Pajaro Valley
| Pajaro River | |
| Rio de San Antonio, Rio del Pajaro | |
| stream | |
 Aerial view of the Pajaro River at Watsonville, California. The river empties into the Pacific Ocean about 2.5 miles (4 km) west of this photograph. View is to the east.
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| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| State | California |
| Region | Santa Cruz, Monterey, Santa Clara, and San Benito counties |
| Tributaries | |
| - left | Pacheco Creek, San Benito River |
| - right | Llagas Creek, Uvas Creek/Carnaderas Creek, Salsipuedes Creek |
| Source | San Felipe Lake |
| - location | 7 mi (11 km) east of Gilroy |
| - elevation | 146 ft (45 m) |
| - coordinates | 36°58′55″N 121°29′18″W / 36.98194°N 121.48833°W |
| Mouth | Monterey Bay |
| - location | 5 mi (8 km) southwest of Watsonville |
| - elevation | 0 ft (0 m) |
| - coordinates | 36°51′00″N 121°48′35″W / 36.85000°N 121.80972°WCoordinates: 36°51′00″N 121°48′35″W / 36.85000°N 121.80972°W |
| Length | 30 mi (48 km) |
| Basin | 1,300 sq mi (3,367 km2) |
| Discharge | for Chittenden |
| - average | 163 cu ft/s (5 m3/s) |
| - max | 25,100 cu ft/s (711 m3/s) |
| - min | 0 cu ft/s (0 m3/s) |
The Pajaro River (pájaro is bird in Spanish), in Central Coast (California), forms part of the border between San Benito County and Santa Clara County, the entire border between San Benito County and Santa Cruz County, and the entire border between Santa Cruz County and Monterey County. Flowing roughly east to west, the river empties into Monterey Bay, west of Watsonville, California.
The first European land exploration of Alta California, the Spanish Portolà expedition, camped near the river for two nights, in the vicinity of today's community of Pajaro, on October 8–9, 1769. The party continued north the next day toward Santa Cruz. Expedition soldiers called it "Pajaro" (meaning "bird" in Spanish) because the natives they saw there had a large stuffed bird. Franciscan missionary Juan Crespi, traveling with the expedition, noted in his diary that, "to some of our party it looked like a royal eagle" (possibly an osprey).
The Pajaro River has had many names. Early Spanish maps had the name Rio de San Antonio and Rio del Pajaro. Alternate names included Pigeon River, Rio de La Senora La Santa Ana, Rio del Paxaro, Rio de Santa Ana, San Antonio River and Sanjon del Tequesquite.
In 1953 the State Water Resource Control Board determined that the Pajaro Valley Watershed suffered from saltwater intrusion due to groundwater overdraft. In the 1970s, the groundwater basin consistently fell below sea level, and was identified in 1980 as critically over-drafted. By the 21st century, 54 square miles of the Pajaro Watershed's groundwater supply was overdrawn and as a result, below sea level making the area susceptible to saltwater intrusion.
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