Laguna Creek (Santa Cruz County)

Laguna Creek is a 8.5-mile-long (13.7 km)[3] south by southwest-flowing stream originating on Ben Lomond Mountain in the Santa Cruz County, California, United States. It culminates in a lagoon before reaching the Pacific Ocean about six miles northwest of Santa Cruz, California.

For other uses, see Laguna Creek (disambiguation).
Laguna Creek
Arroyo de la Laguna, Laguna de Pala[1]
Location
CountryUnited States
StateCalifornia
RegionSanta Cruz County
Physical characteristics
SourceBen Lomond Mountain in the Santa Cruz Mountains
 • coordinates37°05′03″N 122°08′30″W[2]
 • elevation2,210 ft (670 m)
MouthPacific Ocean
 • coordinates
36°59′00″N 122°09′14″W[2]
 • elevation
13 ft (4.0 m)[2]
Basin features
Tributaries 
 • leftY Creek
 • rightReggiardo Creek

History

The creek is shown on the 1836 diseño of Rancho Arroyo de la Laguna which ran from Vicente Creek in the north to Laguna Creek in the south.[1][4] Archaeological excavations at Sand Hill Bluff, just south of Laguna Creek, have produced evidence of ancestral Ohlone people occupation of the area since 5,400 B.C.[5][6]

Watershed and Course

The Laguna Creek watershed consists of Laguna Creek, Reggiardo Creek and several other unnamed tributaries that drain about 8 square miles (21 km2). The creek arises at 2,210 feet (670 m) on the western flank of Ben Lomond Mountain in the Santa Cruz Mountains.[7] Y Creek flows 1.6 miles to join Laguna Creek at stream mile 1.5.[8] Reggiardo Creek joins Laguna Creek from the left (heading downstream) and is the largest named tributary.

Ecology

Steelhead trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) utilize Laguna Creek historically and in the present, despite 100% diversion of the headwaters to the City of Santa Cruz and heavy cattle grazing on the upper reaches. Waterfalls about two miles from the stream mouth apparently are not an impassable barrier for migrating trout.[8] The Laguna Creek lagoon may host approximately 675 steelhead smolts, providing freshwater refugia for them to attain large enough size for survival in the ocean. Although under current conditions, the creek is not good habitat for Coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch), they have been observed in the creek as recently as 2005. The silted in Reggiardo Creek Diversion and Laguna Creek Diversion are high priorities for the Santa Cruz Habitat Conservation Plan because of their impact on low flows for salmonid fishes, reducing flows by up to 45% in critically dry years.[9] The lagoon, which was diked off and farmed for many years, also provides habitat for endangered Tidewater goby (Eucyclogobius newberryi).[10][11] Levees constraining the creek and its lagoon were removed by State Parks over several years ending in 2010, and were restored using native plants.[12]

See also

References
  1. Donald Thomas Clark (1986). Santa Cruz County Place Names. Santa Cruz: Santa Cruz Historical Society. p. 174. ISBN 978-0-940283-01-5. Retrieved 2011-12-10.
  2. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Laguna Creek
  3. U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map Archived 2012-03-29 at the Wayback Machine, accessed December 12, 2011
  4. Diseño del Rancho Arroyo de la Laguna
  5. "Sand Hill Bluff: Ancestral Home of the Ohlone". California State Department of Parks and Recreation. Retrieved 2011-12-10.
  6. W.E. Saxe (1875). "Observations on a Shell mound at Laguna Creek, 6 miles north of Santa Cruz". Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences. San Francisco, California: 157.
  7. "Santa Cruz County Watersheds". Santa Cruz County Government Environmental Health Services. Retrieved 2011-12-10.
  8. Gordon S. Becker; Isabelle J. Reining. Steelhead/rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) resources south of the Golden Gate, California (PDF) (Report). Oakland, California: Center for Ecosystem Management and Restoration. p. 66. Retrieved 2011-12-10.
  9. (Report) https://web.archive.org/web/20111001134143/http://www.cityofsantacruz.com//Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=21748. Archived from the original on 2011-10-01. Retrieved 2011-12-10. {{cite report}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  10. 5-Year Review: Tidewater Goby (PDF) (Report). Ventura, California: U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service. September 2007. Retrieved 2011-12-10.
  11. "Laguna Creek Lagoon Restoration". Wetlands and Water Resources, Inc. Archived from the original on 2012-04-26. Retrieved 2011-12-10.
  12. Kurtis Alexander (2010-10-10). "A creek is reborn: State Parks restores picturesque valley at Coast Dairies". Santa Cruz Sentinel. Retrieved 2011-12-10.
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