Arroyo Seco[1] is a 6.9-mile-long (11.1 km)[2] tributary stream to Schell Creek in southern Sonoma County, California, United States. In Spanish arroyo seco means "dry stream." Arroyo Seco Creek drains a portion of the western slopes of the southern Mayacamas Mountains. Its 11.4-square-mile (30 km2) watershed,[3] along with the entire Mayacamas mountain block, was formed in the Miocene era by volcanic action and with tectonic uplift about 12 million years ago.
| Arroyo Seco | |
|---|---|
 Middle reach of Arroyo Seco Creek | |
  Location of the mouth of Arroyo Seco Creek in California | |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| State | California |
| Region | Sonoma County |
| City | Sonoma, California |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • location | 4 mi (6 km) northeast of Sonoma, California |
| • coordinates | 38°20′8″N 122°25′3″W / 38.33556°N 122.41750°W[1] |
| • elevation | 1,345 ft (410 m) |
| Mouth | Schell Creek |
• location | 4 mi (6 km) south of Sonoma, California |
• coordinates | 38°14′42″N 122°26′5″W / 38.24500°N 122.43472°W[1] |
• elevation | 13 ft (4.0 m) |
| Basin size | 11.4 sq mi (30 km2) |
| Basin features | |
| Tributaries | |
| • left | Haraszthy Creek |
Soils of the immediate streambed and its vicinity are classified as the riverwash series, recent deposition of sands and gravels.[4]
Arroyo Seco Creek springs near the Napa County line about 4 mi (6 km) northeast of Sonoma, California. It flows southward, emerging from near Sonoma Valley Hospital. After a confluence with Haraszthy Creek, it crosses under State Route 12 near Schellville, California, where it flows into Schell Creek. Schell Creek discharges to a network of sloughs that eventually empty into Sonoma Creek, which in turn empties into the Napa Sonoma Marsh and San Pablo Bay.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Arroyo Seco
- ^ U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map Archived 2012-03-29 at the Wayback Machine, accessed March 10, 2011
- ^ "Arroyo Seco Creek California Fish and Game 1976 Stream Survey" (PDF).
- ^ Soil Survey, Sonoma County, California, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service, Government Printing Office, Washington DC, May 1972
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