Salmon Creek (Sonoma County, California)
Salmon Creek | |
---|---|
Location | |
Country | United States |
State | California |
Region | Sonoma County |
Cities | Occidental, Freestone, Bodega, Salmon Creek |
Physical characteristics | |
Source | |
• location | 2 mi (3 km) west of Occidental, California |
• coordinates | 38°23′34″N 122°58′22″W / 38.39278°N 122.97278°W[1] |
• elevation | 800 ft (240 m) |
Mouth | Pacific Ocean |
• location | west of Salmon Creek, California |
• coordinates | 38°21′18″N 123°4′4″W / 38.35500°N 123.06778°W[1] |
• elevation | 0 ft (0 m) |
Basin features | |
Tributaries | |
• right | Nolan Creek, Tannery Creek, Fay Creek, Coleman Valley Creek, Finley Creek |
Salmon Creek is an 18.3-mile-long (29.5 km)[2] stream in western Sonoma County, California that springs from coastal hills west of the town of Occidental and empties into the Pacific Ocean north of Bodega Head.
Course
Salmon Creek originates about 2 miles (3 km) west of the town of
History
When European explorers first reached Salmon Creek, they found it inhabited by Coast Miwok people. Six Coast Miwok villages near the creek have been authenticated: Pulya-lakum, near the mouth of the creek, Kennekono and Suwutenne near the present-day town of Bodega, and three near the present day town of Freestone: Oye-yomi, Pakahuwe, and Patawa-yomi.[3]
In 1843-44, most of the Salmon Creek watershed was included in the 35,000-acre (140 km2) Rancho Bodega land grant awarded to Captain Stephen Smith.[4]
In 1873, the North Pacific Coast Railroad built a narrow-gauge line along the stretch of Salmon Creek between Freestone and Occidental as part of the route from Sausalito to Cazadero.
Ecology
As of 2000, Salmon Creek and its five named tributaries all supported
It is also the only extant location of the nearly extinct
Bridges
At least seven bridges span Salmon Creek. The newest and longest of these is the State Route 1 bridge, which is 200 feet (61 m) long and was built in 1983. Freestone Flat Road crosses on a steel truss 103 feet (31 m) long which was built in 1955, making it the oldest of the seven. Bodega Highway crosses in two places: 0.9 miles (1.4 km) from State Route 1 on a bridge 92 feet (28 m) long built in 1962 and at Valley Ford-Freestone Road on a 76 ft (23 m) bridge built in 1968. Salmon Creek Road spans the creek on a 78 ft (24 m) bridge dating from 1958, Bohemian Highway crosses on a 70 ft (21 m) bridge from 1971, and Scouts Camp Road crosses on a 57 ft (17 m) structure from 1960.[11]
Further reading
- DFG California Department of Fish and Game 1964. Salmon Creek Stream Survey, April 29, 1964 by Weldon Jones
- DFG California Department of Fish and Game 2004. Salmon Creek Stream Survey, September 2004
- USGS BODEGA HEAD Quad, California, Topographic map – 1972
- USGS VALLEY FORD Quad, California, Topographic map – 2009
- USGS CAMP MEEKER Quad, California, Topographic map – 2009
See also
- List of watercourses in the San Francisco Bay Area
- Salmon Creek Middle School
References
- ^ a b c U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Salmon Creek
- ^ U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map, accessed March 9, 2011
- ^ "Miwok Indian Tribe". Access Genealogy. Retrieved 2007-12-04.
- ^ a b Prunuske Chatham, Inc. (2006). "Salmon Creek Estuary: Study Results and Enhancement Recommendations" (PDF). Retrieved 2010-07-03.
- ^ Cox, Bill (2000). "Major Streams in Sonoma County" (PDF). Retrieved 2007-12-04.
- ^ Prunuske Chatham, Inc., Virginia Porter Consulting and Occidental Arts and Ecology Center’s WATER Institute. Salmon Creek Water Conservation Plan (PDF) (Report). Salmon Creek Watershed Council. Retrieved 2010-07-03.
{{cite report}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ISBN 0-559-89342-6. Retrieved Jan 9, 2010.
- ^ Glenn Farris (2006). Visit of Cyrille Pierre-Theodore Laplace to Fort Ross and Bodega Bay in August 1839. Fort Ross Interpretive Association. p. 64.
- ^ "Your Salmon Creek - A Video on the Reintroduction of Coho Salmon into a Sonoma County Coastal Watershed". Occidental Arts and Ecology WATER Institute. Archived from the original on 2021-12-12. Retrieved 2010-07-04.
- ^ "Delphinium bakeri".
- ^ "National Bridge Inventory Database".