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27-668: Redwood Creek may refer to the following streams in California, United States: Redwood Creek (Humboldt County) Redwood Creek (Marin County) Redwood Creek (San Mateo County) See also [ edit ] Pfeiffer-Redwood Creek , tributary of the Big Sur River Redwood Creek Challenge Trail , at Disney California Adventure [REDACTED] Topics referred to by

54-488: A deep forested valley, receiving many small tributaries including Minor and Lacks creeks from the right. About 15 miles (24 km) downstream of the source, the creek crosses under State Route 299 . Slightly less than 20 miles (32 km) from the mouth, the river passes the southern boundary of Redwood National Park . It then receives Bridge Creek from the left, before winding through several groves of Sequoia sempervirens , more commonly known as redwood trees, from which

81-602: A few ranchers and lumber companies that own smaller, but still sizable, parcels. Private residences, open space and parks make up most of the rest. The river provides recreational opportunities and important habitat to fish and wildlife. Flora of the area includes the Mad River fleabane ( Erigeron maniopotamicus ), a wildflower which was named for the river. Key fish species include coho salmon ( Oncorhynchus kisutch ), Chinook salmon ( O. tshawytscha ), and steelhead ( O. mykiss ), which were federally-listed as threatened in

108-418: A migration corridor for salmonids and Pacific lamprey ( Lampetra tridentata ), and as a summer feeding ground for several marine species, including topsmelt ( Atherinops affinis ) and surf smelt ( Hypomesus pretiosis ). Pacific staghorn sculpin ( Leptocottus armatus ) prickly sculpin (Cottus asper), coast range sculpin (C. aleuticus), and Three-spine stickleback ( Gasterosteous aculeatus ) are present in

135-667: A two megawatt hydro-electric plant generating 5 million kwh during an average water year. In the 1960s, a dam for the Mad River in Humboldt County was proposed by the Army Corps of Engineers. The proposed blockage would have flooded the Maple Creek/Butler Valley area and adversely affected the health of the Mad River watershed. Gradually the opposition from the community, including the urban areas of

162-523: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Redwood Creek (Humboldt County) Redwood Creek ( Yurok : 'O'rekw 'We-Roy ) is a 61.8-mile (99.5 km) river in Humboldt County, California . The river's headwaters are in the Coast Range at about 5,000 feet (1,500 m) and it flows roughly northwest until it empties into

189-529: Is owned by eight landowners, Green Diamond Company being the largest. Since the 19th Century significant portions of the watershed have been extensively logged, some of which was clear cut as recently as the 1970s when commercial logging and milling operations hurried to cut as much as possible on the eve of expansion of Redwood National Park. The river provides wildlife habitat for preservation of rare and endangered species including cold freshwater habitat for fish migration and spawning. The greatest problem for

216-550: The Pacific Ocean near the small town of Orick , the only development in the 280-square-mile (730 km )- watershed . Redwood Creek begins near Board Camp Mountain in the Coast Ranges near Dinsmores. The stream's headwaters lie at about 4,400 feet (1,300 m) above sea level, in a network of small unnamed streams along the north sides of a ridge abutting the Mad River valley to the south. It flows north through

243-492: The Mad River in 1997, 1999, and 2000, respectively. Two threatened osmerid species - longfin smelt ( Spirinchus thaleichthy ) and eulachon ( Thaleichthys pacificus ) - are also listed as present in the estuarine portion of the Mad River, but have not been observed in recent years. Before entering the ocean, the river turns abruptly north near the triple junction of the Gorda, North American, and Pacific plates. This bend denotes

270-863: The Wiyot-affiliated Blue Lake Rancheria and the Wiyot Tribe of the Table Bluff Reservation are federally recognized tribes and the United States holds lands in trust for their citizens. The Whilkut , Nongatl and Lassik were essentially annihilated during the Bald Hills War in the 1860s. The river was named in December, 1849 in memory of an incident when Dr. Josiah Gregg lost his temper when his exploration party did not wait for him at

297-427: The building of levees . This has changed the creek's hydrology and sedimentation patterns, resulting in a decrease in flow. In addition, it has destroyed the riparian vegetation, which helps protect against erosion and decreases the water temperature to a level suitable for the creek's coldwater fish . Mad River (California) Before Euro-American settlers arrived in the mid-1800s, the native peoples occupying

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324-563: The community of Orick, California . The lower portion of the creek and part of its estuary are in Redwood National and State Parks , but the upper portion is mostly privately owned. The park makes up 41 percent of the watershed and the Bureau of Land Management and United States Forest Service own 3 percent. Private lands downstream of the parks makes up only 1 percent. Private lands upstream make up 55 percent, 90 percent of which

351-463: The county, forced a suspension of the project schedule and finally the cancellation of the project. The dam was never built. The greatest problem of the Mad River drainage basin , as for many rivers in this area of the state, is erosion causing excessive sediment buildup in the river and its tributaries. The main causes of the erosion are excessive road building and logging , especially historical logging practices like clear-cutting . In addition,

378-445: The creek and its tributaries is erosion , which leads to excessive sediment buildup in the streambeds. The increased erosion is caused by extensive logging in the upper watershed, which began in the 1950s and continues today as the primary land use. In the last couple of decades alone, 65% of all land and 75% of the forested land in the basin has been harvested for timber . The building of logging roads has also increased erosion in

405-466: The estuary year-round. Above the estuary, the Mad River is home to resident coastal cutthroat trout ( O. clarki clarki ), rainbow trout ( O. mykiss irideus ), Sacramento sucker ( Catostomas occidentalis ), and Humboldt sucker ( Catostomas occidentalis humboldtianus ). The Mad River Estuary is recognized for protection by the California Bays and Estuaries Policy . The Mad River watershed

432-438: The headwaters. Principal tributaries to the Mad River include South Fork Mad River, North Fork Mad River, Barry Creek, Pilot Creek, Deer Creek, Bug Creek, Graham Creek, Grace Flat, Blue Slide Creek, Boulder Creek, Maple Creek, Canõn Creek, Lindsey Creek, and Mill (Hall) Creek. The river provides groundwater recharge for agricultural water supplies and is free-flowing for 85 percent of its length. Matthews Dam, about one third of

459-624: The lower Mad River watershed were the Wiyot (from approximately Blue Lake to its mouth, plus the greater Humboldt Bay region) who spoke a dialect affiliated with the Algonquian language family, with upriver reaches controlled by three different groups whose languages are related to the Athabascan family, the Whilkut, Nongatl and Lassik (Baumhoff 1958). Today, among these distinct groups, only

486-476: The mountains near the headwaters to sea level at the creek's mouth at the Pacific. The small town of Orick and the narrow strip of surrounding farmland are the only significant development in the entire basin. The river is free flowing and has no dams, only a few agricultural diversions in the last 3 miles (4.8 km) above the mouth. The river provides recreation, and agricultural and industrial water supply for

513-644: The removal of riparian vegetation (primarily due to conversion of natural lands to ranching purposes) increases erosion and urbanization causes decreased water quality . In 1992, the Environmental Protection Agency listed the Mad River under section 303(d) of the California Clean Water Act Section as sediment impaired, due to elevated erosion and siltation. In 2006, the river was additionally listed as temperature and turbidity-impaired. The upper half of

540-625: The river is inside the Six Rivers National Forest , but the vast majority of the river flows through private land, even in the national forest . About 64 percent of the land is used for timber production. Green Diamond is by far the largest landowner in the watershed, with about 42 percent of all land. The next largest landowners are R. Emmerson and Humboldt Redwood Company (formerly the Pacific Lumber Company), with 3 and 2 percent respectively. There are quite

567-589: The river mouth. The Mad River drains approximately 497 square miles (1,290 km ) of the Coast Range Geomorphic Province and empties into the Pacific Ocean north of Humboldt Bay in Humboldt County, California. The basin is about 100 miles (160 km) in length and averages six miles (10 km) wide. Elevations range from sea level at the mouth to 3,000 feet (910 m) along the western ridge to 6,000 feet (1,800 m) in

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594-431: The same term This disambiguation page lists articles about distinct geographical locations with the same name. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Redwood_Creek&oldid=1178848111 " Category : Place name disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description

621-444: The stream takes its name. Several of the tallest redwoods in the world are near the creeks banks. Near the small town of Orick it curves west, and receives Prairie Creek , its largest tributary, from the right. It empties into the Pacific Ocean about 30 miles (48 km) north of Eureka and 27 miles (43 km) south of Crescent City . The long, narrow Redwood Creek drainage basin encompasses 280 square miles (730 km ) on

648-446: The usual upper limit of the estuary, although brackish waters can extend as far upstream as Highway 101 during king tides. Although small, this estuary provides nursery habitat for juvenile rockfish (Sebastes melanops, S. rastrelliger) and several species of flatfish, including starry flounder ( Platichthys stellatus ), English sole ( Pleuronectes vetulus ), and speckled sanddab ( Citharichthys stigmaeus ). The estuary also serves as

675-412: The watershed. The sediment has filled in the pools and spawning habitat used by steelhead and coho salmon , which has caused a major decline in the fishery . Habitat in the lower portion of the creek has been degraded due to actions taken after the flooding of 1955 and 1964 . The United States Army Corps of Engineers channelized the last 3.4 miles (5.5 km) of the creek through dredging and

702-524: The way down the river from its source, forms Ruth Reservoir . The dam is owned by Humboldt Bay Municipal Water District, which provides water from Ranney collectors near Essex for municipal and industrial use in Eureka , Arcata , Blue Lake and numerous unincorporated communities in the Humboldt Bay area. The reservoir can hold 48,000 acre-feet (59,000,000 m ) of water; and releases power

729-592: The western slopes of the California Coast Ranges , entirely within Humboldt County. It stretches about 56 kilometres (35 mi) from north to south and ranges from 4.5 to 7 miles (7.2 to 11.3 km) wide. Most of the stream flows in a broad, 1,500-foot (460 m)-deep valley sandwiched between the Mad River basin to the west, and the Klamath River drainage to the east. Elevations range from over 5,000 feet (1,500 m) on higher peaks of

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