Morro Creek is a coastal stream in San Luis Obispo County, in the central region of the U.S. state of California. The watercourse flows from the Santa Lucia Mountains to discharge into the Pacific Ocean, at its mouth on Estero Bay, near the city of Morro Bay.
The creek is in the coastal sage and chaparral section of the California chaparral and woodlands Ecoregion. Historically this watershed had habitats containing considerable amounts of chaparral, and scarce Oak woodlands, and Grey Pine (Pinus sabiniana) trees.
The lower reaches of Morro Creek were used as a significant settlement of the Chumash tribe since at least the Millingstone Horizon. [1]
There is also incidence of historic mining of chromium within the catchment basin. [2] It was used extensively for grazing by the cattle ranches.
San Luis Obispo County, officially the County of San Luis Obispo, is a county on the Central Coast of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 282,424. The county seat is San Luis Obispo.
Baywood-Los Osos is an unincorporated community in western San Luis Obispo County, California. The population was 14,351 in the 2000 census. It includes the communities of Los Osos, which is located near Morro Bay, Baywood Park, and the former community of Cuesta-by-the-Sea.
The Central Coast is an area of California, roughly spanning the coastal region between Point Mugu and Monterey Bay. It lies northwest of Los Angeles and south of the San Francisco Bay Area, and includes the rugged, rural, and sparsely populated stretch of coastline known as Big Sur.
The San Luis Obispo Botanical Garden is a botanical garden located in the rolling hills of El Chorro Regional Park, between San Luis Obispo and Morro Bay in San Luis Obispo County, within the Central Coast of California region. Its grounds, when completed, will be a 150-acre (61 ha) collection of gardens displaying the diverse plant life of the five Mediterranean climate zones of the world; the Mediterranean Basin, and regions of California, Chile, Australia, and South Africa.
Morro Bay State Park is a state park on the Morro Bay lagoon, in western San Luis Obispo County, on the Central Coast of California. On the lagoon's northeastern and eastern edges in the park, there are saltwater and brackish marshes that support thriving bird populations.
The Diablo Range is a mountain range in the California Coast Ranges subdivision of the Pacific Coast Ranges in northern California, United States. It stretches from the eastern San Francisco Bay Area at its northern end to the Salinas Valley area at its southern end.
Coastal sage scrub, also known as coastal scrub, CSS, or soft chaparral, is a low scrubland plant community of the California coastal sage and chaparral subecoregion, found in coastal California and northwestern coastal Baja California. It is within the California chaparral and woodlands ecoregion, of the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome.
Estero Bay is a bay located on the Pacific Coast in San Luis Obispo County, central California. It is about 15 miles (24 km) from its south end at Point Buchon/Montana de Oro State Park, to its north end at Point Estero, which is about 5 miles (8 km) northwest of Cayucos. It is indented about 5 miles (8 km) into the California coast.
Trione-Annadel State Park is a state park of California in the United States. It is situated at the northern edge of Sonoma Valley and is adjacent to Spring Lake Regional Park in Santa Rosa. It offers many recreational activities within its 5,092-acre (2,061 ha) property.
California oak woodland is a plant community found throughout the California chaparral and woodlands ecoregion of California in the United States and northwestern Baja California in Mexico. Oak woodland is widespread at lower elevations in coastal California; in interior valleys of the Coast Ranges, Transverse Ranges and Peninsular Ranges; and in a ring around the California Central Valley grasslands. The dominant trees are oaks, interspersed with other broadleaf and coniferous trees, with an understory of grasses, herbs, geophytes, and California native plants.
The Fairfield Osborn Preserve is a 450-acre nature reserve situated on the northwest flank of Sonoma Mountain in Sonoma County, California. There are eight plant communities within the property, oak woodland being the dominant type. Other communities include chaparral, Douglas fir woodland, native Bunch grass, freshwater marsh, vernal pool, pond and riparian woodland. The flora is extremely diverse including many native trees, shrubs, wildflowers, grasses, lichens and mosses. A diverse fauna inhabits this area including black-tailed deer, coyote, bobcat and an occasional mountain lion; moreover, there are abundant avifauna, amphibians, reptiles and insects.
Hearst San Simeon State Park is a state park of California, United States, preserving rocky coast and rare habitats. It is located between Cambria and San Simeon. The 3,409-acre (1,380 ha) park was first established in 1932. The park includes the Santa Rosa Creek Natural Preserve, the San Simeon Natural Preserve and the Pa-nu Cultural Preserve, which were established in 1990.
Morro Strand State Beach is a protected beach within California's state park system located in north Morro Bay along California State Route 1. Morro Strand is a popular coastal frontage park on Estero Bay featuring the Morro Strand Trail and picnic sites. A three-mile stretch of beach connects the southern and northern entrances to the beach. Dogs are prohibited in part due to the nesting and protection of the Western Snowy Plover. Fishing, surfing, beach walking, and jogging are popular activities.
Los Osos Creek is a stream in coastal San Luis Obispo County that discharges to Morro Bay. Los Osos Creek rises in the Clark Valley on the slopes of the Irish Hills. After flowing through Clark Valley, Los Osos Creek flows into Los Osos Valley. In prehistoric times Chumash Native Americans had a significant settlement on a stabilized sand dune near the mouth of Los Osos Creek.
The Los Osos Valley is a valley within San Luis Obispo County, in the Central Coast of California region.
The Elfin Forest Natural Area is a nature preserve protecting a unique plant community in Los Osos-Baywood, San Luis Obispo County, central California. It consists of prehistoric sand dunes, rising 150 feet (46 m) above southern Morro Bay, on the north of Los Osos-Baywood.
Los Osos Back Bay is a prehistoric Chumash archaeological site in the Los Osos Valley, near the coast in San Luis Obispo County, California.
Morro Bay State Marine Recreational Management Area (SMRMA) and Morro Bay State Marine Reserve (SMR) are two marine protected areas that provide protection for Morro Bay Estuary on California's central coast. The two marine protected areas together encompass 3.31 square miles (8.6 km2). The SMR protects all marine life within its boundaries. Fishing and take of any living marine resources is prohibited. Within the SMRMA, fishing or taking any living marine resources is prohibited with the exception that, with a valid state water bottom lease and permit, the recreational taking of finfish and the aquaculture of oysters is permitted north of latitude 35° 19.70′ N. Recreational hunting of waterfowl is allowed unless otherwise restricted by hunting regulations.
The California coastal sage and chaparral is a Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub ecoregion, defined by the World Wildlife Fund, located in southwestern California and northwestern Baja California (Mexico). It is part of the larger California chaparral and woodlands ecoregion. The ecoregion corresponds to the USDA Southern California ecoregion section 261B, and to the EPA Southern California/Northern Baja Coast ecoregion 8.
The California Coast Ranges Biosphere Reserve was a UNESCO Biosphere reserve located along the California Coast Ranges of northern California and the San Francisco Bay area until June 2017. This biosphere reserve includes a highly diverse complex of evergreen sclerophyllous woodland, coastal, estuary and marine ecosystems.
35°22′33″N120°51′51″W / 35.3759°N 120.8643°W