Canyon Creek is a major tributary of the South Yuba River in the Sierra Nevada mountain range.
It begins at Baltimore Lake at an elevation of 7,184 feet, roughly 10.8 miles west-northwest of Donner Pass in the Tahoe National Forest in Nevada County, California.
After flowing 1.2 miles to the northwest below the dam, Canyon Creek enters its second man-made reservoir — Faucherie Lake.
Canyon Creek then proceeds to plunge nearly 3,000 feet in elevation in just 9.1 miles through a steep canyon before its mouth at the South Yuba River at an elevation of 2,800 feet just 2.6 miles due east of the town of Washington, California.
[1] A 2.4 mile Class IV to V run begins at an old bridge site on Arctic Mine Road and treks southwest until its confluence with the South Yuba.