The New International Encyclopædia/San Joaquin (river)

SAN JOAQUIN. A river of California, draining the southern half of the great central valley between the Coast Range and the Sierra Nevada (Map: California, C 3). It rises in the latter range and flows first southwest to its junction with the intermittent outlet of Tulare Lake, then northwest till it unites with the Sacramento River and enters the Bay of San Francisco, whence its waters flow through the Golden Gate to the Pacific Ocean. The length of the river is about 350 miles. It receives numerous tributaries from the mountains on either side, one of which, the Merced, flows through the famous Yosemite Valley. The San Joaquin is navigable at all seasons to Stockton, 50 miles.