Matanzas Creek

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Matanzas Creek at Doyle Park, Santa Rosa, California

Matanzas Creek is a stream in Sonoma County, California that is tributary to Santa Rosa Creek. Matanzas Creek rises on the northern slope of Sonoma Mountain and is a year round stream. The upper reaches of Matanzas Creek have gradients of five to fifteen percent as the stream cascades down Sonoma Mountain^[1]. Matanzas Creek is the axial stream running the length of Bennett Valley to the south of Taylor Peak,^[2] where at its southwest extreme it is joined by Spring Creek near the municipal boundary of the City of Santa Rosa. The mouth of Matanzas Creek near downtown Santa Rosa has a 1,400 foot (427 m) long culvert in order to allow maximum development of the city; however, this structure has impeded the spawning of anadromous fish in the upper Matanzas Creek. A proposal was developed for retrofitting the structure with inflatable bladders that will allow fish to scale the fish ladder, while allowing pools to form, thus preventing low flow uniformly shallow depths^[3].

Matanzas Creek discharges to Santa Rosa Creek which in turn empties into the Laguna de Santa Rosa; The Laguna de Santa Rosa travels north to meet the Russian River, which eventually discharges to the Pacific Ocean at an estuary within Sonoma Coast State Beach. Spring Creek, which rises in the northern part of Annadel State Park, is a tributary of Matanzas Creek.

[edit] References

^ Santa Rosa Quadrangle, Fifteen minute series, USGS Quadrangle Map, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington DC (1958)
^ C.Michael Hogan, John Torrey, Brian McElroy et al., Environmental Impact Report, Southeast Santa Rosa Annexation 2-88, Earth Metrics Inc., Report 7941, California State Clearinghouse, Sacramento, Ca., March 1990
^ U.S. Arny Corps of Engineers Santa Rosa Creek Restoration Proposal