Soquel Creek

Soquel Creek Rosario del Beato Serafin de Asculi[1]
Location
Country	United States
State	California
Region	Santa Cruz County
Cities	Soquel, Capitola
Physical characteristics
Source
• location	Southern Santa Cruz Mountains
• coordinates	37°06′37″N 121°54′38″W
• elevation	3,000 ft (910 m)[2]
Mouth	Monterey Bay
• coordinates	36°58′18″N 121°57′07″W
• elevation	0 ft (0 m)[2]
Length	16 mi (26 km)[2]
Basin size	42 sq mi (110 km^2)[2]
Discharge
• location	USGS Soquel Creek gage (11160000)[2]
• minimum	405 cu ft/s (11.5 m^3/s)[3]
• maximum	15,800 cu ft/s (450 m^3/s)[3]
Basin features
Tributaries
• left	West Branch Soquel Creek, Burns Creek, Laurel Creek, Hester Creek
• right	East Branch Soquel Creek, Fern Gulch, Asbury Gulch, Amaya Creek, Hinckley Creek

Soquel Creek is a southward flowing 16 miles (26 km) creek that begins in the Santa Cruz Mountains in Santa Cruz County, California and enters Monterey Bay at Capitola Beach in Capitola, California.

History and ecology

The redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) forests of the middle and upper watershed were heavily logged during the second half of the 1800s, and into the twentieth century. Most of today's forests are second growth, with most trees now over one hundred years old.

Water quality of the creek is measured^{[by whom?]}.^[4]

Watershed and course

Soquel Creek drains the largest watershed of mid-Santa Cruz County, and passes through the communities of Soquel and Capitola. Part of the creek's upper reaches flow through Soquel Demonstration State Forest and the western part of The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park. About 25% of the headwaters of the watershed are on land protected by the state.^[2]

See also

• Rivers of California

References

1. "Soquel Pioneer and Historical Association". Retrieved May 9, 2022.
2. Resource Conservation District of Santa Cruz County (December 2019). Soquel Creek Streamflow Assessment Study (PDF) (Report). Retrieved May 9, 2022.
3. Santa Cruz County Resource Conservation District (January 27, 2004). Soquel Creek Watershed Assessment and Enhancement Project Plan (PDF) (Report). Retrieved May 9, 2022.
4. TMDL Report for the San Lorenzo River, Soquel Creek, and Aptos Creek Watersheds (Report). September 2020. Retrieved May 9, 2022.