El Horno Creek

Stream map of San Juan Creek watershed with three major tributaries in dark blue, smaller streams in light blue, and cities and towns in orange. El Horno Creek is the creek closest to the San Juan-Trabuco confluence, in light blue, flowing southwards into San Juan Creek.

El Horno Creek or Horno Creek (Spanish: "Oven Creek")[1] is a tributary stream of San Juan Creek in Orange County in the U.S. state of California. It is approximately 5.9 miles (9.5 km) long and drains an area of 4.3 square miles (11 km2).[2] The creek joins San Juan Creek on the right bank, only a few hundred yards upstream of the Trabuco Creek confluence, within the city limits of San Juan Capistrano. The creek begins in the foothills of the Santa Ana Mountains (33°34′02″N 117°37′48″W / 33.5672464°N 117.6300495°W), a mountain range that occupies most of the west half of the San Juan watershed. There is a significant amount of single-family residential development there, and the creek is mostly inside an underground storm channel. It flows south and southwest before turning west under Interstate 5, where it enters a channelized course and parallels the interstate to its discharge point at San Juan Creek, also from a subterranean culvert (33°29′52″N 117°39′19″W / 33.4978044°N 117.6553283°WCoordinates: 33°29′52″N 117°39′19″W / 33.4978044°N 117.6553283°W). Although significant stretches of the creek remain above ground, riparian habitat along the creek remains "sporadic" despite its perennial flow mainly due to pollution from stormwater.[3]

References

  1. ↑ "Horno Creek". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 2009-06-15.
  2. ↑ "Section 2.2: Physical Environment". www.dot.ca.gov. Retrieved 2009-06-15.
  3. ↑ "San Juan Creek Watershed Management Study: Feasibility Phase". U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. www.ocwatersheds.com. August 2002. Retrieved 2009-06-15.