Endangered River: Images of the San Joaquin

San Joaquin

The San Joaquin River flowing near Sacramento, Calif.

Dry San Joaquin

San Joaquin river runs dry — (Image credit: Christopher Beaver, Tales of the San Joaquin)

More than 100 miles (160 kilometers) of the San Joaquin runs dry, according to American Rivers.

Article continues below

California Aquaduct

The California aquaduct. About 80 percent of the state's water diversions go to agriculture.

California Irrigation

An irrigation canal in California. Diversions take more than 70 percent of the San Joaquin's flow, according to American Rivers.

Dry Canal

irrigation canal dry in California — (Image credit: Alison Jones, nowater-nolife.org)

California's current drought is exacerbating water management problems. Here, a dry irrigation canal.

Drying San Joaquin

San joaquin river drying up — (Image credit: Alison Jones, nowater-nolife.org)

The San Joaquin slows to a trickle near San Mateo Road in the Bay Area.

Drying San Joaquin Bed

San Joaquin river drying — (Image credit: Alison Jones, nowater-nolife.org)

A view of the drying San Joaquin riverbed near San Mateo Road.

San Joaquin Diversions

San Joaquin river diversions — (Image credit: Sara Larsen)

Diversions from the San Joaquin River near Stockton, Calif.

San Joaquin and the Bay Delta

san joaquin river and development — (Image credit: Sarah Craig)

The San Joaquin River snakes through development in the Bay Delta region.

Stephanie Pappas is a contributing writer for Live Science, covering topics ranging from geoscience to archaeology to the human brain and behavior. She was previously a senior writer for Live Science but is now a freelancer based in Denver, Colorado, and regularly contributes to Scientific American and The Monitor, the monthly magazine of the American Psychological Association. Stephanie received a bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of South Carolina and a graduate certificate in science communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz.