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Munger Creek

Aliso Creek
Alisos Creek
A channed stream between rocky banks runs towards a canyon in the distance as it flows under a concrete bridge
Aliso Creek flows underneath the Aliso Creek Road bridge before it enters Aliso and Wood Canyons Wilderness Park.
Name origin: Spanish language "Aliso" meaning alder, thus "Aliso Creek" means "Alder Creek"
Country United States
State California
Counties Orange County
Tributaries
 - left Sulphur Creek, English Canyon Creek
 - right Wood Canyon Creek, Dairy Fork
Cities Laguna Beach, Laguna Niguel, Aliso Viejo, Laguna Woods, Laguna Hills, Lake Forest, Mission Viejo
Source
 - location Portola Hills, Cleveland National Forest, Santa Ana Mountains, Orange County, California
 - elevation 2,300 ft (701 m)
 - coordinates 33°42′10″N 117°37′20″W / 33.70278°N 117.62222°W / 33.70278; -117.62222 
Mouth Pacific Ocean
 - location Laguna Beach, California
 - elevation 0 ft (0 m)
 - coordinates 33°30′38″N 117°45′9″W / 33.51056°N 117.75250°W / 33.51056; -117.75250Coordinates: 33°30′38″N 117°45′9″W / 33.51056°N 117.75250°W / 33.51056; -117.75250 
Length 19 mi (31 km)
Basin 35.5 sq mi (92 km2)
Discharge for Laguna Beach, California
 - average 9.2 cu ft/s (0 m3/s)
 - max 5,400 cu ft/s (153 m3/s)
 - min 0 cu ft/s (0 m3/s)
Aliso Creek drains a roughly spoon-shaped area (light brown). It is bordered by the cities of Laguna Beach, Aliso Viejo, Laguna Hills, Lake Forest, Foothill Ranch, Portola Hills, Mission Viejo, and Laguna Niguel, clockwise from bottom left. There are several forks of the creek including English Canyon Creek, the Dairy Fork, the Aliso Hills Channel, Sulphur Creek, and Wood Canyon Creek.
Map of the Aliso Creek watershed showing major tributaries and cities
Aliso Creek (marked by a red dot) is located on the south coast of the state of California.
Aliso Creek (marked by a red dot) is located on the south coast of the state of California.
Location of the mouth of Aliso Creek in California

Aliso Creek (Spanish for "Alder Creek"; also called Alisos Creek) is a 19-mile (31 km)-long urban stream that runs through Orange County in the U.S. state of California from the Santa Ana Mountains to the Pacific Ocean, collecting seven main tributaries. The creek is mostly channelized, and as of 2004, the 30.4-square-mile (78.7 km2) watershed had a population of 149,000 divided among seven incorporated cities.

The creek flows generally south-southwest through a narrow coastal watershed at the southern extreme end of the arid Los Angeles Basin in a fairly straight course. Owing to the submersion of Southern California in the Pacific Ocean as recently as 10 million years ago, the creek flows over marine sedimentary rock that dates from the late Eocene to the Pliocene. The present-day form of the watershed, with its broad sediment-filled valleys and deeply eroded side canyons, was shaped by a climate change during the previous Ice Age that produced Aliso Canyon, the creek's final gorge.

The name was given to the creek by Spanish explorers in the 18th century, although there are now many places in California that use the name. Historically, the creek served as the boundary between the Juaneño (Acjachemem) and Gabrieleño (Tongva) Indians. The creek's watershed then became a major portion of the 1842 Rancho Niguel Mexican Land Grant to Juan Avila, later purchased by two American ranchers. Although attempts to use the creek and its watershed as a municipal water source date to the early 20th century, the water it provided was of poor quality and erratic occurrence. As a result, the creek became neglected throughout the late part of the century, eventually becoming little more than an open wastewater drain. Despite this general decline, the Aliso Creek watershed still supports some biodiversity, and it remains a popular recreational area.


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