Bishop Creek is a 10.1-mile-long (16.3 km)[1] stream in Inyo County, California. It is the largest tributary of the Owens River. It has five hydroelectric plants owned by Southern California Edison, Bishop Creek #2–6. Bishop Creek #1 was never completed. Parts of the creek run through pipelines, or penstocks, to increase output at the power plants.
| Bishop Creek | |
|---|---|
 North Fork Bishop Creek in the Fall | |
 | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • coordinates | 37°15′57″N 118°34′41″W / 37.26583°N 118.57806°W |
| • elevation | 7,400 feet (2,300 m) |
| Mouth | |
• location | Owens River |
• elevation | 4,482 feet (1,366 m) |
| Discharge | |
| • average | 95 cubic feet per second (2.7 m3/s) |
- Bishop Creek is also a dated variant of Baxter Creek in Richmond/El Cerrito, California
Geography
editBishop Creek has three forks, North, Middle and South. All have their headwaters in the eastern Sierra Nevada, near the border with Fresno County. The forks all flow into lakes while still at high elevations. The North Fork flows into North Lake, the Middle Fork flows into Lake Sabrina. The North and Middle forks combine above and flow through the community of Aspendell and below it the combined creeks are dammed at Intake Two, a reservoir. The South Fork flows into South Lake and continues through the community of South Fork (aka Habegger's) and then joins the Middle Fork below the Intake Two reservoir. Bishop Creek then begins its steep descent to the Owens Valley. The creek runs roughly North then Northeast and then continues East, flowing past the city of Bishop before its confluence with the Owens River.
History
edit
The creek was named after Owens Valley settler Samuel Addison Bishop.[2]
Hurricane Olivia
editIn 1982, a dam burst in the Sierra Nevada mountains, causing 6 inches (152.4 mm) of water to enter into Bishop Creek. Up to 1,400 residents were evacuated from their homes into the nearby town of Bishop, California.[3][4]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map Archived 2012-03-29 at the Wayback Machine, accessed March 17, 2011
- ^ Browning, Peter (2005). Yosemite Place Names: The Historic Background of Geographic Names in Yosemite National Park. Great West Books. p. 13. ISBN 978-0-94422-019-1.
- ^ United Press International (September 27, 1982). "Twisters Twirl East, Floods Awash West". The Daily Herald. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
- ^ John Kendall, Cathleen Decker (September 27, 1982). "8 Big Pine Homes Lost In Sierra Flood". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 30, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
External links
edit
Media related to Bishop Creek (category) at Wikimedia Commons- "Bishop Creek". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
- United States Geological Survey
- Mono Basin Clearinghouse
37°18′18″N 118°31′53″W / 37.304918°N 118.531494°W
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