South Fork Eel River

The South Fork Eel River is the largest tributary of the Eel River in north-central California in the United States. The river flows 105 miles north from Laytonville to Dyerville/Founders' Grove where it joins the Eel River. The South Fork drains a long and narrow portion of the Coast Range of California in parts of Mendocino and Humboldt counties. U.S. Route 101 follows the river for much of its length.The Kai Pomo, a branch of the Pomo people, once lived in the upper portion of the watershed. Before industrial development in the 1800s, many native tribes relied on the river's abundant runs of salmon and steelhead. In the 1920s, a private company built the Benbow Dam, blocking fish migration to a large area of the basin.The South Fork is designated as a National Wild and Scenic River from the confluence of Section Four Creek to the mouth.