries, and high-desert sagebrush plateaus to the intermittent lake beds and wetlands in Nevada’s Carson Sink. The river basin’s natural resources have always attracted human settlement, as shown by the rural and urban communities, tribal lands, irrigated agricultural areas, historic sites, parks, and open space and recreation areas the river travels through and near.

A Walk Through the Watershed

Carson River Watershed Map

Water draining from nearly 4,000 square miles of land into the river creates the Carson River Watershed. The river itself is terminal, or endorheic, meaning that it does not flow to an ocean.

Clear Creek Sub-Watershed Map

The Clear Creek Watershed is a 14-square mile area located east of Lake Tahoe and south of Carson City. It begins in the Carson Range near Spooner Summit at 8,780 feet elevation and flows along Highway 50, through the Carson City Fairgrounds and Fuji Park, and into the Carson River, descending nearly 4,000 feet. Clear Creek is a tributary to the Carson River and flows year-round.  Click here for more information.