3. Chamberlain Falls: Colfax-Iowa Hill Road to Yankee Jims RoadClass IV
4.8 Miles
Avg Gradient 41 fpm
Chamberlain Falls, raft descent
Chamberlain Falls, raft descent Photo by Thomas O'Keefe © taken 2008-05-18 @ 1600 cfs Gauge Information
American, N. Fork
River DescriptionThe North Fork Chamberlain run is a very popular run due to it's proximity to Sacramento, and great class IV white water. At 4.9 miles, it's a fairly short run, but it is stacked with rapids and flows typically December through June in an average year. If you are looking for fun class IV in the winter and sping, this run is perfect. It only takes a little rain to bring the levels up to a boatable level. 300-400 cfs is the bare-bones minimum, 1000-2500 the sweet spot for most boaters, and above 2500 increasingly pushy and difficult. It has been run as high as 20,000+cfs but this is the territory of big water class V boaters only. Be warned. Although this isn't a super hard class IV stretch, it has it's fair share of undercuts, and pin rocks and was the scene of several bad rafting accidents some years ago when rapids were in a somewhat different configuration than now. Due to the fact that it's run so often, it can be easy to underestimate the dangers. Boaters who use this run to jump from class III to IV, should be sure to go with an experienced group of boaters, and to scout and set up proper safety where needed.
For more information, also check out CA Creeks, and Wet State, Holbeck and Stanley, Cassidy and Calhoun.
StreamTeam Status: verified
Last Updated: 2008-06-17 04:49:29
|
You’ve followed a link to a topic that doesn’t exist yet.
If permissions allow (as a AW Member, you may edit River Wiki, for example) you may create it by using the “Create This Page Button” below by hovering your mouse over the edit wrench.
If you don’t see a wrench, you don’t have permission to edit or edit is turned off.
If you don’t know what you are doing click on the sandbox and instructions link off the create page link.
The automated gauge is some miles downstream of the takeout and also includes the sometimes significant input of Shirttail creek after heavy rain and in winter months. Real-time flow information is also available from Dreamflows.com
A stck gauge can also be found under the putin bridge, river right, and readings are often shared on local online forums such as boof.com and dreamflows.com.
Historical data can be found by clicking on the level number above and following links to the usgs home page for this gauge. CDEC also provides information about the Snow water content
NF American R at NF Dam [ CA ] |
Current Conditions
Station Graphs |
| Level Legend: | Running | Below Minimum Recommended Flow | Above Maximum Recommended Flow | Unknown |
| State | River Name/Section | Class | Level | Rel. Level | Updated | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CA | American, N. Fork— 1. Generation Gap: Tadpole Creek to Euchre Bar | IV-V | 26 cfs | low | 9/5 18:15 | |
| CA | American, N. Fork— 2. Giant Gap: Euchre Bar to Colfax-Iowa Hill Road | IV-V | 26 cfs | low | 9/5 18:15 | |
| CA | American, N. Fork— 3. Chamberlain Falls: Colfax-Iowa Hill Road to Yankee Jims Road | IV | 26 cfs | low | 9/5 18:15 | |
| CA | American, N. Fork— 4. Shirtail Run: Yankee Jims Road Bridge to Ponderosa Way Bridge | II-III | 26 cfs | low | 9/5 18:15 |
| AW Gauge ID: | 4688 |
| USGS Station: | 11427000 |
| HUC: | 18020128 |
| Latitude: | 38.9361 |
| Longitude: | -121.0228 |
| Class: | -1 |
No guide books for this stream. If you know of a book that describes this stream please contact and advise the StreamTeam member for this run. No Comments
Add a Comment| Mile | Rapid Name | Class | Features (Legend) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.3 | Slaughter's Sluice | IV |  |
| 0.8 | Chamberlain Falls | IV | |
| 1.1 | Tongue and Groove | IV | |
| 1.6 | Zig Zag | III+ | |
| 2.4 | Achilles' Heel | III+ | |
| 2.7 | Bogus Thunder | IV | |
| 3.0 | Grand Slalom | IV | |
| 3.3 | Staircase | IV | |
| 3.6 | Nose Stand | III | |
| 4.9 | Yankee Jim Bridge |  |
Large hole in the center. Most boaters take the tongue on the left.
Boulder garden
There is a large boulder in the middle of this run that makes the rapid challenging. One can run right down the middle, over a small hole, and down the tongue. You can also cut over to river left and catch a small channel down to the bottom. This rapid changes as the flows rise and fall. Be sure to scout this one.
Pick your way through small drops and waves to set up for the exit chute.
This rapid creates a great traditional spot to go for old school nose stands. It is the scene of many an icecream headache and missed roll in the dead of Winter.
Take out on the beach river left upstream of the bridge
River Alert
State News
River Links
(RSS)
(KML)help
(mobile)
River Info (mobile)
