San Antonio Creek (Vandenberg Air Force Base)

San Antonio Creek
(Vandenberg Air Force Base)
Arroyo De Los Alamos, Guaymas Creek,
Guaymas River, Jesus Maria Creek,
Jesus Maria River, Las Alamos Creek[1]
stream
Country United States
State California
Region Santa Barbara County
City Los Alamos, California
Source
 - location Solomon Hills
 - elevation 1,400 ft (427 m)
 - coordinates  [1]
Mouth Pacific Ocean
 - elevation 7 ft (2 m) [1]
 - coordinates  [1]

San Antonio Creek is a stream that flows westerly from the Solomon Hills through the Los Alamos Valley, the Barka Slough and the San Antonio Valley on its way to the Pacific Ocean, north of Purisima Point. It passes through the town of Los Alamos, California and then Vandenberg Air Force Base in Santa Barbara County, California.

Contents

Watershed

The creek originates about ten miles east of Los Alamos. The lower reaches throughout Vandenberg AFB have a perennial flow, in part because of irrigation tailwater, but primarily because of a geologic rift at Barka Slough which causes an upwelling. The principal crops grown are vegetables in the flat areas, and winegrapes in the transitional uplands. All are irrigated from groundwater resources. In 1996 almost all of the water supply for Vandenberg AFB was taken from the San Antonio aquifer.[2] 36% of the San Antonio Creek Hydrological Unit is within Vandenberg Air Force Base.[3]

Ecology

West of Barca Slough, San Antonio Creek is inhabited by the endangered Unarmored Three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus williamsoni) which, for all practical purposes, prohibits any stream maintenance.[2] The endangered Tidewater goby (Eucyclogobius newberryi) is also found in the creek's brackish coastal lagoon and several miles upstream in sections of stream impounded by California Golden beavers (Castor canadensis subauratus) which provide ideal slow-moving water habitat for gobies.[4]

San Antonio Creek from Rancho del las Flores Bridge at State Highway 135 to the Railroad Bridge downstream, impaired for boron, ammonia, and nitrite.[3]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: San Antonio Creek
  2. ^ a b Cachuma Resource Conservation District (Report). http://www.carcd.org/directory.php?rcdid=463. Retrieved 2010-12-03. 
  3. ^ a b Vandenberg Air Force Base Stormwater Management Plan (Report). Vandenberg Air Force Base. 2009-12. http://waterboards.ca.gov/centralcoast/water_issues/programs/stormwater/muni_phase2/non_traditional_ms4/vandenberg_afb/swmp_dec09.pdf. Retrieved 2010-12-03. 
  4. ^ Recovery Plan for the Tidewater Goby (Eucyclogobius newberryi) (Report). Portland, Oregon: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 2005. pp. 199. http://www.fws.gov/pacific/ecoservices/endangered/recovery/documents/TidewaterGobyFinalRecoveryPlan.pdf. Retrieved 2010-12-03.