Santa Margarita River
| Santa Margarita River | |
| Temecula River | |
| River | |
 Mouth of the Santa Margarita River
|
|
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| State | California |
| Tributaries | |
| - left | Temecula Creek, Rainbow Creek, Pueblitos Canyon |
| - right | Murrieta Creek, Sandia Creek, De Luz Creek, Wood Canyon, Newton Canyon |
| Source | Confluence of Temecula Creek and Murrieta Creek |
| - location | Temecula, Riverside County |
| - elevation | 950 ft (290 m) |
| - coordinates | 33°28′27″N 117°08′26″W / 33.47417°N 117.14056°W |
| Mouth | Pacific Ocean |
| - location | Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base, San Diego County |
| - elevation | 7 ft (2 m) |
| - coordinates | 33°13′55″N 117°24′58″W / 33.23194°N 117.41611°WCoordinates: 33°13′55″N 117°24′58″W / 33.23194°N 117.41611°W |
| Length | 31 mi (50 km) |
| Basin | 723 sq mi (1,873 km2) |
| Discharge | for Ysidora |
| - average | 34.2 cu ft/s (1 m3/s) |
| - max | 44,000 cu ft/s (1,246 m3/s) |
| - min | 0 cu ft/s (0 m3/s) |
The Santa Margarita River which with the addition of what is now Temecula Creek, was formerly known as the Temecula River, is a short intermittent river on the Pacific coast of southern California in the United States, approximately 30.9 miles (49.7 km) long. One of the last free-flowing rivers in southern California, it drains an arid region at the southern end of the Santa Ana Mountains, in the Peninsular Ranges between Los Angeles and San Diego.
The Portolà expedition camped on the river on July 20, 1769 and named it for Saint Margaret of Antioch. A Santa Margarita rancheria is mentioned in 1795 and there is a February 23, 1836 land grant called Santa Margarita y San Onofre (later renamed Rancho Santa Margarita y Las Flores).
The river was the site of several attempts to build railroads in the 1880s. During much of the 20th century the river was the subject of a long-running water rights battle between the United States Navy and the Fallbrook Public Utility District. The conflict was resolved in 1967 and the following year both entities proposed to jointly construct dams on the river. The proposal was abandoned in 1984 due to environmentalist opposition.
The mainstem of the Santa Margarita River begins at the confluence of Temecula Creek and Murrieta Creek, in southwestern Riverside County, east of Interstate 15, 0.5 miles (0.80 km) southeast of Temecula. It flows southwest through the 5 miles (8.0 km) Temecula Canyon at the south end of the Santa Ana Mountains. Along its lower 10 miles (16 km) the river forms a large floodplain as it crosses Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base. It enters the Gulf of Santa Catalina on the Pacific approximately 3 miles (4.8 km) northwest of Oceanside.
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Wikipedia