Walker River (Nevada)
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The Walker River is a river in west central Nevada in the United States, approximately 50 mi (80 km) long. It drains an arid portion of the Great Basin southeast of Reno, with a watershed that extends into the Sierra Nevada mountains. It flows within an enclosed basin, providing the principal inflow of Walker Lake.
It is formed in southern Lyon County, 7 mi (11 km) south of Yerington, by the confluence of the East Walker and West Walker rivers, both of which descend from snowmelt in the Sierras along the California-Nevada border. It flows initially north past Yerington into central Lyon County, where it turns sharply to the southeast, flowing through the Walker River Indian Reservation past Schurz. It enters the northern end of Walker Lake, along the east side of the Wassuk Range, approximately 20 mi (32 km) NNW of Hawthorne.
Most the streamflow is consumed by irrigation before reaching Walker Lake. The diversions have caused the level of Walker lake to drop by 140 ft (42 m) between 1882 and 1994.
