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Rapid CA Class I

Concrete Bridge Riffle

San Joaquin - Friant Dam to Mendota Pool Dam (CA)

Monitor this Rapid
Gauge Conditions
San Joaquin River below Friant CA Upstream Primary
Runnable: 150.0 – 15,000.0 CFS

Good for canoes and beginners.

Data from American Whitewater & USGS
CDEC Flow Data California
SAN JOAQUIN RIVER NFW Primary
Elevation: 5,200 ft
Data from California Data Exchange Center (CDEC)
Photo
Concrete Bridge Riffle
Photo courtesy of American Whitewater
Description

This old bridge serves as a landmark for boaters.   There are many swallow nests underneath this bridge.   Also, there is a lot of driftwood wedged in the girders underneath the left side of the bridge.   The flood of January 1997 was up to this bridge and washed out the roads on either side.  This bridge creates a constriction point that raises the level of the river.  Somewhere above 7,000 cfs the river level gets very close to the underside of the bridge.  If the level gets too close, boaters will have to get far to the side and portage.

This fun riffle starts immediately below the bridge.  The channel drops slightly to the left, sharply to the right, and then swings back to the left.  At low flows of 250 cfs in 2008, the river split around a low gravel bar.  The left channel is safest, as a tree hangs into and blocks most of the right channel. 

Note the erosion of the right bank, below the rapid.  High flows in 2011 removed perhaps ten feet of bank. 

Location
Type
Rapid
Difficulty
Class I
Mile Marker
4.5 mi
Directions
Navigate
View Full Run
Friant Dam to Mendota Pool Dam
San Joaquin
I 61.6 mi
Current Conditions
5-Day Forecast
Whitewater data from
American Whitewater