White River (Nevada)

White River
River
250px The White River running through Murphy Meadows near Sunnyside
Country	United States
State	Nevada
Part of	Colorado River Basin
Mouth	Muddy River
The White River (northwest portion of map) is bordered on three sides by endorheic basins of the Great Basin.

The White River is a small and discontinuous 138-mile-long (222 km) river located in southeastern Nevada notable for several endemic species of fish.

Course

The river begins at the Great Basin Divide in the White Pine Range near Ely, where it is fed by snow melt and springs from Currant Mountain. It passes by Preston and Lund, flowing south through the White River Valley more-or-less continuously for about 40 miles. Along the way it receives water from various springs on the slopes of the Grant Range to the west and the Egan Range to the east. It supplies a string of reservoirs in the Sunnyside area, the largest being Adams-McGill Reservoir. State Route 318 runs mostly parallel to the river.

File:2014-07-18 11 20 44 View south along Nevada State Route 318 about 27.2 miles north of U.S. Route 93 in the White River Narrows, Nevada.JPG

The White River Narrows, viewed from southbound State Route 318. The channel is usually dry through this section.

The river channel is dry for some distance, then the water flows again in the Pahranagat Valley for about 30 mi (48 km), from the vicinity of Hiko and Crystal Springs, passing close by Alamo, feeding Upper Pahranagat Lake and the marshes between it and the lower lake (which collectively form the Pahranagat National Wildlife Refuge). The channel continues into Coyote Springs Valley (location of the planned community Coyote Springs), becoming the Pahranagat Wash, which in turn connects to the Muddy River and thence to Lake Mead.

Many of the springs supplying the river are now used for irrigation, and a number of the springs have temperatures over 100 °F (38 °C).

Fish

The White River system features several endemic fish species:

• White River Colorado gila Gila robusta jordani
• White River speckled dace Rhinichthys osculus velifer
• White River spinedace Lepidomeda albivallis. Less than 50 of this endangered fish remained in 1993.
• Pahranagat spinedace Lepidomeda altivelis
• White River springfish Crenichthys baileyi

Also named for the area is the White River mountainsucker (Pantosteus intermedius) subspecies.

External links

• Web-book: White River Valley, Nevada -- Then and Now 1898 to 1980