A delta of 33,000 acres (13,355 ha) is formed by the Eel River, which starts at an elevation of 6,245 feet (1,903 m) on the southern flank of Bald Mountain in Mendocino National Forest and flows generally northwest for 196 miles (315 km) draining a watershed of 2,357,761 acres (954,152 ha) in the California Coast Ranges, about 13 miles (21 km) south-southwest of Eureka and 5 miles (8 km) northwest of Ferndale, California.