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New River (Trinity River tributary)

tributary of the Trinity River in northern California

Architectural plans, a scale model, maps and brass measuring instruments
Places and architectureInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionAug 19, 2026
Entity authorityQ16977842 ↗
Source-derived summary

The New River (Chimariko: tcolīdasum, Hupa: yiduqi-nilin, Karuk: akráah kumásaamvaroo) is a 21.4-mile-long (34.4 km) tributary of the Trinity River in northern California. The river was named by miners during the California Gold Rush in the early 1850s. While prospecting west from earlier diggings on the upper Trinity River, they named the river due to it being a "new" place to search for gold.

Geography

The New River originates in the Salmon Mountains at the confluence of Virgin Creek and Slide Creek, in the western part of the Shasta-Trinity National Forest. The river initially runs south, until the confluence with the East Fork New River, where it turns southwest. It then receives Quimby Creek and passes Denny, one of several small communities originally established by Gold Rush miners. It turns south at the confluence with China Creek, then receives Big Creek at Hoboken, from where it flows southwest to join the Trinity River about 2.5 miles (4.0 km) north of Burnt Ranch. The New River drains about 225 square miles (580 km2) of rugged mountains and forests; almost 70 percent of the watershed is in the Trinity Alps Wilderness.

History

New River had a rich history of Native Americans. The Chimariko lived along its lower reaches until they were forced from their homes by White prospectors and absorbed by the Tsnungwe, including the tł'oh-mitah-xwe.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “New River (Trinity River tributary)” as tributary of the Trinity River in northern California. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around River, Trinity and tributary.

Editorial reviewA strong orientation record where physical form, institutional use and historical geography need to be read together. The current 224-word lead offers orientation but no explicit four-digit date, so chronology should not be assumed. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with River, Trinity and tributary providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “New River (Trinity River tributary)”, the useful work is to connect “tributary of the Trinity River in northern California” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 19, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q16977842. Authority coordinates are 40.846, -123.480. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.

Critical limits

Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.

Best used for
  • Historic place names
  • Jurisdictional context
  • Routes into maps and plans
Verify next

Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “New River (Trinity River tributary)”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow New River (Trinity River tributary) primary sources, New River (Trinity River tributary) archive and River research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “New River (Trinity River tributary)”?
  2. What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
  3. Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “New River (Trinity River tributary)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.