San Benito River

San Benito River
San Juan River [1]
The San Benito River valley and Hernandez Reservoir
San Benito River is located in California
San Benito River
Mouth of San Benito River
Location
CountryUnited States
StateCalifornia
RegionSan Benito County
Physical characteristics
Source 
 • locationsoutheast of Santa Rita Peak in the Diablo Range.
 • coordinates36°19′58″N 120°35′03″W / 36.33278°N 120.58417°W / 36.33278; -120.58417[2]
 • elevation4,760 ft (1,450 m)
Mouthmouth
 • location
at its confluence with the Pajaro River.
 • coordinates
36°53′47″N 121°33′46″W / 36.89639°N 121.56278°W / 36.89639; -121.56278[2]
 • elevation
115 ft (35 m)
Length109 mi (175 km)

The San Benito River is a 109 miles (175 km) long river flowing northwesterly between the Diablo Range and the Gabilan Range, on the Central Coast of California.[3] The river begins in southeasternmost San Benito County, California and ends in the extreme northwestern part of the county, where it is a tributary to the Pajaro River. The San Benito River is longer than the Pajaro River and it drains more area, although it has proportionally lower flows.

  1. ^ Gudde, Erwin G. California Place Names: A Geographical Dictionary. Berkeley, California: University of California Press, 1949; p.298
  2. ^ a b U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: San Benito River
  3. ^ U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map, accessed March 15, 2011