San Lorenzo River

This article is about the river in California. For the river in western Mexico, see San Lorenzo River (Mexico).
San Lorenzo River
Rio de San Lorenzo[1][2]
The San Lorenzo River southeast of downtown Santa Cruz.
1954 Map of Waddell Creek, Scott Creek and San Lorenzo River
Location
CountryUnited States
StateCalifornia
CountySanta Cruz County
CitiesBoulder Creek, Brookdale, Ben Lomond, Felton, Santa Cruz
Physical characteristics
SourceSanta Cruz Mountains
 • locationCastle Rock Ridge[3]
 • coordinates37°15′15″N 122°07′10″W / 37.25417°N 122.11944°W / 37.25417; -122.11944[4]
 • elevation2,670 ft (810 m)[5]
MouthMonterey Bay
 • location
Santa Cruz, California
 • coordinates
36°57′51″N 122°00′45″W / 36.96417°N 122.01250°W / 36.96417; -122.01250[4]
 • elevation
0 ft (0 m)[4]
Length29.3 mi (47.2 km)[5]
Basin size138 sq mi (360 km2)[6]
Discharge 
 • locationSanta Cruz
 • average122.4 cu ft/s (3.47 m3/s)[7]
Basin features
Tributaries 
 • leftCraig Springs Creek, Kings Creek, Two Bar Creek, Bear Creek, Spring Creek Gulch, Love Creek, Newell Creek, Zayante Creek, Eagle Creek, Powder Mill Creek, Branciforte Creek
 • rightTin Can Creek, Spring Creek, Boulder Creek, Malosky Creek, Clear Creek, Alba Creek, Hubbard Gulch, Manson Creek, Fall Creek, Bull Creek, Shingle Mill Creek, Gold Gulch Creek

The San Lorenzo River (Spanish: Río de San Lorenzo) is a 29.3-mile-long (47.2 km) river in the U.S. state of California. The name San Lorenzo derives from the Spanish language for "Saint Lawrence" due to its reported sighting on that saint's feast day by Spanish explorers. Its headwaters originate in Castle Rock State Park in the Santa Cruz Mountains and flow south by southeast through the San Lorenzo Valley before passing through Santa Cruz and emptying into Monterey Bay and the Pacific Ocean.

  1. ^ Erwin Gustav Gudde (1960). California Place Names: The Origin and Etymology of Current Geographical Names. University of California Press. pp. 3–. GGKEY:403N5Z6QERG.
  2. ^ Donald Thomas Clark (1986). Santa Cruz County Place Names. Santa Cruz: Santa Cruz Historical Society.
  3. ^ Branner, J. C.; Newsom, J. F.; Arnold, Ralph. "Description of the Santa Cruz Quadrangle" (PDF). pubs.usgs.gov. U.S. Geological Survey. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
  4. ^ a b c "San Lorenzo River". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
  5. ^ a b U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map, accessed January 27, 2017
  6. ^ Griggs, Garry B.; Paris, Lance (1982). "Flood control failure: San Lorenzo River, California". Environmental Management. 6 (5): 407–419. Bibcode:1982EnMan...6..407G. doi:10.1007/bf01871889. S2CID 155030793.
  7. ^ "Water-Year Summary for Site USGS 11161000".