::''This is not to be confused with other intermittent watercourses, in Arizona, in Colorado, and in New Mexico and Texas, also using the Carrizo name. For others see

Carrizo Creek and Carrizo Wash (disambiguation) Carrizo Creek and Carrizo Wash may refer to various streams or washes (arroyos) named Carrizo, the Spanish word for "reeds". Streams and washes of this name include: Salton Sea tributaries *Carrizo Creek and Wash (California), a stream and arroyo ...

.'' The Carrizo Creek and Carrizo Wash in California are a stream and an

arroyo Arroyo often refers to: * Arroyo (creek), an intermittently dry creek Arroyo may also refer to: People * Arroyo (surname) Places United States ;California * Arroyo Burro Beach, a public beach park in Santa Barbara County, California * Arroyo ...

that the stream flows into, in

San Diego County, California San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,298,634, making it California's second-most populous county and the fi ...

and

Imperial County, California Imperial County is a County (United States), county on the southeast border of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 179,702, making it the least populous county in Southern Californi ...

. The stream, Carrizo Creek, arises in the mountains of

, and terminates in Carrizo Wash in

Imperial County Imperial Count (german: Reichsgraf) was a title in the Holy Roman Empire. In the medieval era, it was used exclusively to designate the holder of an imperial county, that is, a fief held directly ( immediately) from the emperor, rather than from ...

, a tributary in turn to San Felipe Creek that terminates in the

Salton Sea The Salton Sea is a shallow, landlocked, highly saline body of water in Riverside and Imperial counties at the southern end of the U.S. state of California. It lies on the San Andreas Fault within the Salton Trough that stretches to the Gulf o ...

. The source of California's Carrizo Creek is in San Diego County, 1.2 miles north of the California-Mexico State boundary, at at an elevation of 3,210 feet, on the west side of the divide between Jacumba Valley and the valley of upper Boulder Creek. Carrizo Creek flows west then north northwest through Jacumba Valley then north through

Carrizo Gorge Carrizo Gorge is a valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surf ...

and

Carrizo Canyon Carrizo Canyon is a canyon in San Diego County, California. Its mouth is at an elevation of . It heads at in the mouth of Carrizo Gorge Carrizo Gorge is a valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mount ...

, into

Carrizo Valley Carrizo Valley is a valley between the Vallecito Mountains and Carrizo Badlands to the north and the Tierra Blanca Mountains, Jacumba Mountains and Coyote Mountains on the south, in San Diego County, California. Its mouth is at an elevation or . ...

where it is joined on the left by Vallecito Creek, as it turns east through the

Carrizo Badlands The Carrizo Badlands are a landform of badlands that lie within Anza-Borrego Desert State Park in eastern San Diego County, and in the Carrizo Impact Area in western Imperial County, in Southern California. Geography The badlands lie south of th ...

where 3 miles east of the site of the old

Carrizo Creek Station Carrizo Creek Station, a former stage station of the San Antonio-San Diego Mail Line and Butterfield Overland Mail, located in Imperial County, California just east of the San Diego County line. It lies within the boundaries of the Anza-Borrego De ...

, at an elevation of , it becomes Carrizo Wash. Carrizo Wash terminates at its confluence with San Felipe Creek at .

History

Carrizo Creek, its wash and its tributary, Vallecito Creek, were the watercourses that carved the pathway from the

Peninsular Ranges The Peninsular Ranges (also called the Lower California province) are a group of mountain ranges that stretch from Southern California to the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula; they are part of the North American Coast Ranges, which ...

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...

through the

to the

Colorado Desert California's Colorado Desert is a part of the larger Sonoran Desert. It encompasses approximately , including the heavily irrigated Coachella and Imperial valleys. It is home to many unique flora and fauna. Geography and geology The Colorado De ...

. They provided a pathway and water for Native Americans travelers out into the desert and on to the

Colorado River The Colorado River ( es, Río Colorado) is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The river drains an expansive, arid drainage basin, watershed that encompasses parts of ...

along the course of the distributary

New New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

Alamo River The Alamo River ( es, Río Álamo) flows west and north from the Mexicali Valley (Baja California) across the Imperial Valley (California). The river drains into the Salton Sea. The New River, Alamo River, and the Salton Sea of the 21st century ...

s. Subsequently, from 1828 it was similarly used by Mexican travelers on the route of the

Sonora Road Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Sonora), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is divided into 72 municipalities; the ...

Alta California Alta California ('Upper California'), also known as ('New California') among other names, was a province of New Spain, formally established in 1804. Along with the Baja California peninsula, it had previously comprised the province of , but ...

, then by Americans on

Cooke's Wagon Road Cooke's Wagon Road or Cooke's Road was the first wagon road between the Rio Grande and the Colorado River to San Diego, through the Mexican provinces of Nuevo México, Chihuahua, Sonora and Alta California, established by Philip St. George ...

and its successor the

Southern Emigrant Trail :''The Southern Emigrant Trail should not be confused with the Applegate Trail, which is part of the Northern Emigrant Trails.'' Southern Emigrant Trail, also known as the Gila Trail, the Kearny Trail, Southern Trail and the Butterfield Stage ...

. It was the route taken into California by the San Antonio-San Diego Mail Line and

Overland Mail Company Butterfield Overland Mail (officially the Overland Mail Company)Waterman L. Ormsby, edited by Lyle H. Wright and Josephine M. Bynum, "The Butterfield Overland Mail", The Huntington Library, San Marino, California, 1991. was a stagecoach service i ...

. Both companies used the

at the lower end if the creek in the badlands.

Carrizo Wash

Carrizo Wash is a

wash WASH (or Watsan, WaSH) is an acronym that stands for "water, sanitation and hygiene". It is used widely by non-governmental organizations and aid agencies in developing countries. The purposes of providing access to WASH services include achievin ...

with its head at the

mouth In animal anatomy, the mouth, also known as the oral cavity, or in Latin cavum oris, is the opening through which many animals take in food and issue vocal sounds. It is also the cavity lying at the upper end of the alimentary canal, bounded on ...

of Carrizo Creek in the

located at , and its mouth at its confluence with San Felipe Creek, at an elevation of below sea level.

References

Rivers of San Diego County, California Rivers of Imperial County, California Anza-Borrego Desert State Park Rivers of Southern California {{California-river-stub