SAN JOAQUIN RIVER

river in central California, U.S. It is formed by forks rising in the Sierra Nevada and flows southwest and then north-northwest past Stockton to join the Sacramento River above Suisun Bay after a course of 350 miles (560 km). It is dammed for hydroelectric power (impounded thereby are Florence, Shaver, and Huntington lakes). Its valley is the southern part of the Central Valley and is one of the most productive agricultural regions in the United States.