San Benito River

The San Benito River is a river on the Central Coast of California. From its headwaters near San Benito Mountain in the Diablo Range, it flows northwest between the Diablo Range and the Gabilan Range, traveling for about convert|65|mi|km before its confluence with the Pajaro River, about convert|15|mi|km upstream from the river's outlet in Monterey Bay. The San Benito River is longer than the Pajaro River and it drains more area, but it has proportionally lower flows. The streambed is usually dry during the summer, as the Central Coast receives almost all of its rain during the winter. Unfortunately, mining of benitoite, sand, gravel and gypsum have somewhat degraded the watershed. Benitoite was first discovered in the headwaters of the river and is named after it. There are no major dams on the San Benito River.

References

* [http://www.bartleby.com/69/83/S02883.html Columbia Gazetteer of North America]