Humboldt Bay

Last updated
Humboldt Bay
Wigi (Wiyot)
Humboldt Bay and Eureka aerial view.jpg
Aerial view of Humboldt Bay
and the City of Eureka
Relief map of California.png
Red pog.svg
Humboldt Bay
Location Humboldt County,
North Coast, California
Coordinates 40°45′13.53″N124°12′54.73″W / 40.7537583°N 124.2152028°W / 40.7537583; -124.2152028
River sourcesElk River; Jacoby, Freshwater, and Salmon Creeks.
Ocean/sea sources Pacific
Basin  countriesUnited States
Max. length14 miles (23 km)
Max. width4.5 miles (7 km)
Surface area13 square miles (34 km2)/25.5 square miles (66 km2) (min/max tide)
(17,000 acres)
Average depth11 feet (3.4 m)
Max. depth40 feet (12 m) (dredged)
Islands Tuluwat Island, Woodley Island, Daby Island
Settlements Eureka, Arcata
References [1]
Official nameHumboldt Harbor Historical District [2]
Reference no.882

Humboldt Bay (Wiyot: Wigi) [3] is a natural bay [4] and a multi-basin, bar-built coastal lagoon [5] located on the rugged North Coast of California, entirely within Humboldt County, United States. It is the largest protected body of water on the West Coast between San Francisco Bay and Puget Sound, the second-largest enclosed bay in California, [6] and the largest port between San Francisco and Coos Bay, Oregon. [5] The largest city adjoining the bay is Eureka, the regional center and county seat of Humboldt County, followed by the city of Arcata. These primary cities, together with adjoining unincorporated communities and several small towns, comprise a Humboldt Bay Area with a total population of nearly 80,000 people. This comprises nearly 60% of the population of Humboldt County. [7] The bay is home to more than 100 plant species, 300 invertebrate species, 100 fish species, and 200 bird species. [8] In addition, the bay and its complex system of marshes and grasses support hundreds of thousands of migrating and local shore birds. [9] Commercially, this second-largest estuary in California is the site of the largest oyster production operations on the West Coast, producing more than half of all oysters farmed in California. [10]

Contents

The Port of Humboldt Bay (also referred to as the Port of Eureka) is a deep water port with harbor facilities, including large industrial docks at Fairhaven, Samoa, and Fields Landing designed to serve cargo and other vessels. Several marinas also located in Greater Eureka have the capacity to serve hundreds of small to mid-size boats and pleasure craft. [11] Beginning in the 1850s, the bay was used extensively to export logs and forest products as part of the historic West coast lumber trade, but with the decline of the industry lumber now is only infrequently shipped from the port. [11]

Geography

1852 U.S. Coast Survey map of Humboldt Bay. 1852 U.S. Coast Survey Map of Humboldt Bay, California.jpg
1852 U.S. Coast Survey map of Humboldt Bay.

Humboldt Bay is the only deep water bay between the San Francisco Bay and Coos Bay, Oregon. The Port of Humboldt Bay is the only port in the region that is dredged regularly to accommodate large ocean-going vessels. Despite being the only protected harbor along nearly 500 miles (800 km) of coastline, the bay's location was undiscovered or at least unreliably charted for centuries after the first arrival of European explorers to the Pacific Coast. This is partially because the bay is difficult to see from the ocean. The harbor opens to the sea through a narrow and historically treacherous passage, which was blocked from direct view because of sandbars. Formation of such sandbars is now managed by a system of jetties. Contributing to the bay's isolation were features of the coastal mountain range, which extends from the ocean approximately 150 miles (240 km) inland, and the common marine layer (fog) in addition to frequent clouds or rain.

The bay is approximately 14 miles (23 km) long but can be from 0.5 miles (0.80 km) wide at the entrance to the widest point at 4.3 miles (6.9 km) in the North Bay. [6] The surface area of Humboldt Bay is 16,000 acres (65 km2) of which 6,000 acres (24 km2) are intertidal mudflats. More than 5,000 acres (20 km2) are primarily eelgrass habitat, which has been relatively constant since 1871, although more than 80% of the bay's coastal marsh habitats have been lost or fragmented by levee, railroad and highway construction. [6] At high tide the surface area is approximately 24 square miles (62 km2), but it is 10.8 square miles (28 km2) at low tide. [6] Each tidal cycle replaces 41% of the water in Humboldt Bay, although exchange in small channels and sloughs of the bay can take up to three weeks. [6]

Geomorphology

Humboldt Bay began to form when a river valley drowned about 10,000 to 15,000 years ago during a period of rapid sea level rise. [6] Bay sediments also contain buried salt marsh deposits showing that areas of the bay have subsided during episodic large-magnitude subduction earthquakes. [12]

Three rivers, the Mad, Elk, and Eel, drained into Humboldt Bay during the mid-Pleistocene. [6] Subsequently, the Mad River cut a new outlet to the sea, and the flow of the Eel was diverted by tectonic uplift of Table Bluff at the southern end of the bay, but Elk River continues to drain into Humboldt Bay. [6]

In the 21st century, the bay is considered to have three regions: [6]

Daby, Woodley, and Tuluwat (formerly Indian) islands are in the North Bay, and all three are within the City of Eureka. Low tides reveal two more islands: Sand Island, which was formed from dredge spoils left in the early 20th century, and Bird Island. [6] A large eelgrass bed in the South Bay, which may be exposed at low tides, is locally known as Clam Island. [6]

History

The Humboldt Harbor Historical District is California Historical Landmark #882 Humboldt Harbor Historical District Plaque.jpg
The Humboldt Harbor Historical District is California Historical Landmark #882

Indigenous people

The Wiyot people were the first to inhabit the Humboldt Bay region, including the Mad River and Eel River. [13] It is estimated that the Wiyot arrived at Humboldt Bay circa 900 A.D. [14]

The Wiyot language is related to the Algonquian language of the Great Plains. [14] The Wiyot Tribe is located in Loleta, California. Tribal members reside on two different reservations, the Table Bluff reservation and the old Table Bluff reservation, sometimes referred to as Indianola. The old reservation, roughly 20 acres, was originally purchased by a local church group to relocate homeless Wiyot in the early 1900s. [15] While the old reservation is still in use, the tribe moved to the new Table Bluff reservation. The new reservation is roughly 88 acres. [15]

Wiyot territory is divided into three different regions: lower Mad River, Humboldt Bay, and lower Eel River. [16] Their entire territory was only around 36 miles long and roughly 15 miles wide. [13] Although relatively small, Wiyot territory encompassed miles of old growth redwood forests, sandy dunes, wetlands and open prairies. Due to its abundance, redwood trees were often used by the Wiyot. Most notably, they made canoes and small houses out of the durable redwood. The average redwood canoe would measure a minimum of 18 feet long and 4 feet wide. [17] To make the canoes, the Wiyot would fell a tree and hollow out the log with fire. [17] Their houses would be made out of redwood planks, forming a rectangular shape. A pitched roof would be built on top. [17] It is estimated that there were around 98 Wiyot villages built along Humboldt Bay and the nearby river banks [18]

The Wiyot diet consisted mainly of acorns, berries, shellfish, salmon, deer, elk, and other small game.

The Wiyot name for Humboldt Bay is called Wigi. Later encounters between settlers and the Wiyot people turned violent, as the settlers encroached on traditional territories. A small group of settlers perpetrated what is known as the 1860 Wiyot Massacre. Every year, around the month of February, the Wiyot people would gather for their World Renewal Ceremony on Indian Island, which lasted 7 to 10 days. [15] During this ceremony, the men would leave each night to replenish supplies, leaving women, children, and elders on the island to rest. [15] In the early morning hours of February 26, 1860, local settlers from the nearby town of Eureka descended onto Indian Island armed with firearms, clubs, knives, and hatchets. [18] For over an hour, the group of settlers killed and mutilated every single Wiyot they could find. The majority of those murdered were women, children, and elders. The remaining survivors, including those on and off the island, were rounded up and then imprisoned at Fort Humboldt. [15]

Through grassroots fundraising, and with the help of the community and individual donors, the Wiyot Tribe was able to purchase back 1.5 acres of the historic village site of Tuluwat on Indian Island in 2000, and in 2004, the Eureka City Council made history as they unanimously approved a resolution to return approximately 45 acres, comprising the northeastern tip of Indian Island, to the Wiyot Tribe. [19]

Early settlement

Early explorers in the region, including Francis Drake, Sebastián Vizcaíno, Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra, and George Vancouver, did not discover the bay because of a combination of circumstances: the way the bay is hidden from an ocean approach, storms, and fog. [20] Captain Jonathan Winship is credited with the first recorded entry into Humboldt Bay by sea in June 1806 while employed by the Russian-American Company, a major trading company. [20] His party, including Aleut in baidarka to hunt sea otter, were met with hostility by the local Indians. [20] Winship's party named this body of water as Bay of Resanof, after Nikolai Rezanov, the Chamberlain of the Russian Tsar, and son-in-law of Grigory Shelikhov, who was the founder of the first Russian colony in North America.

In 1849, an expedition of seven men led by Josiah Gregg attempted to find an overland route to the Pacific Ocean. They left the gold town of Weaverville for the 150-mile westward trek to the sea. Because of the density of the redwood forests, and because Gregg stopped frequently to measure latitude and the size of the trees, the expedition averaged only two miles per day. The party was near starvation when they emerged on the coast, where on 20 December 1849 they discovered what is now known as Humboldt Bay. After stocking up on food, the party walked to San Francisco to report their discovery of the bay.

In March 1850, two ships, the General Morgan and the Laura Virginia, were sent to the bay from San Francisco. After considerable initial difficulty with waves breaking heavily over shifting sands of the bar crossing, [21] the ships entered the bay in 1850. The members of the Laura Virginia company named the bay after Alexander von Humboldt, a noted German naturalist of that time.

Humboldt Bay was charted by the United States Coast Survey in 1850, although the map was not published until 1851. [22]

After two years of white settlement on Humboldt Bay, in 1852 only six ships sailed from the bay to San Francisco. But by 1853, on the same route, 143 ships loaded with lumber for markets crossed the bar. [23] Of those, despite the best efforts of local pilots and tugs, 12 ships wrecked on the bar. In times of bad weather, ships could be forced to remain in harbor for weeks before attempting the crossing. [23] The first marker at the harbor entrance was placed in 1853. [5]

The U.S. Federal Government authorized funds for a lighthouse near the mouth to improve navigation. [23] In 1856 the Humboldt Harbor Light was built on the north spit. In 1872 a bell boat was added, and two years later, a steam whistle replaced the bell to assist mariners during times of dense fog. Eighty-one people drowned between 1853 and 1880 during bar crossings, including the captain of the brig Crimea, who was washed overboard while crossing the bar on 18 February 1870. [23] The Humboldt Bay Life-Saving Station is on the bay side of the North Spit, south of the World War II era blimp base.

By the 1880s, long wharves were built into the bay for easier loading of lumber shipments. Shipbuilding became part of local industry. [23] The Bendixson shipyards produced 120 ships on Humboldt Bay. [23] The volume of shipping reached about 600 vessels a year by 1881. [5] Humboldt Bay was made an official United States port of entry in 1882, a status that permitted shipping from there directly to overseas ports. [23] In 1886, fierce storms nearly destroyed the Harbor Light, and it was replaced by the Table Bluff Light. [23]

In 1968, land ownership along the Bay became the focal point of a legal battle, when a lawsuit was filed against the City of Eureka to determine legal ownership of land along the Eureka waterfront. The litigation spanned 13 years and involved extensive historical research, including evidence of original deeds and lawsuits dating back to before the establishment of the city. This became known as the Eureka Tidelands Case, or Lazio v. City of Eureka. These documents, along with copies of many historical maps as well as a series of contemporary aerial photographs and archaeological findings commissioned for the case, are included in Humboldt State University's Eureka Waterfront Litigation Collection. [24]

Engineering

One of the 4,796 dolosse made on the South Spit for use on the south and north jetties protecting the mouth of Humboldt Bay. One dolosse was on display in front of the Eureka Chamber of Commerce, which moved in 2022. Eureka CA Dolos on Broadway.jpg
One of the 4,796 dolosse made on the South Spit for use on the south and north jetties protecting the mouth of Humboldt Bay. One dolosse was on display in front of the Eureka Chamber of Commerce, which moved in 2022.
The donated dolos after it was moved to Madaket Plaza in 2022. Eureka CA Dolos on Madaket Plaza.png
The donated dolos after it was moved to Madaket Plaza in 2022.

The unimproved state of the mouth of the bay was a crescent-shaped bar covered by a line of breaking waves. [23] The entrance of the bay is protected by two sand spits, named South Spit and North Spit. The bay mouth was stabilized by jetties, with one jetty projecting from each spit. [5] The South Spit jetty was built starting in 1889, but by 1890 observers realized that it had produced erosion of the North Spit and was widening the channel. [25] The jetties are approximately 6,000 feet (1,800 m) long and 2,200 feet (670 m) apart. [5] Recurring storm damage required rebuilding the jetties in 1911, 1927, 1932, 1939, 1950, 1957, 1963, 1971, 1988 and 1995. [25] Entrance currents are strong, ranging from 2.0 knots average maximum ebb and 1.6 knots average maximum flood; but peak rates can be nearly twice as high. [5]

In 1971 and 1984, 42 short tons (38 t) dolosse were added in two layers to secure the jetties, which are maintained by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. [23] [25] In 1972, 4,796 dolosse were manufactured locally; 4,795 of them are on the jetties, and one was installed outside the Eureka Chamber of Commerce. [23] The donated dolos was slated for demolition due to sale of this property by the City of Eureka in 2022, but it was relocated to Madaket Plaza through a community effort. [26] In 1983, 1,000 more dolosse were made at the South Spit yard and left to cure; local newspapers named the curing site "Humboldt's Stonehenge." [23] In 1985, 450 of the dolosse were shipped 35 miles (56 km) around the bay to be placed on the North Spit. At that point, more than $20,000,000 had been spent in total to protect the entrance to Humboldt Bay. [23]

In 1977 the jetties were named an American Society of Civil Engineers California historical civil engineering landmark. [5] They were designated in 1981 as a national historical civil engineering landmark. [23] The jetties are inspected annually by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. [25] In 1996, the inspection showed that 34 of the dolosse had cracked, 17 on each jetty, mostly near the southern seaward head. [25]

Dredging of channels for shipping began in 1881; periodic dredging of the entrance and shipping channels maintains a depth of 38 to 48 feet (12 to 15 m). [27] These cumulative changes and water action have resulted in severe erosion at the bay's entrance, where approximately 188 acres (0.76 km2) of Buhne Point, which had formerly visually blocked the entrance to the bay, washed away between 1854 and 1955. [28]

Table Bluff Beach offers views of the South Spit Jetty. Fishermen are often seen fishing. Jetty at South Spit.jpg
Table Bluff Beach offers views of the South Spit Jetty. Fishermen are often seen fishing.

Most of the large sloughs around the bay have been protected with levees. But because of development by residents and businesses, of the 10,000 acres (40 km2) of historic intertidal marsh, only about 10% remains. Other marsh areas were lost to land reclamation for hay or pasture, and construction of the Northwestern Pacific Railroad in 1901. This reduced tidal connectivity along the eastern edge of the bay, which resulted in deterioration of large areas of marsh habitat.

Ecology

Mike Thompson Wildlife Area is a 4.5 miles (7.2 km)-long stretch of beach, dunes and tidal marsh that serves as a popular destination for waterfowl hunting, surf fishing, and clamming on the south spit of Humboldt Bay Mike Thompson Wildlife Area.jpg
Mike Thompson Wildlife Area is a 4.5 miles (7.2 km)-long stretch of beach, dunes and tidal marsh that serves as a popular destination for waterfowl hunting, surf fishing, and clamming on the south spit of Humboldt Bay

Humboldt Bay and its tidal sloughs are open to fishing year-round. A protected area in the bay is the Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge, created in 1971 for the protection and management of wetlands and bay habitats for migratory birds. The Humboldt Botanical Garden, at the College of the Redwoods near the Bay, preserves and displays local native plants. Humboldt Bay is also recognized for protection by the California Bays and Estuaries Policy. [29]

In the winter, the bay serves as a feeding and resting site for more than 100,000 birds. Among these are gull species, Caspian tern, brown pelican, cormorant, surf scoter, and common murre. [6]

The bay is a source of subsistence for a variety of salt-water fish, crustaceans, and mollusks. Sport fishing is permitted. Dungeness crab are fished privately and commercially, and oysters are commercially farmed in the bay. The bay supports more than 100 species of marine and estuarine fish, including green sturgeon, coho and Chinook salmon, steelhead and coastal cutthroat trout, which spawn and rear in its watershed, covering an area of 223 square miles (580 km2). [6] Coho salmon primarily rear and spawn in Elk River, Freshwater Creek, and Jacoby Creek. A recent study found that 40% of coho in the system rear in the estuary. [30] The federally endangered tidewater goby is found in the bay, along with more common three-spined stickleback, shiner perch and Pacific staghorn sculpin. [6]

The bay has been invaded by the European green crab, a voracious predator that is known to prey on the young of native crab species, as well as native mussels, oysters, and clams. [6] European green crab were first documented in Humboldt Bay in 1995 and have been blamed for a decline in clam harvesting. Scientists have not found a way to control them.

A close up view of the Mike Thompson Wildlife Area located on Table Bluff Beach in Loleta, California Wildlife Area.jpg
A close up view of the Mike Thompson Wildlife Area located on Table Bluff Beach in Loleta, California

Marine mammals are represented by harbor porpoises, harbor seal, California sea lion and river otter, with Steller sea lion and gray whale found immediately offshore. [6] Leopard sharks have been reported inside the bay, which also provides habitat for young bat rays, feeding on clams, crabs, shrimps, worms, sea cucumbers, brittle stars, various gastropods and isopods. [6]

Bay settlements

Easterly view from the docks of Eureka's Woodley Island Marina. Carson Mansion at dusk, with distant view of California Coast Ranges due east of the populated Humboldt Bay area. Carson Mansion at Dusk.jpg
Easterly view from the docks of Eureka's Woodley Island Marina. Carson Mansion at dusk, with distant view of California Coast Ranges due east of the populated Humboldt Bay area.
Northerly view from Woodley Island of Monterey cypress trees on Tuluwat Island, the largest of three islands, all of which are in the Eureka City limits. The great egret nests in these trees in large numbers each year. Indian Island Tolowot California.jpg
Northerly view from Woodley Island of Monterey cypress trees on Tuluwat Island, the largest of three islands, all of which are in the Eureka City limits. The great egret nests in these trees in large numbers each year.

About 80,000 people reside on the shore of the bay in at least 20 named settlements on the coastal plain around the bay estuary. Most of these are unincorporated suburbs of the City of Eureka.

Settlements located on or near the bay, listed clockwise from the north side of the bay entrance:

Bay tributaries and sloughs

Southerly view of Eureka Slough (left and midsection, larger stream), Freshwater Slough (right-mid portion, larger stream); and when photo is expanded Freshwater Creek (background and left near treeline), Ryan Slough (mid-upper top portion), Ryan Creek (furthest top midsection and barely visible when photo is expanded). Location is South of Highway 101 at the northern edge of the city of Eureka. Aerial Eureka Murray Field Airport (EKA) May 2012.JPG
Southerly view of Eureka Slough (left and midsection, larger stream), Freshwater Slough (right-mid portion, larger stream); and when photo is expanded Freshwater Creek (background and left near treeline), Ryan Slough (mid-upper top portion), Ryan Creek (furthest top midsection and barely visible when photo is expanded). Location is South of Highway 101 at the northern edge of the city of Eureka.

Streams and sloughs that enter into Humboldt Bay are listed north to south, clockwise, with tributaries entering nearest the bay listed first. The primary streams of major watershed areas east of the bay (draining a combined area of 288 square miles (746 km2)) [31] are in bold. [32] [33]

Harbor management

Humboldt Bay Harbor Recreation and Conservation District is the governing body of Humboldt Bay, the Port of Humboldt Bay, and the Port of Eureka. Despite the jetties and dredging, the harbor entrance remains challenging. Only maritime pilots trained and employed by the district are authorized to bring vessels beyond a certain size into the bay, unless a ship's pilot has proper certification. The Humboldt Bay District maintains a 237-berth marina at Woodley Island, serving both recreational and commercial boats and a shipping dock located in South Bay.

Dangerous sand bars and shifting currents have caused many shipwrecks at the entrance to Humboldt Bay, particularly during the late nineteenth century. Forty-two ships were wrecked in and around the channel, most of them while under tow by a piloted tug boat. Fifty-four ships were wrecked on the Humboldt County coastline. Most shipwrecks occurred between 1850 and 1899. [34]

Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge

The Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1971 to conserve and protect a diverse habitat full of mammals, migratory birds, fish, amphibians, and plants. [35] In total, Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge is 3,000 acres including the cities and towns of Loleta, Eureka, and Arcata [36]

Restoration projects

Salmon Creek

Humboldt Bay has many different tributaries, such as a river or stream, flowing into larger rivers or lakes [37] For Humboldt Bay, Salmon Creek is the third largest tributary. [38] Just like the name suggests, Salmon Creek has historically supported large populations of coho salmon, steelhead trout, and chinook salmon. [38] In recent years, the coho salmon population has seen a steady decline in California. Factors such as freshwater habitat degradation, timber harvest activities, and diversion of water for agricultural and municipal purposes influenced coho salmon populations. [39] Historically, Salmon creek consisted of tidal salt marshes with many sloughs mixed in. [38] Due to over grazing, levee construction, and installation of tide gates in the 1900s, Salmon Creek was severely degraded. [38] Humboldt Bay NWR acquired the land in 1988 and deemed Salmon Creek in need of restoration to improve estuarine habitats. [38] Phase 1 of restoration began in 2006 and aimed to increase tidal connectivity, construct new tide gates, and to reconnect several off channel ponds to the stream. [38] Phase 1 improved habitat and slightly increased fish passage, but more restoration was needed. Phase 2 of restoration began by adding 4,200 feet of new estuarine channel and habitat. [38] The estuarine channels were improved by the alignment of slough channels through the original marshes. [38] Lastly, over 200 logs of various sizes were added to the channels and sloughs as hiding and resting areas for marine life. [38] A year after restoration was completed, California Department of Fish and Game conducted a survey and sampled more juvenile coho salmon than the previous year [38]

Lanphere Dunes

The Lanphere Dunes restoration project is considered to be the first of its kind on the west coast. Situated on Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge, the Lanphere Dunes are home to many unique plant and animal species. Restoration efforts began in 1980 to halt the spread of invasive European Beachgrass ( Ammophilia arenaria ). [40] Originally inhabited by the Wiyot people, the Lanphere Dunes were under stewardship by new landowners, William and Hortense Lanphere in the 1930s. Along with European Beachgrass, Yellow Bush Lupine (Lupinusarboreus), another invasive species, was introduced from an adjacent property nearby. [40] Dune restoration can be quite difficult as all of the plants, animals, and organisms have evolved and co adapted to the specialized coastal conditions. Dunes are considered to be a hostile ecosystem because of environmental conditions such as low soil fertility, summer drought, ocean spray, harsh winds, and intense albedo. [40] Due to these conditions, mechanical restoration is best suited for this type of project. Mechanical restoration began by the removal of European Beachgrass by hand or with shovels. [40] Removal of European Beachgrass requires multiple visits over the course of several years due to the plants' tenacious rhizome. [40] This removal technique also allows for the native vegetation to recolonize at the same rate. The first restoration project started over 40 years ago and to date, native plant and animal communities are thriving.

See also

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The Mattole River is a river on the north coast of California, that flows northerly, then westerly into the Pacific Ocean. The vast majority of its 62 miles (100 km) course is through southern Humboldt County, though a short section of the river flows through northern Mendocino County. Communities, from north to south, closely associated with the Mattole River include: Petrolia, Honeydew, Ettersburg, Thorn Junction, and Whitethorn. The river enters the ocean at the Mattole Estuary about 4 miles (6.4 km) west-southwest of Petrolia and 10 miles (16 km) south of Cape Mendocino.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Redwood Creek (Humboldt County)</span> River in California, United States

Redwood Creek is a 61.8-mile (99.5 km) river in Humboldt County, California. The river's headwaters are in the Coast Range at about 5,000 feet (1,500 m) and it flows roughly northwest until it empties into the Pacific Ocean near the small town of Orick, the only development in the 280-square-mile (730 km2)-watershed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Redwood Creek (Marin County)</span> River in California, United States

Redwood Creek is a mostly perennial stream in Marin County, California. 4.7 miles (7.6 km) long, it drains a 7-square-mile (18 km2) watershed which includes the Muir Woods National Monument, and reaches the Pacific Ocean north of the Golden Gate at Muir Beach.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lanphere Dunes</span>

The Lanphere Dunes National Natural Landmark a unit of the Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge Complex, is located in Humboldt County, California. The dune complex consists of the wave slope, fore dune, herbaceous and woody swales, coniferous and riparian forest, freshwater swamp, freshwater marsh, brackish marsh, salt marsh, and intertidal mudflats. The site exemplifies dunes succession.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elkhorn Slough</span> Body of water in Monterey County, California

Elkhorn Slough is a 7-mile-long (11 km) tidal slough and estuary on Monterey Bay in Monterey County, California. It is California's second largest estuary and the United States' first estuarine sanctuary. The community of Moss Landing and the Moss Landing Power Plant are located at the mouth of the slough on the bay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nestucca Bay National Wildlife Refuge</span> Wildlife refuge in Oregon, United States

Nestucca Bay National Wildlife Refuge is a U.S. National Wildlife Refuge on Oregon's coast. It lies in southern Tillamook County, on the state's northern coast. It is one of six National Wildlife Refuges comprising the Oregon Coast National Wildlife Refuge Complex and supports one tenth of the world's dusky Canada goose population. The refuge contains at least seven types of habitat, including tidal marsh, tidal mudflats, grassland, woodland, pasture, forested lagg—a transition between raised peat bog and mineral soil—and freshwater bogs, including the southernmost coastal Sphagnum bog habitat on the Pacific Coast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Gregorio Creek</span> River in California, United States

San Gregorio Creek is a river in San Mateo County, California. Its tributaries originate on the western ridges of the Santa Cruz Mountains whence it courses southwest through steep forested canyons. The San Gregorio Creek mainstem begins at the confluence of Alpine and La Honda Creeks, whence it flows 12 miles (19 km) through rolling grasslands and pasturelands until it meets the Pacific Ocean at San Gregorio State Beach. It traverses the small unincorporated communities of La Honda, San Gregorio, Redwood Terrace and Sky Londa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pescadero Creek</span> River in California, United States

Pescadero Creek is a major stream in Santa Cruz and San Mateo counties in California, United States. At 26.6 miles (42.8 km), it is the longest stream in San Mateo County and flows all year from springs in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Its source is at 1,880 feet (570 m) above sea level on the western edge of Castle Rock State Park, with additional headwaters in Portola Redwoods State Park, and its course traverses Pescadero Creek County Park and San Mateo County Memorial Park before entering Pescadero Marsh Natural Preserve at Pescadero State Beach and thence to the Pacific Ocean 14.4 miles (23 km) south of Half Moon Bay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coast Range (EPA ecoregion)</span> Coastal ecoregion in the Western United States

The Coast Range ecoregion is a Level III ecoregion designated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the U.S. states of Washington, Oregon, and California. It stretches along the Pacific Coast from the tip of the Olympic Peninsula in the north to the San Francisco Bay in the south, including Grays Harbor, Willapa Bay, and the Long Beach Peninsula in Washington, the entire length of the Oregon Coast, and the Northern California Coast. Named for the Coast Range mountains, it encompasses the lower elevations of the Olympic Mountains, the Oregon Coast Range, the Californian North Coast Ranges, and surrounding lowlands.

Yontocket is an unincorporated community in Del Norte County, California located 3 miles (4.8 km) west-southwest of Smith River, at an elevation of 26 feet alongside Yontocket Slough.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge</span> National Wildlife Refuge in California

Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge is located on Humboldt Bay, on the California North Coast near the cities of Eureka and Arcata. The refuge exists primarily to protect and enhance wetland habitats for migratory water birds using the bay area, including tens of thousands of shorebirds, ducks, geese, swans, and the black brant. Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge, along with other public and private lands around Humboldt Bay, is one of the key stopovers for the millions of migratory birds that rely on the Pacific Flyway. More than 200 bird species, including 80 kinds of water birds and four endangered species, regularly feed, rest, or nest on the refuge or other areas around the bay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salt River (California)</span> River in California, United States

The Salt River is a formerly navigable hanging channel of the Eel River which flowed about 9 miles (14 km) from near Fortuna and Waddington, California, to the estuary at the Pacific Ocean, until siltation from logging and agricultural practices essentially closed the channel. It was historically an important navigation route until the early 20th century. It now intercepts and drains tributaries from the Wildcat Hills along the south side of the Eel River floodplain. Efforts to restore the river began in 1987, permits and construction began in 2012, and water first flowed in the restored channel in October 2013.

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