Piru Creek | |
Arroyo de Piruc, Arroyo Piru, Rio Peru | |
River | |
Pyramid Lake, the upper major reservoir on Piru Creek
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Country | United States |
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State | California |
Regions | Ventura County, Los Angeles County |
Part of | Santa Clara River |
Tributaries | |
- left | Sheep Creek (California), Lockwood Creek, Smith Fork Piru Creek, Osito Creek, Ruby Creek (California), Michael Creek |
- right | Cedar Creek (California), Mutau Creek, Fish Creek (California), Turtle Creek (California), Agua Blanca Creek |
City | Piru, California |
Source | San Emigdio Mountains |
- location | An unnamed spring, Ventura County, United States |
- elevation | 5,200 ft (1,585 m) |
- coordinates | 34°38′12″N 119°12′11″W / 34.63667°N 119.20306°W |
Mouth | Santa Clara River |
- location | Piru, Ventura County |
- elevation | 643 ft (196 m) |
- coordinates | 34°23′56″N 118°47′08″W / 34.39889°N 118.78556°WCoordinates: 34°23′56″N 118°47′08″W / 34.39889°N 118.78556°W |
Length | 71 mi (114 km) |
Basin | 497 sq mi (1,287 km2) |
Discharge | for Above Lake Piru |
- average | 68.2 cu ft/s (2 m3/s) |
- max | 40,000 cu ft/s (1,133 m3/s) |
- min | 0 cu ft/s (0 m3/s) |
Piru Creek is a major stream, about 71 miles (114 km) long, in northern Los Angeles County and eastern Ventura County, California. It is a tributary of the Santa Clara River, the largest stream system in Southern California that is still relatively natural.
The creek drains an area of about 497 square miles (1,290 km2), making it the Santa Clara River's biggest tributary in terms of watershed size. Most of the creek above Lake Piru is located in the Los Padres National Forest. There are two major reservoirs on Piru Creek, Lake Piru and Pyramid Lake, which respectively store water for local irrigation and the California State Water Project.
Piru Creek originates as several small springs on the north side of Pine Mountain Ridge in the Santa Ynez Mountains, in the Los Padres National Forest. It flows eastwards through a gentle valley, where it is joined by Cedar Creek from the right. After the Cedar Creek confluence the stream turns northeast, receives Sheep Creek from the left, and Mutau Creek from the right. Piru Creek receives Lockwood Creek from the left at Sunset campground on Lockwood Flat, and flows east into a canyon where the valley walls pull in and rise steeper and higher above the river.
The Smith Fork of Piru Creek, with headwaters in the San Emigdio Mountains, comes in from the left about 5 miles (8.0 km) south of Gorman. Piru Creek then turns sharply southeast and enters the Pyramid Lake reservoir impounded behind Pyramid Dam, which stores imported water from the West Branch of the California Aqueduct for Ventura County and Los Angeles County. Interstate 5 runs almost a 1,000 feet (300 m) above the east side of the reservoir/former canyon.