Little Kern River

Little Kern River
Country	United States
State	California
Source	Great Western Divide
- location	Sequoia National Forest
- elevation	10,603 ft (3,232 m)
- coordinates	36°23′57″N 118°34′19″W / 36.39917°N 118.57194°W / 36.39917; -118.57194 [1]
Mouth	Kern River
- location	Forks of the Kern
- elevation	4,790 ft (1,460 m)
- coordinates	36°08′00″N 118°26′20″W / 36.13333°N 118.43889°W / 36.13333; -118.43889 [1]
Length	24.4 mi (39 km) [2]
Basin	133 sq mi (344 km2) [2]
Discharge	for Quaking Aspen Camp
- average	131 cu ft/s (4 m3/s) [3]
- max	13,100 cu ft/s (371 m3/s)
- min	7.12 cu ft/s (0 m3/s)
Location of the Little Kern River in California

The Little Kern River is a major tributary of the upper Kern River in the Sequoia National Forest, in the southern Sierra Nevada, California. The Little Kern is 24.4 miles (39.3 km) long^[2] and drains approximately 133 square miles (340 km²) of wilderness,^[2] all of it in Tulare County.^[1]

The Little Kern begins at Bullfrog Lakes, in the Golden Trout Wilderness south of Farewell Gap near Mineral King.^[4] It flows south, past Table Meadow and Burnt Corral Meadows, then enters a deep gorge before it joins with the Kern River at Forks of the Kern.^[5] The Little Kern roughly defines the southwest boundary of the Great Western Divide; the confluence with the main Kern (which flows to the east of the range) marks the southernmost tip of the range.^[6] Forks of the Kern is located about 40 miles (64 km) upstream of Lake Isabella.^[6]

References