San Mateo Creek (Southern California)
San Mateo Creek San Diego County, Riverside County | |
---|---|
District | Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton |
Physical characteristics | |
Source | canyon on the west face of San Mateo Peak |
• location | Elsinore Mountains, within the Santa Ana Mountains, Cleveland National Forest, Riverside County, California, United States |
• coordinates | 33°37′12″N 117°23′17″W / 33.62000°N 117.38806°W |
• elevation | 2,800 ft (850 m) |
San Clemente[2] | |
• average | 12.1 cu ft/s (0.34 m3/s)[3] |
• minimum | 0 cu ft/s (0 m3/s) |
• maximum | 12,500 cu ft/s (350 m3/s) |
Basin features | |
Tributaries | |
• left | Los Alamos Canyon Creek, Tenaja Canyon Creek, Devil Canyon Creek |
• right | Bluewater Canyon Creek, Nickel Canyon Creek, Cristianitos Creek |
San Mateo Creek is a stream in
One of the least developed watersheds on the South Coast, San Mateo Creek's drainage basin covers 139 square miles (360 km2) in parts of the
The San Mateo Creek watershed includes the subwatersheds of
Course
The 22-mile (35 km)-long San Mateo Creek begins its course in a canyon in the extreme southeastern end of the Santa Ana Mountains, which lie mostly in Riverside County. From there, the creek continues through a steep and narrow gorge for the first part of its course, then a broad and shallower valley for the second part. It receives four major tributaries and many smaller ones on its generally southwest journey to the Pacific Ocean.[5]
San Mateo Creek has its source, at an elevation of 2800 feet,[6] in the canyon on the west face of the unofficially named 3,591 ft. San Mateo Peak,[7] at the western end of the ridge running west then northwest from Elsinore Peak to Morrell Canyon, south and west of the Morrell Potrero in the Elsinore Mountains. From its headwaters south of Lake Elsinore inside the Cleveland National Forest, San Mateo Creek runs southwards through the valley of the old Rancho at the Potrero de la Cienaga which as its name suggests feeds the creek with several springs. The canyon widens and deepens until it is roughly 600 feet (180 m) in depth. After running south for several miles it turns southeast to the Tenaja Falls where it tumbles down to its confluence with Los Alamos Canyon Creek, that comes in from the left. This creek with its tributary Wildhorse Canyon Creek and two unnamed arroyos drain the southern slopes of Elsinore Peak. Another unnamed arroyo drains the western Santa Rosa Plateau and the east slope of the Tenaja Mountain highland and descends to the north to join the creek where it turns to the west.[8]
From its confluence with Los Alamos Canyon Creek, San Mateo Creek turns its course southwest down San Mateo Canyon, cutting a deep arid canyon surrounded by slopes dissected by many side canyons between the Santa Ana and Santa Margarita Mountains.[6][9][10] At river mile (RM) 18 or river kilometer (RK) 28.9, Tenaja Canyon Creek, which flows generally northwest, comes in from the left. Shortly after, at RM 17.5 (RK 28.1) Bluewater Canyon Creek descends from Sitton Peak, to merge with San Mateo Canyon from the right. Nickel Canyon Creek also comes in from the right, descending from the Verdugo Potrero shortly afterward, joining San Mateo Creek just north of the Riverside – San Diego County line.[5][6]
The creek then continues to flow southwards and
San Mateo Creek then crosses under
Geologic history
Geologically the San Mateo Creek watershed is dominated by the
The alluvial deposits originate from the
The rivers eventually eroded to 400 feet (120 m) or so below their previous elevation. When the Wisconsinian period ended, sea level rose, filled these canyons and turned them into long, narrow inlets. Because the heavy rains ceased with the departure of the Wisconsinian, the rivers and streams once again became slow-flowing. Over the course of thousands of years, these calm inlets gradually filled with alluvial sediments, giving them the flat valley floors they have today. Over time, sea level dropped slightly again, allowing the rivers to once again entrench channels into their floodplains, resulting in the broad
Soils
Most of the soils in the San Mateo Creek drainage area are loamy, well-drained and also fertile in the lowlands. In the mountains the soil cover is very shallow and there are many exposed cliffs, large boulders and outcroppings of sedimentary rock.[5] In the lower watershed are sandy or silty loams which have a clay substructure. These soils are classified as highly fertile and there are a few farms on the foothills and the floodplain of the San Mateo Creek watershed.[5]
Watershed
The San Mateo Creek
The upper reaches of the watershed consist primarily of canyons that are 200 to 2,500 feet (61 to 762 m) deep and 0.5 to 1 mile (0.80 to 1.61 km) broad, while the lower watershed is a valley 2.5 to 3 miles (4.0 to 4.8 km) wide and less than 1,000 feet (300 m) deep. The largest tributary of San Mateo Creek is Cristianitos Creek (in Christianitos Canyon), which is about 10 miles (16 km) long and with its tributaries, drains 29 square miles (75 km2) in the western portion of the watershed with a portion in Orange County. Other significant sub-basins in the watershed include Talega Canyon,[17] La Paz Creek and Gabino Creek, all of which are tributaries of Cristianitos Canyon.[5]
The Santa Ana Mountains form the drainage divide with San Juan Creek on the northwest side of the San Mateo Creek valley, and the Santa Margarita Mountains on the southeast separate San Mateo Creek from the Arroyo San Onofre, a creek that drains westwards to the Pacific Ocean. Arroyo San Onofre is also the closest major stream to San Mateo Creek by location of the mouth. The next closest is Segunda Deshecha Cañada, further north. Much of the upper San Mateo Creek watershed is encompassed by the central Cleveland National Forest and the lower lies mostly within Camp Pendleton. The closest city is San Clemente, northwest of the creek's mouth.[5]
San Mateo Creek was once a seasonal stream that would flow through the rainy season, run dry by June or July and restart in October. Although springs exist in the mountains, once the creek spilled onto its floodplain, it would seep into the ground and run in a subsurface manner. Irrigation return flows and a sewage treatment plant have increased its flows to perennial, although it does not receive as much runoff as most other Southern California streams. The typical annual peak flow is around 2,760 cubic feet per second (78 m3/s), while the 2-year flood is 3,200 cubic feet per second (91 m3/s), the 10-year event, 19,160 cubic feet per second (543 m3/s), and the 100-year flood, 47,530 cubic feet per second (1,346 m3/s).[5]
Ecology
Plants
Supporting a highly productive ecosystem, the San Mateo Creek watershed includes a high variety of elevations and vegetation groups. These include
The mouth of the creek and its last reaches shortly above and below Camp Pendleton are host to a wide variety of riparian plants. At the mouth, there is a freshwater lagoon and several freshwater marshes, surrounded by a riparian woodland consisting primarily of
Freshwater marshes surrounding San Mateo Creek exist in a strip just a few hundred feet wide and draw their water supply primarily from emerging groundwater. The most prominent plants are
Animals
In February, 1999,
Other fish and amphibian species in the watershed include the endangered
In early February, 2010 a golden beaver (Castor canadensis subauratus) was captured in a live trap by San Onofre State Beach officers who discovered the beaver at the river mouth of San Mateo Creek. According to State Parks officials, the species was once native to the San Mateo Creek watershed, but were thought to be extinct.[22] Beaver were also found in an ecological survey of the lagoon near the creek mouth in 1987.[23] A report on the fauna of the county by Dr. David Hoffman in 1866 stated "Of the animal kingdom we have a fair variety: the grizzly bear, the antelope, the deer, the polecat, the beaver, the wildcat, the otter, the fox, the badger, the hare, the squirrel, and coyotes innumerable."[24] The beaver may have accessed San Mateo Creek from the
History
Evidence suggests that Native Americans have inhabited the lower reaches of San Mateo Creek watershed for at least 8,000 years.[15] One of the largest villages was Panhe, an Acjachemen Indian village located at the confluence of San Mateo Creek and Cristianitos Canyon, approximately 3.7 miles (6.0 km) upstream from the Pacific Ocean.[5][15] The Native Americans fished in San Mateo Creek's extensive freshwater marshes, and practiced a hunter-gatherer lifestyle. The village of Panhe is estimated to have had a population of 300 or so before the first Spanish explorers came to the area, and is still a sacred site for the Native Americans. Another Native American group, the Luiseño lived in the upper tributaries.[29]
The first non-native people to see the creek were the Spanish explorers of the
After the construction of
Mexico became independent of Spain in 1822 and secularized the missions in 1833, which brought an end to the mission period.
Recently[
References
- ^ a b c d "San Mateo Creek (Southern California)". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. 19 January 1981. Retrieved 2009-09-20.
- ^ "Water-Data Report 2009: USGS Gage #11046300 on San Mateo Creek near San Clemente, CA" (PDF). National Water Information System. U.S. Geologic Survey. 1952–2009. Retrieved 2010-09-13.
- ^ "Water-Data Report 2009: USGS Gage #11046300 on San Mateo Creek near San Clemente, CA" (PDF). National Water Information System. U.S. Geologic Survey. 1952–2009. Retrieved 2010-09-13.
- ^ "Steelhead in San Mateo Creek!". Sierra Club Southern California/Nevada Field Office. Sierra Club. Archived from the original on 2000-01-22. Retrieved 2009-09-19.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "San Mateo Creek Watershed Profile" (PDF). Southern California Wetlands Recovery Project. wrpinfo.scc.ca.gov. Retrieved 2012-04-06.
- ^ a b c d Beatrice Dawson Wood, Water Supply paper 297; Gazetteer of Surface Waters of California, Pt. 3, Pacific Coast and Great Basin streams, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, 1913, p.190
- ^ Lower Peaks Committee, Angeles Club, Sierra Club, Sierra Club Lower Peaks Committee Guide, 2009 edition, Lower Peaks Committee, Fullerton, 2009
- ^ Unnamed arroyo draining east slope of the Squaw Mountain highland and western Santa Rosa Plateau, USGS Map Name: Wildomar, CA, Map Center: 33°33′10″N 117°20′33″W / 33.55278°N 117.34250°W from topoquest.com accessed on 5/4/2013
- ^ USGS Map Title: Wildomar, CA, from topoquest.com accessed on 4/16/2013
- ^ USGS Map Name: Sitton Peak, CA, from topoquest.com accessed on 4/16/2013
- OC Register. Retrieved 2009-09-19.
- ^ "Santa Ana River Watershed Geology". Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority. www.sawpa.org. Archived from the original on 2011-02-21. Retrieved 2009-09-12.
- .
- ^ Colburn, Ivan. "The Role of Antecedent Rivers in Shaping the Orange/Los Angeles Coastal Plain" (PDF). California State University Los Angeles Department of Geology. www.calstatela.edu. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-06-02. Retrieved 2009-09-20.
- ^ a b c d "San Mateo Creek: An Overview" (PDF). San Mateo Creek Conservancy. sanmateocc.org. Retrieved 2009-09-20.
- ^ "Introduction to San Juan Creek Watershed". Watershed and Coastal Resources Division of Orange County. www.ocwatersheds.com. Archived from the original on 2007-10-13. Retrieved 2009-09-20.
- ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Talega Canyon
- ^ a b "Trestles Wetlands Natural Preserve Plant Communities" (PDF). San Mateo Creek Conservancy. sanmateocc.org. Retrieved 2009-09-20.
- ^ Ed Leibowitz (1999-10-03). "Saving the Steelhead". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-07-03.
- ^ a b c "San Mateo Creek Enhancement Plan". San Diego Trout. Retrieved 2009-09-20.
- ^ "The Major Watersheds of the South Coast" (PDF). Ocean Coastal Policy Center, Marine Science Institute. ocpc.msi.ucsb.edu. Retrieved 2009-09-20.
- ^ Alexis Henry (2010-02-05). "Trestles can now add 'beavers' to list of special things". Surfers Village Global Surf News. Retrieved 2010-07-03.
- ^ Trestles Wetlands Natural Preserve Habitat Restoration Plan (PDF) (Report). San Mateo Creek Conservancy. April 2009. p. 9. Retrieved 2010-07-14.
- ^ Clifford L. Graves (July 1964). "An Early San Diego Physician: David Hoffman". The Journal of San Diego History. Retrieved 2010-07-03.
- ^ Arthur L. Hensley (1946). "A Progress Report on Beaver Management in California". California Fish and Game. 32 (2): 88. Retrieved 2010-07-03.
- ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Beaver Hollow
- ISBN 978-1-884995-32-3.
- ^ "Historical Topo Maps, San Diego County, Map Number 1". December 1903. Retrieved 2011-02-08.
- ^ Donaldson, Milford Wayne (February 6, 2008). "Testimony regarding the Consistency Certification for the Foothill South Toll Road" (PDF). ohv.parks.ca.gov. Retrieved 2009-09-20.
- ^ a b c d "San Mateo Creek Watershed Profile, History" (PDF). Southern California Wetlands Conservation Project. San Mateo Creek Conservancy. Retrieved 2009-09-20.
- ^ Bolton, Herbert E. (1927). Fray Juan Crespi: Missionary Explorer on the Pacific Coast, 1769–1774. HathiTrust Digital Library. p. 135. Retrieved April 2, 2014.
- ^ Herbert, Edgar W. (July 1961). "Las Flores". The Journal of San Diego History, Volume 7, No. 3. San Diego Historical Society. Retrieved 2009-09-20.
- ^ Margro, Tom (July 27, 2008). "ANOTHER VIEW: Transportation agency rebuts column". North County Times. Retrieved 2009-09-20.
- ^ Lieu, Lynn (2008-01-24). "Coalition rises to protect San Onofre State Beach". Capitol Weekly. Archived from the original on 2010-03-02. Retrieved 2009-09-20.
- ^ Rogers, Terry (April 18, 2007). "Perilous times for San Mateo Creek". Sign on San Diego. Retrieved 2009-09-20.