Watershed Descriptions

San Lorenzo – Back to Study Area

Map of San Lorenzo watershed

Area¹: 378,203 km²

Planning Watersheds¹: 13

Description: The San Lorenzo Watershed is located in north-central Santa Cruz County. It drains the San Lorenzo River from its headwaters in the Santa Cruz Mountains to the Pacific Ocean. The watershed contains the communities of Boulder Creek, Ben Lomond, Felton, Scotts Valley, Live Oak, and Santa Cruz. The University of California at Santa Cruz is located in the southeast portion of the watershed. Castle Rock and Henry Cowell State Parks, several State Beaches, and the Pogonip Open Space Preserve are also located in the San Lorenzo watershed. To interactively explore features of this watershed, visit the Interactive Mapping section of this Web site.

Streams²:

Alba Creek (2.1 km)
Bean Creek (14.4 km)
Bear Creek (13.4 km)
Bennett Creek (2.9 km)
Boulder Creek (12.2 km)
Branciforte Creek (13.2 km)
Bull Creek (3.2 km)
Carbonera Creek (16.4 km)
Clear Creek (3.6 km)
Crystal Creek (2.8 km)
Deer Creek (6.2 km)
Fall Creek (8.2 km)
Foreman Creek (2.0 km)
Fritch Creek (1.7 km)
Granite Creek (4.1 km)
Hare Creek (2.2 km)

Jamison Creek (3.5 km)
Logan Creek (2.5 km)
Lompico Creek (7.3 km)
Love Creek (6.1 km)
Mackenzie Creek (2.3 km)
Malosky Creek (1.4 km)
Manson Creek (1.8 km)
Marshall Creek (2.4 km)
Newell Creek (18.2 km)
Peavine Creek (1.8 km)
Ruins Creek (4.4 km)
San Lorenzo Creek (49.0 km)
Shear Creek (3.0 km)
Shingle Mill Creek (2.5 km)
Two Bar Creek (9.2 km)
Zayante Creek (5.8 km)

Salmonids³:

steelhead trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)

Watershed Groups: Arana Gulch Watershed Alliance

Watershed Plans:

Ownership⁴: Local, State, and Private

Landcover and Landuse⁵:

Pie Chart

Source Information:

¹California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection Watersheds (CALWATER 2.2) for Hydrologic Sub-Area Name and Planning Watershed Name (see metadata for srp_calw22)
²U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Stream Reach File 3 (see metadata for srp_rf3)
³Personal communication: Jerry Smith (San Jose), Don Alley (Brookdale), Kristen Schroeder (Santa Cruz County), 2004.
County of Santa Cruz Map of Steelhead and Coho Salmon Distribution in Santa Cruz County, May 2004.
⁴California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection Conservation and Public Lands (Legacy Project) (see metadata spr_govtowna)
⁵California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection Multi Source Landcover Data (2002) (see metadata srp_fveg)