South Yuba River

The 65.0-mile-long (104.6 km) [3] South Yuba River is a left-entering tributary of the Yuba River originating in the northern Sierra Nevada at Lake Angela in Nevada County about three quarters of a mile north of Donner Pass, about three miles east of the town of Soda Springs. After passing through Lake Van Norden with Upper Castle Creek (longer than the Lake Angela stem) entering from the right, it gathers numerous snow-fed tributaries running west through a marshy, lake-filled valley, criss-crossing Interstate 80. The river briefly enters Placer County, then flows into Lake Spaulding, then plunges westward into a steep-sided valley. Canyon Creek enters from the right, then Poorman Creek also from the right near the town of Washington. The river continues west into the foothills, crossing under State Route 49. Its mouth is on the east shore of upper Englebright Lake, formed by a dam across the Yuba River.[4]

South Yuba River South Fork
View of South Yuba from N Bloomfield Road Nevada City, CA
Location
Country	United States
State	California
Region	Upper Yuba Watershed
Physical characteristics
Source	Lake Angela[1]
• location	Tahoe National Forest
Mouth	Englebright Lake
• location	Yuba River
Length	65 mi (105 km), east-west
Basin size	340 sq mi (880 km2)
Discharge
• location	near Jones Bar
• average	454 cu ft/s (12.9 m3/s)
• minimum	1 cu ft/s (0.028 m3/s)
• maximum	53,600 cu ft/s (1,520 m3/s)
Namesakes: South Yuba River State Park South Yuba River Citizens League[2]

High water in the South Yuba River at the old CA-49 bridge, 8 January 2017

The California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment has issued a safe eating advisory for any fish caught in South Yuba River due to elevated levels of mercury and PCBs.[5]