Millerton forms at sunrise

The San Joaquin River, 330 miles long, is the second-longest river in the U.S. state of California. The average unimpaired runoff of the main stem of the river at Millerton Reservoir (where this photograph was made) is about 1,800,000 acre·ft per year. The San Joaquin and its eight major tributaries drain about 32,000 square miles of California's San Joaquin Valley. Water from the river is used to irrigate 1,500 square miles (3,900 km2) of highly productive farmland on the east side of the Central Valley where 200 kinds of produce are raised.

It originates high in the Sierra Nevada and drains most of the area from the southern border of Yosemite, south to Kings Canyon National Park, making it the second largest river drainage in the state. The San Joaquin River's tributaries include the Stanislaus River, Tuolumne River, Merced River, Calaveras River and Mokelumne River. To read about the much needed and amazing Rivive the San Joaquin program click here