Lagunitas Creek

Lagunitas Creek
Arroyo de San Geronimo, Paper Mill Creek
Pair of endangered coho salmon in Lagunitas Creek
Lagunitas Creek watershed (Interactive map)
EtymologySpanish
Native nameTokelalume (Coast Miwok)
Location
CountryUnited States
StateCalifornia
RegionMarin County
Physical characteristics
SourceMount Tamalpais
 • coordinates37°56′51″N 122°35′50″W / 37.94750°N 122.59722°W / 37.94750; -122.59722[1]
MouthTomales Bay
 • coordinates
38°4′48″N 122°49′37″W / 38.08000°N 122.82694°W / 38.08000; -122.82694[1]
 • elevation
0 ft (0 m)
Length20 mi (32 km)
Basin size103 sq mi (270 km2)
Basin features
Tributaries 
 • leftOlema Creek
 • rightDevils Gulch, San Geronimo Creek, Nicasio Creek

Lagunitas Creek is a 24-mile-long (39 km)[2] northward-flowing stream in Marin County, California. It is critically important to the largest spawning runs of endangered coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) in the Central California Coast Coho salmon Evolutionary Significant Unit (CCC ESU).[3]

The stream's headwaters begin on the northern slopes of Mount Tamalpais in the Coast Range and terminate in southeast Tomales Bay, 1.5 miles (2.4 km) northwest of Point Reyes Station, California.[4] Lagunitas Creek feeds several reservoirs on Mt. Tamalpais that supply a major portion of the county's drinking water.[5]

  1. ^ a b U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Lagunitas Creek
  2. ^ U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map Archived 2012-03-29 at the Wayback Machine, accessed December 27, 2017
  3. ^ Peter B. Moyle; Joshua A. Israel; Sabra E. Purdy (2008). Salmon, Steelhead and Trout in California – Status of an Emblematic Fauna (PDF) (Report). Center for Watershed Sciences, University of California, Davis. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2012-05-21. Retrieved 2014-02-08.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Durham was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Stewardship was invoked but never defined (see the help page).