Petaluma River
| Petaluma River | |
| river | |
 The river flowing through Petaluma. View is to the southeast.
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| Name origin: Coast Miwok | |
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| State | California |
| Region | Sonoma and Marin counties |
| Tributaries | |
| - left | Lichau Creek, Lynch Creek, Washington Creek, Adobe Creek |
| - right | San Antonio Creek |
| City | Petaluma, California |
| Source | |
| - location | 1.5 mi (2 km) southwest of Cotati, California |
| - elevation | 332 ft (101 m) |
| - coordinates | 38°18′18″N 122°43′3″W / 38.30500°N 122.71750°W |
| Mouth | San Pablo Bay |
| - location | 5 mi (8 km) east of Novato, California |
| - elevation | 0 ft (0 m) |
| - coordinates | 38°6′38″N 122°29′15″W / 38.11056°N 122.48750°WCoordinates: 38°6′38″N 122°29′15″W / 38.11056°N 122.48750°W |
| Length | 18 mi (29 km) |
| Discharge | for Petaluma (USGS gage station 11459000) |
| - average | 17 cu ft/s (0 m3/s) |
| - max | 9,620 cu ft/s (272 m3/s) |
| - min | 0 cu ft/s (0 m3/s) |
The Petaluma River is a river in the California counties of Sonoma and Marin that becomes a tidal slough for the majority of its length. The headwaters are in the area southwest of Cotati. The flow is generally southward through Petaluma's old town, where the waterway becomes navigable, and then flows another 10 mi (16 km) through tidal marshes before emptying into the northwest corner of San Pablo Bay.
The word Petaluma may derive from the Miwok words pe’ta, flat, and luma, back. The Miwok people lived in Sonoma County for more than 2500 years. Petaluma was the name of a village on a low hill east of Petaluma creek and north east of the present day town of Petaluma. The first recorded exploration of the Petaluma River was by Captain Fernando Quiros in October, 1776. While other members of his Spanish expedition collected adobe and timber for the new Presidio of San Francisco and for the Mission San Francisco de Asís (Mission Dolores), Quiros and his sailors tried unsuccessfully to sail from San Pablo Bay to Bodega Bay.
Located in southern Sonoma County, California, and a portion of northeastern Marin, the Petaluma River Watershed drains 146 square miles (380 km2). The watershed is approximately 19 miles (31 km) long and 13 miles (21 km) wide with the City of Petaluma near its center. At 2,295 feet (700 m), Sonoma Mountain is the highest point in the watershed, and its western slopes drain to the Petaluma River by way of tributaries such as Lichau Creek, Lynch Creek, Washington Creek, and Adobe Creek. The lower 12 miles (19 km) of the Petaluma River flow through the Petaluma Marsh, the largest remaining salt marsh in San Pablo Bay. The marsh covers 5,000 acres (20 km2) and is surrounded by approximately 7,000 acres (28 km2) of reclaimed wetlands. In the marshes west of Lakeville, the river is joined by San Antonio Creek, at which point it becomes the boundary between Marin County and Sonoma County. The river flows under State Route 37 at Green Point and enters northwest San Pablo Bay just north of Petaluma Point.
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Wikipedia