Owens

River that rises in the Sierra Nevada, California, USA, and is drained by the Los Angeles Aqueduct (1913) to supply the city with water; length 190 km/120 mi.

Course It rises south of Mono Lake and flows generally south-southeast through the Owens Valley, between the Sierra Nevada and the White and Inyo mountains, to Owens Lake, now a dry bed. The river's water is drained above the lake by the aqueduct, which taps it near Aberdeen; before the aqueduct was built the valley was a fertile farm and orchard area. Lake Crowley (Long Valley Reservoir) is near the Owens's source, in the northwest of the valley.