| San Felipe Lake | |
|---|---|
  San Felipe Lake  San Felipe Lake | |
| Location | 6 miles (9.7 km) east-southeast of Gilroy in San Benito County, California |
| Coordinates | 36°58′49″N 121°27′44″W / 36.9803913°N 121.4622846°W[1] |
| Type | Tectonic lake |
| Primary inflows | Pacheco Creek |
| Max. length | 0.6 miles (0.97 km) |
| Max. width | 0.3 miles (0.48 km) |
| Max. depth | 18 feet (5.5 m) |
| Surface elevation | 144 feet (44 m)[1] |
San Felipe Lake is a perennial natural lake located in the southern Santa Clara Valley, almost wholly in northern San Benito County with its western edge on the border with Santa Clara County, California.[2] The lake is a critical wetland, rare plant, and wildlife resource in need of additional conservation and enhancement.[3]
San Felipe Lake is the terminus of Pacheco Creek, which drains the western slope of California's Diablo Range. Its outflows once formed the beginning of the Pajaro River through a series of meandering sloughs and wetlands, but now flow through the Miller Canal, constructed in 1874, to the upper reaches of the river.[4] The Pajaro River, in turn, conveys its waters ultimately to Monterey Bay and the Pacific Ocean.
- ^ a b U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: San Felipe Lake
- ^ U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map, accessed February 6, 2016
- ^ Brian Mendenhall, Nick Mascarello, Olivia Cobb (2024). One Water Upper Pajaro Watershed Plan (PDF) (Report). San Jose, California: Valley Water. p. 79. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
{{cite report}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ R. M. Grossinger; E. E. Beller; M. N. Salomon; A. A. Whipple; R. A. Askevold; C. J. Striplen; E. Brewster, and; R. A. Leidy (2008). South Santa Clara Valley Historical Ecology Study, including Soap Lake, the Upper Pajaro River, and Llagas, Uvas-Carnadero, and Pacheco Creeks. SFEI Publication #558 (Report). Oakland, California: San Francisco Estuary Institute. Retrieved March 20, 2024.