Stuart Fork Trinity River facts for kids
The Stuart Fork Trinity River is a stream in California, USA. It is also sometimes called Stewart's Fork. This river is about 14 miles (23 km) long. It flows into the Trinity River. The Trinity River is a much larger river in northern California.
The Stuart Fork is a very important stream that adds water to the upper part of the Trinity River. It collects water from an area of about 90 square miles (233 km²).
Where the River Starts
The Stuart Fork Trinity River begins high up in the Trinity Alps. This is a beautiful mountain range in California. The river flows generally towards the southeast.
It eventually flows into Trinity Lake. Trinity Lake is a large lake created by the Trinity Dam. This dam helps to store water. Some smaller streams, like Deer Creek and Hobel Creek, also join the Stuart Fork. The last 4 miles (6.4 km) of the river are actually under the water of Trinity Lake.
A Look Back at History
In the 1850s, the area around the Stuart Fork Trinity River was very important for gold mining. Many companies used to dig for gold here. They used a method called "dredging." This means they used machines to dig up the riverbed to find gold.
If the water levels in Trinity Lake are low, you can still see large piles of rocks. These piles are called "tailings." They are left over from when the mining companies dredged the river. They show where people once searched for gold.
