Little Sur River

The Little Sur River is a river on the Central Coast of California. The river drains a portion of the Big Sur area, a thinly-settled region of the Central California coast where the Santa Lucia Mountains rise abruptly from the Pacific Ocean. The Little Sur River has a South Fork and a North Fork. Both have their headwaters in the Santa Lucias, straddling Pico Blanco mountain. The forks meet about two miles before the river empties into the Pacific Ocean. The South Fork travels roughly northeast and the North Fork roughly east, with large bends to the north and south.

The river flows for 23 miles, if both forks and the main stem are included. The upper part of the river's watershed is in the Ventana Wilderness of the Los Padres National Forest. The rest, mostly near the coast, is privately owned. Precipitation increases with altitude at Big Sur and the higher elevations can receive over 50 inches per year, about 10 inches higher than lower areas.

The South Fork of the river flows over granite bedrock, with portions of limestone and marble bedrock. The river has eroded the limestone and marble such that it travels underground in several locations. The North Fork flows mostly over granite bedrock.

There is one small dam on the river, a seasonal concrete and wooden structure on the upper reaches of the North Fork that creates a small reservoir for recreation. It was built by the Boy Scouts of America around 1955. An agreement has been made between the Boy Scouts and Monterey County to provide a portable fish ladder for the dam, which was designed by Swanson Hydrology + Geomorphology and completed in 2006. The South Fork is free flowing, but there may be diversions on both forks to supply drinking water to local landowners.

References

* [http://www.tpl.org/content_documents/F01_bigsur_littlesur.pdf The Trust for Public Land]
* [http://www.ventanawild.org/projects/ceqa/062303.html Ventana Wilderness Alliance]