Largest rivers in California by average flow
Active USGS stream gauges in California, ranked by average flow. The Sacramento River A Freeport CA gauge leads with 22,225 cfs.
| Rank | Name | Average flow |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sacramento River A Freeport CA | 22,225 cfs |
| 2 | Sacramento River A Verona CA | 18,381 cfs |
| 3 | Klamath River near Klamath CA | 14,697 cfs |
| 4 | Sacramento River above Bend Bridge near Red Bluff CA | 10,606 cfs |
| 5 | Sacramento River A Colusa CA | 10,319 cfs |
| 6 | Sacramento River below Wilkins Slough near Grimes CA | 9,757 cfs |
| 7 | Sacramento River A Keswick CA | 8,583 cfs |
| 8 | Colorado River below Palo Verde Dam, Az-Ca | 7,740 cfs |
| 9 | Klamath River A Orleans | 7,035 cfs |
| 10 | Eel River A Scotia CA | 4,763 cfs |
| 11 | Trinity River A Hoopa CA | 4,276 cfs |
| 12 | San Joaquin River near Vernalis CA | 4,221 cfs |
| 13 | Klamath River near Seiad Valley CA | 3,385 cfs |
| 14 | American River A Fair Oaks CA | 3,203 cfs |
| 15 | Yolo Bypass near Woodland CA | 3,011 cfs |
| 16 | Eel River A Fort Seward CA | 2,963 cfs |
| 17 | Smith River near Crescent City CA | 2,679 cfs |
| 18 | Yuba River near Marysville CA | 2,006 cfs |
| 19 | San Joaquin River near Newman CA | 1,857 cfs |
| 20 | San Joaquin River near Crows Landing CA | 1,829 cfs |
| 21 | Colorado River below Yuma Main Canal Ww at Yuma, AZ | 1,817 cfs |
| 21 | Klamath River below Iron Gate Dam CA | 1,817 cfs |
| 23 | Trinity River near Burnt Ranch CA | 1,776 cfs |
| 24 | Pit River below Pit No 1 Ph near Fall River Mills CA | 1,712 cfs |
| 25 | Salmon River A Somes Bar CA | 1,518 cfs |
| 26 | Russian River A Hacienda Bridge near Guerneville CA | 1,416 cfs |
| 27 | Tuolumne River A Modesto CA | 1,271 cfs |
| 28 | Colorado River below Laguna Dam, Az-Ca | 1,258 cfs |
| 29 | Trinity River above North Fork Trinity River near Helena CA | 1,236 cfs |
| 30 | San Joaquin River below Friant CA | 1,230 cfs |
How the Average flow figures spread in California
- The ranking covers the 420 gauges in California that have a recorded average flow in this dataset.
- The highest is Sacramento River A Freeport CA at 22,225 cfs; the lowest is North Fork Kings River A 24Th Ave Br near Lemoore CA at 0.0 cfs.
- The median average flow is 28.6 cfs.
- The gap between #1 Sacramento River A Freeport CA and #2 Sacramento River A Verona CA is 3,844 cfs.
- The page table lists the top 30.
Data: U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) (public domain, U.S. federal data).· Updated 2026-11-02 · Text generated from the data and checked against it.
Live values are provisional USGS data. Measurements only, not a safety assessment — for flood warnings see the National Weather Service.