Americano Creek
| Americano Creek | ||
 Americano Creek in the upper course of the river |
||
| Data | ||
| Water code | US : 254563 | |
| location | California (USA) | |
| River system | Estero Americano | |
| Drain over | Estero Americano → Pacific Ocean | |
| source | Mountain landscape west of Cotati 38 ° 19 ′ 18 ″ N , 122 ° 46 ′ 58 ″ W |
|
| Source height | 81 m | |
| muzzle | at Valley Ford in the Estero Americano coordinates: 38 ° 19 ′ 0 ″ N , 122 ° 54 ′ 0 ″ W 38 ° 19 ′ 0 ″ N , 122 ° 54 ′ 0 ″ W |
|
| Mouth height | 6 m | |
| Height difference | 75 m | |
| Bottom slope | 6.3 ‰ | |
| length | 12 km | |
The Americano Creek is a 12 kilometer long flowing water in the State of California .
It flows into the Estero Americano , a 15 kilometer long estuary of the Pacific Ocean that drains into Bodega Bay immediately north of Point Reyes .
On this route it flows through the counties of Sonoma County and Marin County .
River course
The source of Americano Creek is relatively low in the Mendocino Range six kilometers west of Cotati and near Santa Rosa . The river runs from there in a westerly direction. On its way, the flowing water runs past a disused landfill . From this point, the deepens the riverbed and the Americano Creek is deep enough for him in the winter with kayaks to navigate. Kayakers can access the river via an unpaved path that starts off Marsh Road .
The lower stretch of the river continues westward past Bloomfield parish . The National Road State Route 1 crosses the Americano Creek by means of a bridge on the border between the Sonoma and Marin counties.
West of the highway, the river is called Estero Americano .
environment
The 1994 California Water Quality Report described the course of the entire Americano Creek as "impaired," as defined in Section 303 (d) of the Federal Water Resource Statute , due to runoff from grassland and feedlot facilities.
In 1987 a single sinkhole released 4,000 tons of sediment , which led to flooding in the communities downriver and made the river unsailable. At the same time, pollutants were found in dangerously high concentrations in the river, an excess of faecal bacteria, copper , ammonia compounds and zinc .
The headwaters of the river used to be the habitat for a large number of rare and endangered species . It represents the natural habitat of the plants Limnanthes vinculans , Trifolium amoenum and Lilium pardalinum subsp. pitkinense .
There is a disused garbage dump in this area of the river; a quarry was planned, which should start operating in 2006.
Americano Creek has dried up four to six months each year.
For the first 13 kilometers, the river meanders through a wide valley that is primarily used as grazing land for agricultural purposes. In the lower area the valley floor is flat and extensive. There are hardly any stones in the floodplain . The cattle graze directly in the river bed and pathogens in the droppings get directly into the river bed.
During the rainy season , which lasts from November to April , these river valleys sometimes turn into large swamp areas . Most of the naturally occurring wetland has been destroyed by overgrazing . Pasture farming is so intensive that cattle have already been seen wading through a swampy river bed over 40 cm deep and over 100 meters wide.
The area around the lower reaches of Americano Creek is also used for agriculture. In this region, however, the river is better separated from the grazing land.
The Estero Americano, on the other hand, is protected.
The flow rate is strongly dependent on the season with the and highest value in the rainy winter months.
Water checks regularly show that the pH of the Americano Creek is between 7.5 and 8.0. This meets the requirements of the State of California Basin Plan .
bridges
Americano Creek is spanned by three roads, Gericke Road , Roblar Road, and Valley Ford Road .
The newest of these bridges is the 22.3 meter long Valley Ford Road Slab Bridge, built in 1985 and located 5.8 kilometers east of the junction with State Route 1.
The oldest bridge, built in 1964, is the one over Roblar Road, a passage 1.1 kilometers east of Valley Ford Road.
The Gericke Road Bridge, built in 1972, is a long, continuous concrete structure south of Valley Ford Road.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Americano Creek in the United States Geological Survey's Geographic Names Information System
- ↑ a b c Observation card for Americano Creek ( Memento of the original from August 29, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English)
- ↑ Ilka M. Jerabek, Water Use and Management in Sonoma County, California , (1996) (English)
- ^ Environmental Impact Report for the proposed Roblar Road Rock Quarry , Earth Metrics Inc. Report 7673, prepared for Sonoma County and the California State Clearinghouse, September, 1989
- ↑ Marin County Watershed Management Plan Administrative Draft (PDF; 2.0 MB). Retrieved January 3, 2010.
