Sonoma Creek

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Coordinates: 38°9′2″N 122°24′13″W / 38.15056°N 122.40361°W / 38.15056; -122.40361
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Sonoma Creek
Spanish: Estero de Sonoma[1]
Beaver dam on Sonoma Creek at Maxwell Farms Regional Park in Sonoma, California, 2009
Sonoma Creek is located in California
Sonoma Creek
Location of the mouth of Sonoma Creek in California
Location
CountryUnited States
StateCalifornia
RegionSonoma and Napa counties
CitiesKenwood, Glen Ellen, El Verano, Sonoma
Physical characteristics
SourceBald Mountain
 • location4 mi (6 km) southwest of St. Helena, California
 • coordinates38°27′23″N 122°30′25″W / 38.45639°N 122.50694°W / 38.45639; -122.50694[2]
 • elevation2,480 ft (760 m)
Bear Creek

Sonoma Creek is a 33.4-mile-long (53.8 km)

wine region of Sonoma Valley, an area of about 170 square miles (440 km2). The State of California has designated the Sonoma Creek watershed as a “Critical Coastal Water Resource”.[4] To the east of this generally rectangular watershed is the Napa River watershed, and to the west are the Petaluma River and Tolay Creek
watersheds.

This south flowing

Bear Creek, Schell Creek, and Fowler Creek
.

Headwaters

Headwaters rise on the west facing slopes of the inner coast southern

tanbark oak. The understory features abundant ferns and boulder laden mosses. A prominent landform in this upper reach created by Sonoma Creek is Adobe Canyon. Locally part of this upper reach flow is sometimes called Adobe Creek. Tributaries near the headwaters include Mount Hood Creek and Graywood Creek.[5]

Ecology

A diversity of

Anadromous fish movements in Sonoma Creek have been studied extensively not only in the mainstem Sonoma Creek, but in some of the tributaries. These investigations have demonstrated a historical decline in spawning and habitat value for these species, primarily due to sedimentation[6]
and secondarily to removal of riparian vegetation since the 1800s.

A variety of

Suisun shrew (Sorex ornatus sinuosus), Sacramento splittail
(Pogonichtys macrolepidotus). The above are endangered species with the exception of the splittail, steelhead and black rail, which species are federally designated as threatened.

California golden beaver ("Castor canadensis subauratus") were historically abundant along Sonoma Creek but were trapped out in the California Fur Rush of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. In 1828 fur trapper Michel La Framboise travelled from the Bonaventura River to San Francisco and then the missions of San José, San Francisco Solano and San Rafael Arcángel. La Framboise stated that "the Bay of San Francisco abounds in beaver", and that he "made his best hunt in the vicinity of the missions".

Boyes Hot Springs
.

Upland ecosystems drained include mixed

valley oak is prevalent on the Sonoma Valley
floor.

History

Up until about 1850, Sonoma Creek was unchanged from its natural state. Adverse erosion and bank cutting were at sustainable levels and did not add enough turbidity to the creek system to discourage aquatic species. Flooding in the downstream reaches did not realize the modern frequencies since all the creek reaches could absorb more excess water from peak rainfall events. The Kenwood area existed in the form of a large marsh effectively blocked by a natural earthen dam from penetrating the course of the creek as it flows west out of Kenwood toward Glen Ellen.

With the advent of more intensive farming of Sonoma Valley in the latter half of the 19th century, the Kenwood Marsh was drained in favor of grazing, vineyards and other agricultural uses. This action removed the largest upstream buffer that assisted flood control in the lower reaches of Sonoma Creek. Consequently, the frequency and severity of modern floods (1960s onward) has been exacerbated by these interventions of humans.

In 1978, Sonoma Creek was named a historic resource by the Sonoma League of Historic Preservation for being "one of the most picturesque sites and valuable natural resources in Sonoma County."[10]

Water quality

Sonoma Creek in Kenwood during the 2021
bomb cyclone
.

The State of California Regional Water Quality Control Board considers the most significant

leach field failures in some of the rural reaches, particularly in the upper valley sections. Nitrates enter the stream system from excess fertilizers applied to land uses in the drainage basin and may also be present in septic wastes improperly entering the creek. Sediment and nitrates may also enter the stream through urban stormwater runoff in the city of Sonoma reach.[11]

Wine production

Because Sonoma Creek is the sole drainage flow of the

alluvial soils and the gentle stream gradients along the valley floor, where most of the reaches occur. The valley itself is part of the Franciscan Complex, which includes crumpled, uplifted terranes that have resulted from the subduction of the former oceanic Farallon Plate under the North American continent. The area is attended by volcanism and sediments, deposited in the lagoons behind its island arcs, which resulted from geological events dating from 140 to 42 million years. Recharge for the Sonoma Valley is critical because local rainfall is only about 29 inches (74 centimeters) per year. Grape growing and wine production require considerable groundwater
extraction, and there is controversy over wineries use of annual creeks and waterways.

Discharge to San Pablo Bay

This large marsh area has been reduced considerably from its historic dimensions due to construction of multiple

seismic event.[12] The marsh is subject to diurnal tidal
variations of approximately 5.5 feet (1.7 m).

Historically the marsh supported an extremely diverse

restoration activity, that is being actively evaluated as of the 2000–2006 timeframe.[13]

Recent developments

Because of the recognition of impacts of land development and land use practices, which began in the mid-19th century and have continued until 2006, certain actions are being considered

hydrology modeling studies, stream conservation work, including erosion control and wildlife
conservation. Other current activities include considerable research in public and private sectors including work by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Sonoma County and various private conservation groups.

Due to

Carneros region between Sonoma Creek and the Napa Ridge that due to excessive groundwater drawdown, saltwater intrusion
is already occurring, rendering water unsuitable for many uses.

See also

References

Footnotes

  1. ^ United States Supreme Court Reports. Vol. 33. Lawyers Co-operative Publishing Company. 1919. p. 557.
  2. ^ a b U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Sonoma Creek
  3. ^ U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map, accessed March 10, 2011
  4. ^ Critical Coastal Waters Draft Strategic Plan, State of California (2002)
  5. ^ Environmental Impact Report Sonoma Country Inn, County of Sonoma Permit and Resource Management Agency, November, 2004
  6. ^
    U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
    , December 2004
  7. JSTOR 25155808
    .
  8. ^ John E. Skinner, ed. (1962). "The Mammalian Resources" (PDF). An Historical Review of the Fish and Wildlife Resources of the San Francisco Bay Area. Retrieved July 20, 2015.
  9. ^ David Bolling (Dec 31, 2008). "Beavers attack Valley trees". The Sonoma News Index-Tribune. Retrieved Nov 24, 2009.
  10. ^ "Resource Summary". California Historical Resources Inventory Database. Sonoma League of Historic Preservation. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
  11. ^ Environmental Impact Report for the Fourth Street Retail Center, Sonoma, California, Earth Metrics, California State Clearinghouse (1985)
  12. ^ Napa-Sonoma Marsh Restoration Project, California Department of Fish and Game
  13. ^ Sonoma Creek and Tributaries Feasibility Report, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Archived 2007-07-02 at the Wayback Machine
  14. ^ Kenwood Press, Kenwood, Ca., New tax considered for Sonoma Creek flood projects, Page 1, volume XVII, no. 10, June 1, 2006
  15. ^ Kenwood Press, Groundwater management study approved, Volume XVII, Number 12, page 1, July 1, 2006

Sources

External links

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