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The Pit River is a major river draining from northeastern California into the state's Central Valley.〔 The Pit, the Klamath and the Columbia are the only three rivers in the U.S. that cross the Cascade Range. The longest tributary of the Sacramento River, it contributes as much as eighty percent of their combined water volume into the Shasta Lake reservoir; the junction of their Shasta Lake arms is northeast of Shasta Dam. The main stem of the Pit River is long,〔 and some water in the system flows to the Sacramento River measuring from the Pit River's longest source. The Pit River drains a sparsely populated volcanic highlands area, passing through the south end of the Cascade Range in a deep canyon northeast of Redding. The river is so named because of the pits the Achumawi dug to trap game that came to water at the river. The river is a popular destination for fly fishing, rafting in its lower reaches, and is used to generate hydroelectricity in the powerhouses below Fall River Mills where the Pit and Fall rivers join, and at Shasta Dam. It is also used extensively for irrigation and conservation purposes. ==Course== The Pit River rises in several forks in Modoc, Lassen and Shasta counties in the northeastern corner of California. The South Fork Pit River - West Valley Creek - Cedar Creek source originates just southeast of Buck Mountain in the Warner Mountains, in the extreme southeastern corner of the Modoc National Forest west of the California–Nevada border. The South Fork is formed from the confluence of several creeks in Jess Valley northeast of Madeline and flows west through a narrow canyon, past Likely, then generally north through a broad ranching valley where its waters are diverted for irrigation and waterfowl conservation via an extensive system of canals. The long North Fork - Linnville Creek tributary begins southeast of the town of Davis Creek, near Goose Lake. It flows generally south-southwest, joining the South Fork from the north near Alturas.〔 The combined river flows west-southwest in a winding course across Modoc County, past Canby and through the Modoc National Forest in the narrow Stonecoal Valley gorge. It turns south to flow past Lookout and into northern Lassen County, past Bieber, to emerge into the ranching region of Big Valley. North of Little Valley it flows into northeast Shasta County and the Shasta National Forest. Then the river reaches Fall River Valley, where it is joined by the Fall River, which is fed by one of the largest freshwater spring systems in the United States. After passing through the town of Fall River Mills, the river drops over Pit River Falls, then enters the head of a long serpentine canyon that cuts through the southern Cascade Range. It then turns south to join the Sacramento River as the eastern arm of Shasta Lake reservoir, approximately north of Redding. Two major tributaries, Squaw Creek and the McCloud River, join the Pit from the north within the lake. The lower of the river forms the longest of the five arms of Shasta Lake, which is formed by Shasta Dam on the Sacramento downstream from the original confluence.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Pit River」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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