Oso Creek
Oso Creek | |
---|---|
USA | |
State | California |
Region | Orange County, Riverside County |
Physical characteristics | |
Source | Oso Creek Canyon, Santa Ana Mountains |
• coordinates | 33°40′31″N 117°36′28″W / 33.67528°N 117.60778°W |
• elevation | 1,287 ft (392 m) |
Trabuco Creek | |
• average | 33 cu ft/s (0.93 m3/s) |
• maximum | 5,710 cu ft/s (162 m3/s) |
Discharge | |
• location | Galivan Basin |
• average | 0 cu ft/s (0 m3/s) |
Oso Creek is an approximately 13.5-mile (21.7 km) tributary of Arroyo Trabuco in southern Orange County in the U.S. state of California.[1] Draining about 20 square miles (52 km2) in a region north of the San Joaquin Hills and south of the Santa Ana Mountains, the creek is Trabuco Creek's largest tributary, and is part of the San Juan Creek drainage basin. Beginning in the foothills of the Santa Ana Mountains near the city of Mission Viejo, the creek is dammed twice to form Upper Oso Reservoir and Lake Mission Viejo. The creek is channelized and polluted along much of its length.
"Oso", meaning
Course
The original headwaters of Oso Creek were in a small canyon in the south-central part of the Santa Ana Mountains. A dam was built across this canyon, flooding it to create
Downstream of the artificial lake, Oso Creek flows through a golf course, then after flowing through another narrow canyon, receives an unnamed tributary from the left, 10.5 miles (16.9 km) from the mouth. It then bends slightly to flow southwest and enters a culvert under Marguerite Parkway, emptying into another golf course, 8 miles (13 km) from the mouth. The creek then crosses under Interstate 5 and flows between the highway and Camino Capistrano through a series of freshwater marshes. The La Paz Channel, its largest tributary, joins here on the right. It passes the Galivan Basin, which functions to capture floodwaters from Oso Creek, on the right bank, and receives from the right a second unnamed tributary, 7.5 miles (12.1 km) from the mouth. This tributary actually flows through the Galivan Basin before meeting Oso Creek.[2][3][4]
The creek then bends southwest around several shopping centers near the convergence of Interstate 5 and
Watershed
Occupying the west and northwest portions of the San Juan Creek watershed, the 25-square-mile (65 km2) Oso Creek watershed comprises about 18% of the 133-square-mile (340 km2) San Juan Creek watershed. It includes parts of the cities of
The southernmost portions of the San Joaquin Hills lie to the west and southwest of the Oso Creek watershed, and the Santa Ana Mountains border it to the north and northeast. The drainage divide between Oso Creek and the Aliso Creek watershed is quite pronounced, connecting the San Joaquin Hills to the Santa Ana Mountains in a northeasterly direction.[4]
Pollution and floods
The creek was formerly
Erosion problems
In 1991, the continuing erosion along Oso Creek, due to upstream development, had carved a 50-foot (15 m) deep canyon from a creek channel that originally "was about 6 feet deep and 6 feet wide".[7] The canyon was threatening to swallow large portions of citrus groves. It begins less than 1 mile (1.6 km) downstream of the Interstate 5/California State Route 73 interchange, where Oso Creek spills out of its concrete channel onto bare ground, and continues downstream to where the creek meets Trabuco Creek.[7]
In early 1993, severe storm erosion damage along Oso Creek threatened sewer lines and a church.
Streamflow
The
Recreation
The Oso Creek Trail follows the creek for a notable portion of its length, and is said to be the "backbone" of the trail system of the
The trail, however, does not extend to the creek's mouth, as the creek flows through privately owned farmland to its mouth.References
- ^ "Oso Creek". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. January 19, 1981. Retrieved June 10, 2009.
- ^ U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. www.ocwatersheds.com. Archived from the original(PDF) on March 13, 2006. Retrieved June 10, 2009.
- ^ a b c Map of Oso Creek (Map). Cartography by NAVTEQ. Google Maps. 2009. Retrieved August 19, 2009.
- ^ a b c d "San Juan Creek Watershed and Elevation Ranges". Watershed and Coastal Resources Division of Orange County. www.ocwatersheds.com. Archived from the original on May 17, 2008. Retrieved August 19, 2009.
- ^ "Introduction to Watersheds of Orange County, California". Watershed and Coastal Resources Division of Orange County. www.ocwatersheds.com. Archived from the original on August 28, 2009. Retrieved August 19, 2009.
- ^ "Oso Creek/Hydrology". Laguna Niguel Amended Gateway Specific Plan. www.ci.laguna-niguel.ca.us. Retrieved June 10, 2009.
- ^ The Los Angeles Times. articles.latimes.com. Retrieved June 10, 2009.
- The Los Angeles Times. articles.latimes.com. Retrieved June 10, 2009.
- The Los Angeles Times. articles.latimes.com. Retrieved June 10, 2009.
- ^ "Oso Creek (at Crown Valley Parkway near Mission Viejo) Monthly Flow Data". United States Geological Survey. National Water Information System. 1971–1981. Retrieved November 18, 2015.
- ^ "Oso Creek (at Crown Valley Parkway near Mission Viejo) Peak Flow Data". United States Geological Survey. National Water Information System. 1971–1981. Retrieved June 8, 2009.
- ^ Ceja, Miranda (December 22, 2022). "Mountain Lion Spotted Tuesday In South Orange County". Mission Viejo, CA Patch. Retrieved December 24, 2022.
- ^ "Oso Creek Trail". LocalHikes. www.localhikes.com. Retrieved June 10, 2009.
External links
- Oso Creek Trail Map - City of Mission Viejo
- Oso Creek Trail - Google Maps
- Mission Viejo's Oso Creek - Oso Creek Trail - Trails.com