The Walker River is a river in west central Nevada in the United States, approximately 62 miles (100 km) long. It drains an arid portion of the Great Basin southeast of Reno, with a watershed that extends into the Sierra Nevada mountains. It flows within an enclosed basin, providing the principal inflow of Walker Lake as well as Topaz Lake (West Fork). The river was named for explorer Joseph Reddeford Walker. Its average discharge is about 360 cubic feet per second (10 m3/s).
It is formed in southern Lyon County, 9 mi (11 km) south of Yerington, by the confluence of the East Walker and West Walker rivers, the East Walker is regulated by the Bridgeport Reservoir while the West Walker comes directly from snowmelt. It flows initially north past Yerington into central Lyon County, where it turns sharply to the southeast, flowing through the Walker River Indian Reservation past Schurz. It enters the northern end of Walker Lake, along the east side of the Wassuk Range, approximately 20 mi (32 km) NNW of Hawthorne.
Most of the streamflow is consumed by irrigation before reaching Walker Lake. The diversions have caused the level of Walker lake to drop by 140 ft (42 m) between 1882 and 1994. The eastern branch of the river is one of the last natural trout fisheries in California.
Due to a very heavy snowpack in the winter of 1996/1997 and a very warm spring the west fork of the Walker River flooded to unprecedented levels. Much of Highway 395 for the 30 mile span where it shares a canyon with the river was completely washed away.
Read more about Walker River: Drainage Basin, Ecology
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