- Santa Rosa Creek
Geobox|River
name = Santa Rosa Creek
native_name =
other_name =
category =stream
etymology = Spanish
nickname =
image_caption = Middle reach of Santa Rosa Creek
country =United States
state =California
region = Sonoma County
district =
municipality =
parent =
tributary_right =Piner Creek
tributary_right1 = Brush Creek
tributary_left =Matanzas Creek
city = Santa Rosa
landmark =
river =
source =Hood Mountain
source_location = convert|5|km|mi|0|lk=on|abbr=on west ofSt. Helena, California
source_region = | source_country =
source_elevation_imperial = 1940
source_lat_d = 38 | source_lat_m = 31 | source_lat_s = 10 | source_lat_NS = N
source_long_d = 122 | source_long_m = 32 | source_long_s = 56 | source_long_EW = W
source_coordinates_note =Gnis|232563|Santa Rosa Creek]
source1 =
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mouth =Laguna de Santa Rosa
mouth_location = | mouth_region = | mouth_country =
mouth_elevation_imperial = 49
mouth_lat_d = 38 | mouth_lat_m = 27 | mouth_lat_s = 5 | mouth_lat_NS = N
mouth_long_d = 122 | mouth_long_m = 50 | mouth_long_s = 3 | mouth_long_EW = W
mouth_coordinates_note =
length_imperial = 22 | length_orientation =
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footnotes =Santa Rosa Creek is a 22 mile (35 km) long
stream inSonoma County, California which rises onHood Mountain and discharges to theLaguna de Santa Rosa by way of the Santa Rosa Flood Control Channel. ["Santa Rosa Quadrangle", Fifteen minute series,USGS Quadrangle Map, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington DC (1958)] This article covers both the creek and the channel.Description
Though it begins as a wild stream in the
Mayacamas Mountains , Santa Rosa Creek isculvert ed for part of its course through the city of Santa Rosa's downtown. Theriparian area has a richprehistoric past with settlement of the SouthernPomo people on much of the middle and lower reach banks. A significant stream restoration project was created in the downtown Santa Rosa reach in the late 1990s, allowingsteelhead andcoho salmon to migrate to productive upstream spawning areas. Major tributaries to Santa Rosa Creek include Brush Creek,Piner Creek ,Matanzas Creek and Colgan Creek. Annual precipitation in the Sonoma Creek watershed is about 24 to 38 inches (60 to 70 centimeters).Water quality sampling in the Railroad Square area of Santa Rosa indicatecoliform bacteria standards are often exceeded. [ [http://www.swrcb.ca.gov/rwqcb1/programs/sampling/santa_rosa_creek.html The Sonoma County Environmental Health Department water quality sampling data] ]History
Archaeological data demonstrates the habitation of Pomotribe s on the lower reaches of Santa Rosa Creek, while a branch of theYuki tribe lived near theheadwaters on the slopes ofHood Mountain . In the vicinity of the confluence of Brush Creek there is a noteworthy rock formation known as "Flat Rocks"; adjacent was a native Pomo village, presumably to exploit the resources of the confluence area as a suitable place forfishing , bathing, washing and providingdrinking water . Near this location in the year1827 , Padre Amoros baptized a Pomomaiden on the day of theFeast of the Roses ; that event created the name of this locale as "Santa Rosa". Hence the city of Santa Rosa really owes its name to the Santa Rosa Creek environment.In the city of Santa Rosa, remains of the
Carrillo Adobe attest to Spaniards assettler s in the middle reaches of Santa Rosa Creek. As the city of Santa Rosa developed more intensively, political pressure arose in the 1960s to channelize much of the creek in the core area of the city. This action led to a greatly reduced capability foranadromous fish to reach spawning areas upstream. Consequently, by the 1990s, planning began for a creek restoration project to tear out much of the channel concrete lining, provide re-vegetation and create a new low flow channel to accommodatesteelhead andcoho salmon spawning runs to the middle and upper reaches (i.e. above the downtown area of the city of Santa Rosa). As of July 2008, much of the renovation has been largely completed west of Santa Rosa Avenue, with the Prince Memorial Greenway extending along the creek west from Santa Rosa Avenue through downtown. This includes paved bicycle and pedestrian paths, creek access points, and substantial planting of vegetation. However, the portion between Santa Rosa Avenue and E Street is still contained within a covered culvert despite long-term plans to reopen the portion of it currently under city hall.Geology
The headwaters of Santa Rosa Creek rise on the northern slopes of Hood Mountain, where the soils at the headwaters consist of soils of the Goulding cobbly clay loam association, which are well-drained gently to very steep
loam s andclay -loams situated upon upland formations. The lower elevations of the Hood Mountain headwaters consist of the Boomer soil association, which group has well-drained loams over a clay-loam subsoil. ["Soil Survey, Sonoma County, California",U.S. Department of Agriculture ,Soil Conservation Service , Government Printing Office, Washington DC, May 1972] Considering the steepness of much of theterrain there is a remarkable lack of erosion, primarily because human access has been historically low, and vegetative cover has been kept intact.As Santa Rosa Creek descends toward the valley floor Falta very gravelly loam is encountered, which has scrubby
Valley Oak cover. On the gentle rolling slopes that join the valley are Haire series moderately well-drained clay loam soils, which are used for dry-farmpasture and somevineyard s. On the valley floor Santa Rosa Creek flows underState Route 12 and runs along Melita Road, thence somewhat more northerly and parallels the south side of Route 12. Over this middle reach the soils are typical of alluvial fans, consisting of Yolo silt loams and clay loams of less than two percent slope. Historically this soil has served pasture uses with some orchards. Currently most of this area is developed with medium density residential uses.Below the downtown confluence with
Matanzas Creek , which drains the northern slopes ofSonoma Mountain , can be considered the lower reach of this watershed. Most of the soils extending some distance from Santa Rosa Creek are Yolosand y loam overwash. This zone is especially subject toflood ing, and historically has served as pasture,orchard and vineyard. Erosion potential is slight due to the less than five percent slope of this reach.Ecology
The upper reaches and headwaters of Santa Rosa Creek are on Hood Mountain on the western slopes of the southern
Mayacamas Mountains . Much of theecosystem of the headwaters is relatively dense mixedoak woodland , which has a canopy ofCoast live oak ,Douglas fir , California Buckeye ("Aesculus californica ") andBigleaf Maple ["Ecology of the southern Mayacmas Range", Lumina Technologies, Santa Rosa, Ca., May 11, 2005] . In these oak woodlands, the dominantunderstory plants aretoyon ,blackberry ,western poison-oak and in occasional drier patches somecoyote brush . In some of the steeper, coolerriparian zone s there are a high concentration of California laurel. Common animals observed includeCalifornia Mule Deer ,gray squirrel ,raccoon ,skunk andopossum . Less frequentlybobcat andmountain lion are seen. There is abundantbird life including thescrub jay ,Steller's jay ,acorn woodpecker andjunco .As Santa Rosa Creek reaches the valley floor near Melita Road, the creek is choked with
Red willow , and also hascoast live oak ,Bigleaf maple ,California laurel as well as a fewDouglas fir andHuckleberry Oak , "Quercus vacciniifolia". This middle reach of the creek has more of a suburban character compared to the wild headwaters area. The middle reach continues as a richly vegetatedriparian zone from Melita Road westerly to Farmers Lane. The reach at the confluence of Brush Creek is particularly notable for the large boulder formation, known as "Flat Rocks". Below Farmers Lane the creek becomes channelized and much of the natural character is lost, until the creek begins to exit the west side of the city of Santa Rosa.References
ee also
*
Anadromous
*Annadel State Park
*Carrillo Adobe
*Hood Mountain
*List of watercourses in the San Francisco Bay Area External links
* [http://ci.santa-rosa.ca.us/default.aspx?PageId=352 Santa Rosa Creek Restoration Project of the City of Santa Rosa]
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