Waddell Creek (California)
Waddell Creek | |
---|---|
Location | |
Country | United States |
State | California |
Region | Santa Cruz County |
Physical characteristics | |
Source | Confluence of East and West Waddell Creeks in the |
• location | Big Basin Redwoods State Park |
• coordinates | 37°08′02″N 122°16′03″W / 37.13389°N 122.26750°W[3] |
• elevation | 82 ft (25 m)[4] |
Mouth | Pacific Ocean |
• coordinates | 37°05′33″N 122°16′36″W / 37.09250°N 122.27667°W[3] |
• elevation | 0 ft (0 m)[3] |
Basin features | |
Tributaries | |
• left | East Waddell Creek |
• right | West Waddell Creek |
Waddell Creek is the name given to both the creek and the watershed that run through Big Basin Redwoods State Park in Santa Cruz County, California.[5] The Waddell Creek mainstem is formed by the confluence of East and West Waddell Creeks, and empties into the Pacific Ocean at Waddell Beach, just south of Año Nuevo Point.
History
The first European land exploration of
William Waddell of Kentucky came to California in 1851. The first American settler of the area (for whom the creek and valley are named), he built a sawmill on the creek in 1862 above the Waddell Forks and conducted an extensive timber harvesting operation in the area, a lumber-hauling tramway from the mill to the beach, and a wharf.[7] Waddell was killed by a California grizzly bear in 1875.[1]
Watershed and course
The Waddell Creek mainstem is 2.75 miles (4.43 km) long although total distance from headwater source tributaries to the sea is 14 miles (23 km).[8] The Waddell Creek watershed drains 26 square miles (67 km2) and consists of many headwater creeks that feed its two tributaries, East and West Waddell Creeks. West Waddell Creek has its source at 1,800 feet (550 m) along the border of Santa Cruz and San Mateo Counties, while East Waddell Creek's source is at the confluence of Opal Creek and Blooms Creek at 915 feet (279 m) just below Big Basin Redwoods State Park headquarters in Santa Cruz County.[9][10][4] Some of the uppermost headwaters streams originate above 2,000 feet (610 m).[4]
Ecology
Historically, Waddell Creek was home to spawning runs by both
Usable
The upper stream banks are in the
See also
References
- ^ a b c Erwin Gustav Gudde (1960). California Place Names: The Origin and Etymology of Current Geographical Names. University of California Press. p. 356. GGKEY:403N5Z6QERG.
- ^ Donald Thomas Clark (1986). Santa Cruz County Place Names. Santa Cruz: Santa Cruz Historical Society.
- ^ a b c "Waddell Creek". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
- ^ a b c U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map Archived 2012-03-29 at the Wayback Machine, accessed January 29, 2017
- ^ Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary page
- ^ Bolton, Herbert E. (1927). Fray Juan Crespi: Missionary Explorer on the Pacific Coast, 1769-1774. HathiTrust Digital Library. pp. 217–219. Retrieved March 5, 2017.
- ^ Rancho del Oso - History
- ^ a b c d Shapovalov, Leo; Taft, Alan C. (May 1, 1954). "Fish Bulletin No. 98. The Life Histories of the Steelhead Rainbow Trout (Salmo gairdneri gairdneri) and Silver Salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) with Special Reference to Waddell Creek, California, and Recommendations Regarding Their Management". Fish Bulletin. Retrieved January 29, 2017.
- ^ "West Waddell Creek". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
- ^ "East Waddell Creek". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
- ^ Keith R. Anderson (March 1995). "A Status Review of the Coho Salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) in California South of San Francisco Bay". Report to the Fish Commission, California Department of Fish and Game. Retrieved January 29, 2017.
- ^ Samantha Clark (August 8, 2015). "Saving grace for salmon: Hatchery managers assist fish by copying nature". Santa Cruz Sentinel. Retrieved January 29, 2017.