Estero de San Antonio

Geobox|River
name = Estero de San Antonio
native_name =
other_name = San Antonio Creek
category = stream
etymology = Spanish "Saint Anthony's Estuary"
nickname =


image_caption =
country = United States
state = California
region = Marin and Sonoma counties
district =
municipality =
parent =
tributary_left = Stemple Creek
tributary_right =
city =
landmark =
river =
source =
source_location = convert|1.5|mi|km|1|abbr=on southwest of Bloomfield, California
source_region = | source_country =
source_elevation_imperial = 400
source_lat_d = 38 | source_lat_m = 18 | source_lat_s = 11 | source_lat_NS = N
source_long_d = 122 | source_long_m = 52 | source_long_s = 37 | source_long_EW = W
source_coordinates_note =Gnis|253212|Estero de San Antonio]
source1 =
source1_location = | source1_region = | source1_country =
source1_elevation_imperial =
source1_lat_d = | source1_lat_m = | source1_lat_s = | source1_lat_NS =
source1_long_d = | source1_long_m = | source1_long_s = | source1_long_EW =
source_confluence =
source_confluence_location = | source_confluence_region = | source_confluence_country =
source_confluence_elevation_imperial =
source_confluence_lat_d = | source_confluence_lat_m = | source_confluence_lat_s = | source_confluence_lat_NS =
source_confluence_long_d = | source_confluence_long_m = | source_confluence_long_s = | source_confluence_long_EW =
mouth = Bodega Bay
mouth_location =
mouth_region = | mouth_country =
mouth_elevation_imperial = 0
mouth_lat_d = 38 | mouth_lat_m = 16 | mouth_lat_s = 12 | mouth_lat_NS = N
mouth_long_d = 122 | mouth_long_m = 58 | mouth_long_s = 46 | mouth_long_EW = W
mouth_coordinates_note =
length_imperial = 9.5 | length_orientation =
length_note =
width_imperial = | width_orientation =
depth_imperial =
volume_imperial =
watershed_imperial = 50
watershed_note = cite web|url=http://co.marin.ca.us/depts/CD/main/comdev/Watershed/WMP_ApxA%20-%20pp%200i-28.pdf|title=Marin County Watershed Management Plan Administrative Draft|accessdate=2008-03-03]
discharge_imperial =
discharge_max_imperial =
discharge_min_imperial =
free = | free_type =


map_caption =
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website =
footnotes =

Estero de San Antonio is a stream in the northern California counties of Marin and Sonoma which empties into Bodega Bay.

Course

The Estero springs just north of the Marin-Sonoma county line (from a hill overlooking Bloomfield, California) and runs south along Gericke Road into Marin County. Just north of Fallon-Two Rock Road, it turns west, flowing under the road just east of State Route 1. It flows south along the highway for convert|0.25|mi|km|1|abbr=on, then crosses under the highway at milepost 47.6 and continues west to a confluence with Stemple Creek convert|0.3|mi|km|1|abbr=on southeast of Fallon, California. From there, it winds its way westward, passing under Middle Road and Valley Ford Franklin School Road before emptying into Bodega Bay convert|1.5|mi|km|1|abbr=on north of Dillon Beach, California.

Ecology

The Estero de San Antonio has a variety of habitat types, including freshwater ponds, mudflats, eelgrass and saltgrass area, and wooded ravines. It is estimated that the Estero has convert|923|acre|ha|0|abbr=on of associated wetlands. [cite web|url=http://www.ca.nrcs.usda.gov/features/projects/stemple/esterodsa.html|title=Estero de San Antonio - Mouth of the Stemple Creek Watershed|accessdate=2007-12-10]

In the summer or early fall, a sandbar often forms at the mouth of the Estero, damming it until the winter rains arrive. Area residents used to blast the sandbar to dispel high salt concentrations in the Estero.

Nomenclature

The United States Geological Survey's Geographic Names Information System cites ten variant names for this stream, including "Stemple Creek" (the name of its main tributary), "Estero De Americano" (almost identical to the parallel estuary convert|2|mi|km|0|abbr=on north), "Arroyo de San Antonio" (also applied to Walker Creek, a parallel estuary convert|5|mi|km|0|abbr=on south), and "San Antonio Creek" (the name of a creek further east along the county line). In particular, the Estero's watershed is often referred to as the "Stemple Creek watershed". [cite web|url=http://www.ca.nrcs.usda.gov/features/projects/stemple/|title=The Stemple Creek Watershed Project|accessdate=2007-12-10] The stream is also referred to as "Fallon Creek".

Bridges

The Estero de San Antonio is crossed by three concrete continuous slab bridges:
* The Valley Ford Franklin School Road bridge, built in 1964, is convert|242|ft|m|0|abbr=on long.
* The Middle Road bridge, built in 1958, is convert|196|ft|m|0|abbr=on long.
* The State Route 1 bridge, built in 2001, is convert|62|ft|m|0|abbr=on long.It is also crossed at Fallon-Two Rock Road by a convert|22|ft|m|0|abbr=on concrete tee beam bridge built in 1932.cite web|url=http://nationalbridges.com/|title=National Bridge Inventory Database]

ee also

* Estero Americano
* List of watercourses in the San Francisco Bay Area
* San Antonio Creek (Marin County, California)

References