Santa Clara River (California)
| Santa Clara River | |
| Rio de Santa Clara | |
 View of Santa Clara River with Rancho Camulos in the foreground, 1888
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| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| State | California |
| Counties | Los Angeles, Ventura |
| Tributaries | |
| - right | San Francisquito Creek, Castaic Creek, Piru Creek, Sespe Creek |
| Source | San Gabriel Mountains |
| - location | Aliso Canyon, Angeles National Forest, Los Angeles County |
| - elevation | 5,800 ft (1,768 m) |
| - coordinates | 34°26′01″N 118°21′51″W / 34.43361°N 118.36417°W |
| Mouth | Pacific Ocean |
| - location | Between Ventura and Oxnard, Ventura County |
| - elevation | 0 ft (0 m) |
| - coordinates | 34°14′07″N 119°15′49″W / 34.23528°N 119.26361°WCoordinates: 34°14′07″N 119°15′49″W / 34.23528°N 119.26361°W |
| Length | 83 mi (134 km) |
| Basin | 1,600 sq mi (4,144 km2) |
| Discharge | for Ventura |
| - average | 176 cu ft/s (5 m3/s) |
| - max | 165,000 cu ft/s (4,672 m3/s) |
| - min | 0 cu ft/s (0 m3/s) |
 Map of the Santa Clara River watershed
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 Location of the mouth of the Santa Clara River in California
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The Santa Clara River is 83 miles (134 km) long, and is one of the most dynamic river systems in southern California. The river drains parts of four ranges in the Transverse Ranges System north and northwest of Los Angeles, then flows west onto the Oxnard Plain and into the Santa Barbara Channel of the Pacific Ocean.
The watershed has provided habitat for a wide array of native plants and animals and has historically supplied humans with water, fish, and fertile farmland. The northern portion of the watershed was home to the Tataviam people while the southern portion was occupied by the Chumash people. Much of the Santa Clara River Valley is used for agriculture which has limited the use of structural levees to separate the natural floodplain from the river. Although it is one of the least altered rivers in Southern California, some levees exist where the river flows through areas of significant urban development.
The Santa Clara River was originally named the Rio de Santa Clara on August 9, 1769 by the Portolá expedition on the march north from San Diego to found a mission at Monterey, to honor Saint Clare of Assisi who died on August 11, 1253. The Santa Clara River Valley was then known as the Cañada de Santa Clara.
The Santa Clara River's headwaters take drainage from the northern slopes of the San Gabriel Mountains near the Angeles Forest Highway, inside the western part of the Angeles National Forest. Its largest fork, Aliso Canyon, is about 7 miles (11 km) long and forms the primary headstream. These branches combine into the broad wash of the main stem near the town of Acton which flows west through Soledad Canyon, crossing under California State Route 14 near the town of Canyon Country. The Sierra Pelona Mountains on the north provide additional watershed and seasonal tributaries. The river receives Bouquet Creek, Placerita Creek, and San Francisquito Creek within the City of Santa Clarita. The riverbed surface remains dry most of the year here, except on extreme occasions of heavier than average rainfall. The river then crosses west under Interstate 5 and receives Castaic Creek from the right.
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Wikipedia