Carson River

The Carson River (Washo: Watahshemu ) is a northwestern Nevada river that empties into the Carson Sink, an endorheic basin. The main stem of the river is 131 miles (211 km) long.

It rises in two forks in the Sierra Nevada of northern California. The 68-mile-long (109 km) East Fork rises in southern Alpine County, southeast of Markleeville in the Carson-Iceberg Wilderness. The 40-mile-long (64 km) West Fork rises in the Sierras near Carson Pass and flows northeast into Nevada, joining the East Fork. The Carson River then flows north, passing through Carson City, then generally northeast past across Lyon County, past Dayton. In eastern Churchill County it is impounded by the Lahontan Dam to form the Lake Lahontan reservoir for irrigation and hydroelectricity. Downstream from the dam the river flows east past Fallon, then northeast into the Carson Sink.

Archaeological finds place the eastern border for the prehistoric Martis people in the Reno/Carson River area.

In the 1850s and 1860s, the river was used as the route of the Carson Trail, a branch of the California Trail that allowed access to the California gold fields, as well as by the Pony Express. The 1868 Virginia and Truckee Railroad transported ore to the quartz reduction mines along the river. In the early 20th century, the Newlands project was formed to bring irrigation water into the region for agriculture. The Lahontan Dam was constructed as part of the ongoing project. The Truckee-Carson Irrigation District was formed in 1918 as part of the project to divert water from the Truckee River to the Carson Valley for agricultural use.