Salinas River (California)

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The Salinas River is the largest river of the central coast of California, draining nearly 4,200 square miles. It flows north-northwest and drains the Salinas Valley that slices through the Coast Range south from Monterey Bay. The Salinas is a wildlife corridor, and provides the principal source of water from its reservoirs and tributaries for the farms and vineyards of the valley.

1 Name
2 Description
3 Agricultural use
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] Name

The origin of the name for the river is somewhat ambiguous. It did not, however, receive its name during the Spanish or the Mexican eras. It was first encountered by the Spanish Portola Expedition on September 27, 1769, and so was named for the saint celebrated on that day, San Elizario. However, it subsequently appeared on many maps as the Rio de Monterey and its valley was called the Valle de Monterey. It first appears on an American map in 1858 as the Rio Salinas, perhaps because of the large salt flats noted near its mouth in that era. [1]

[edit] Description

The river starts in central San Luis Obispo County, at the north end of the La Panza Range, approximately 20 miles (32 km) east of San Luis Obispo. Its only dam forms the small Santa Margarita Lake. The Salinas flows parallel to the Santa Lucia Mountain Range past Atascadero and Paso Robles. It receives outflow from the Nacimiento and San Antonio lakes through their river tributaries in southern Monterey County. The river continues through the Salinas Valley, between the Santa Lucia and Gabilan mountain ranges, past many small towns including King City, Greenfield, and Soledad, where it combines with the flash-flood prone Arroyo Seco River. It flows just south of the city of Salinas before cutting through Fort Ord and approaching the south-central edge of Monterey Bay south of Castroville. The 1906 San Francisco earthquake altered the river's course, so it no longer reaches the Pacific ocean in its main channel. Instead, it diverts north along the edge of Monterey Bay in the Old Salinas River, joining Elkhorn Slough on Monterey Bay near Moss Landing.

The "Mouth" of the Salinas Valley as seen from the Ford Ord Public Lands, near Marina, CA.

[edit] Agricultural use

The use of the river for irrigation in the Salinas Valley makes it one of the most productive agricultural regions in California. It is especially known as one of the principal regions for lettuce and artichokes in the United States. The river is shallow above ground, periodically dry, with much of its flow underground. The underground flow results from numerous aquifers, which are recharged by water from the Salinas, especially from the Nacimiento and San Antonio lakes during the dry months. In the 18th century, the river valley provided the route of El Camino Real, the principal overland route from southern to northern California, used by early Spanish explorers and missionaries.