The McCloud River is a long river that flows east of and parallel to the upper Sacramento River, in Siskiyou County and Shasta County in northern California in the United States. Protected under California's Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (1972), it drains a scenic mountainous area of the Cascade Range, including part of Mount Shasta. It is a tributary of the Pit River, which in turn flows into the Sacramento River. The three rivers join in Shasta Lake, formed by Shasta Dam north of Redding. History The river was originally known as the "McLeod River", after the Hudson's Bay Company hunter and trapper Alexander Roderick McLeod who explored it during the winter of 1829-1830. By the 1860s, the spelling "McCloud" was widely used, likely because that was the conventional American spelling of the Scottish name, and perhaps in part to honor California pioneer Ross McCloud, who settled there in 1855. Geography The McCloud River watershed drains . It rises from several spring-fed streams in Colby Meadows in the Cascades approximately southeast of Mount Shasta in Siskiyou County. It flows initially west, passing south of Mount Shasta and receiving streams that drain the southern slope of the peak. East of McCloud it forms a series of waterfalls which tumble over basaltic lava flows, known collectively as the McCloud River Falls or Falls of the McCloud River. Below the falls the river flows generally south-southwest through the Lake McCloud reservoir and through a deep canyon in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest. It joins Shasta Lake, formed by the Shasta Dam, approximately north of Redding, with the lower of the river forming the middle arm of the lake. The McCloud arm joins the Pit River arm just east of the Pit River Bridge on Interstate 5, north of the city of Shasta Lake. Major tributaries to the Upper McCloud River include Mud and Tate Creeks (plus Big Springs). Squaw Valley, Hawkins, Claiborne, and Chatterdown Creeks are the major tributaries to the McCloud River below McCloud Reservoir. River modifications The river is dammed at McCloud River Dam, to provide water for the McCloud-Pit Hydroelectric Project. The McCloud Tunnel diverts water from the McCloud River east to Iron Canyon Reservoir; the water is discharged into the Pit River at James B. Black Powerhouse. Further downstream, the diverted water boosts power generation at Pit 6 and Pit 7 Dams before flowing into Shasta Lake. The overall generating