Sierra Nevada Airstreams

Destinations

Rye Patch Reservoir State Recreational Area

Campground report – campground photo gallery (photo of reservoir from dam Easter 2005)

A Nevada State Park 116 miles from Reno at exit 129. The Imlay exit 146 at the north end of the reservoir is cited by some as meant to access the lake for free overnight parking. State of Nevada home page for the site Nevada Division of State Parks - Rye Patch State Recreation Area

The upper part of Rye Patch Reservoir is where early immigrants found reasonable livestock grazing after an awful 44 mile trek (worse than the forty mile desert to follow) from the Winnemucca area. It was also a decision point about whether to take the Applegate and Lassen cutoff towards northern California and Oregon or cross the forty mile desert towards the Carson or Truckee rivers.

Rye Patch Reservoir covers some 19 miles of the river and holds 194,300 acre feet when full. This irrigates over 38,000 acres in Lovelock Valley. Nevada Hydrographic Regions—Humboldt River Basin

The Humboldt River is the longest river entirely within Nevada. The Humboldt River originates in the Ruby, East Humboldt, Independence, and Jarbidge Mountains and flows 310 miles westward to terminate in the Humboldt Sink. Higher elevation watersheds north and south of the main stem feed seven tributaries that help sustain flow. A majority of the Humboldt River system water is used for agriculture. There are only a few flow-regulating reservoirs in the basin, the largest (Rye Patch Reservoir) being near the end of the system. Extensive reaches of the lower half of the river lose water to the ground and also evaporation. As a result, late season irrigation water shortages are commonplace throughout much of the area above Rye Patch Reservoir. [Nevada Natural Resources Status Report:]

About I 80 through Nevada and Rye Patch:

The drive from California to Utah on I-80 is over 400 miles; sometimes quite busy compared with other Nevada roads but still less travelled than most interstate highways. The surrounding country is not particularly scenic yet the wide open vistas, the high desert plains and the distant, rugged mountain ranges do have considerable appeal.
…
Rye Patch Reservoir: After Lovelock, I-80 turns almost due north to avoid the Humboldt Mountains and passes the Rye Patch State Recreation Area, centred around a shallow lake formed by damming the Humboldt River, and which is used for fishing, boating and camping. A fee is charged if entered from the south (exit 129), but an unpaved road around the north side (exit 145) affords free access and has several good places to spend the night - enjoying sweeping views across the lake, with the slowly-moving traffic of I-80 and trains on the nearby Central Pacific railway line just discernible a few miles to the south. Other points of interest are several old mine workings, with many specimens of chrysocolla, a striking blue-green mineral. [Nevada - Scenic Drives; Interstate 80]

nice pictutes and weather forecast Recreation.gov

Other links of interest

Oregon California Trails Association, California Nevada Chapter http://canvocta.org/ see also the OCTA chapters list at http://w3.trib.com/~lwisch/chapters.htm

Route 40 - http://www.route40.net/index.shtml

Hastings cuttoff - the Roy Tea Gallery http://www.utahcrossroads.org/G_HR_Tea.htm

The Lincoln Highway Association - http://www.lincolnhighwayassoc.org/

The Victory Highway

National Park Service Historic Trails - http://www.nps.gov/cali/

California national historical trail wagon train - http://www.californiawagontrail.com/

Rye Patch Links: Wildernet - recreation.gov - Nv State Parks - hydrographic data - yahoo – http://www.usbr.gov/dataweb/dams/nv10124.htm http://www.americansouthwest.net/nevada/scenic_drives/ryepatch2_l.html

Visit nearby historic Unionville Nevada

Links: http://www.ghosttowngallery.com/htme/unionville.htm | http://www.literarytraveler.com/marktwain/marktwain.htm (good information) | http://www.ghosttowns.com/states/nv/unionville.html (great pictures) |http://65.40.245.240/ghosts/unville.htm

Links: Wildernet - recreation.gov - Nv State Parks - hydrographic data - yahoo – http://www.usbr.gov/dataweb/dams/nv10124.htm http://www.americansouthwest.net/nevada/scenic_drives/ryepatch2_l.html

Visit nearby historic Unionville Nevada

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note: all photographs on this site are for personal, private, and non-commercial use only. All other copyrights are retained by the individual photographers. See our policy. Disclaimer: any advice or suggestion presented is provided for informational purposes only and is correct and accurate only to the best of our knowledge at the time it was written. Anyone using such information does so at their own risk. Errors or omissions may exist and additional sources of information or appropriately licensed or qualified personnel should be consulted in deciding a course of action. We assume no liability or obligation by providing this information and warn any users of this information that they do so at their own risk. All links or references to commercial vendors or other sources of information and equipment do not intend or imply or convey any endorsement of that source or the product. They are provided strictly for informational purposes to illustrate the topic at hand. Sierra Nevada Airstreams Enjoyment of the whispering winds, the zephyrs, the airstreams of the Sierra Nevada and Great Basin areas of the United States is a personal, nonprofit, noncommercial web site intended for educational and recreational use only. This site is supported by volunteer effort and contributions.

Sierra Nevada Airstreams

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Rye Patch Reservoir State Recreational Area

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TechComm Labs (tm)

copyright 2005 Leipper Management Group. All rights reserved Please address comments or questions to webmaster@leipper.org Last updated 03/29/2005

supporting and using open software

Sierra Nevada Airstreams - photograph policy -