The San Joaquin Valley is the segment of California’s Great Central Valley south of the city of Sacramento.  It is divided into two parts: the northern section, drained by the San Joaquin River and its tributaries, and the Tulare Basin, in the far southern part of the Valley.

The San Joaquin drains a total of 9% of the state’s runoff water, about 6.4 million acre feet in an average year. There are 5 million acres of irrigated farmlands in the San Joaquin Valley, and valley counties are among the highest in the nation in terms of agricultural revenues. Crops include cotton, corn, grains, grapes, vegetables, orchard fruits, nuts, citrus, and alfalfa.

The San Joaquin, and other rivers of the valley, find their headwaters in the alpine basins of the High Sierra. The headwaters of these rivers are typically protected in designated Wilderness.

Cosumnes River
Headwaters are in the Eldorado National Forest between Highway 50 and Highway 88.

Mokelumne River
Headwaters are in the Mokelumne Wilderness of the Eldorado and Stanislaus National Forests.

Stanislaus River
Headwaters are in the Stanislaus National Forest.

Tuolumne River
Headwaters are in Yosemite National Park and the Stanislaus National Forest. A tributary, the Clavey River, is recommended for Wild and Scenic Designation.

Merced River
Headwaters in the high country of Yosemite National Park; runs through the Stanislaus and Sierra National Forests. Portions are designated Wild and Scenic.

San Joaquin River
Headwaters in the Sierra National Forest. Millerton Lake is a major reservoir, the river dries up completely at some areas below the dam.

The rivers of the Tulare Basin, at the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley, used to drain into a vast inland lake known as Tulare Lake. The lake, however, dried up entirely in a drought between 1928 and 1935.

Kings River
Sierra National Forest, Kings Canyon National Park. Portions designated Wild and Scenic.

Kern River
Sequoia National Forest, Sequoia National Park; portions designated Wild and Scenic.

Tule River
Sequoia National Forest

Kaweah River
Sequoia National Forest