This is a list of rivers of

Orange County, California Orange County is located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,186,989, making it the third-most-populous county in California, the sixth-most-populous in the United States, a ...

, part of the

Greater Los Angeles Area Greater Los Angeles is the second-largest metropolitan region in the United States with a population of 18.5 million in 2021, encompassing five counties in Southern California extending from Ventura County in the west to San Bernardino Coun ...

Southern Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, M ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

.The

Santa Ana River The Santa Ana River is the largest river entirely within Southern California in the United States. It rises in the San Bernardino Mountains and flows for most of its length through San Bernardino and Riverside Counties, before cutting through ...

and San Gabriel River are the largest in Orange County; their extensive watersheds extend into neighboring

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

Riverside Riverside may refer to: Places Australia * Riverside, Tasmania, a suburb of Launceston, Tasmania Canada * Riverside (electoral district), in the Yukon * Riverside, Calgary, a neighbourhood in Alberta * Riverside, Manitoba, a former rural m ...

and

San Bernardino San Bernardino (; Spanish language, Spanish for Bernardino of Siena, "Saint Bernardino") is a city and county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a ...

Counties. A number of smaller streams originate in or flow largely within Orange County, chief of which are Coyote Creek,

Santiago Creek Santiago Creek is a major watercourse in Orange County in the U.S. state of California. About long, it drains most of the northern Santa Ana Mountains and is a tributary to the Santa Ana River. It is one of the longest watercourses entirely within ...

San Diego Creek San Diego Creek is a urban waterway flowing into Upper Newport Bay in Orange County, California in the United States. Its watershed covers in parts of eight cities, including Irvine, Tustin, and Costa Mesa. From its headwaters in Laguna Woods ...

, Aliso Creek, and

San Juan Creek San Juan Creek, also called the San Juan River, is a long stream in Orange and Riverside Counties, draining a watershed of .7.5 Minute Quadrangle Map, U.S. Geological Survey, San Juan Capistrano, 1968, photorevised 1981 Its mainstem begins in ...

. Many streams in the area received their names from Spanish explorers in the 18th century. With the exception of mountain regions, Orange County is characterized by dense suburban and urban development. To protect the county's 3 million people from floods, many streams were channelized and/or lined with concrete in the 20th century. In addition, some wholly artificial streams were constructed to drain the large coastal wetlands and floodplains in north Orange County, namely in the

Anaheim Bay Anaheim Bay is an extensive harbor and wetland complex in Orange County, California in the United States. The bay is located on the Pacific Ocean coast of northwestern Orange County next to Seal Beach and is split into several distinct but interco ...

watershed. Although the purpose of channelization is to carry floodwaters to the sea in an efficient manner, Orange County's streams have also been impacted by

stormwater Stormwater, also spelled storm water, is water that originates from precipitation (storm), including heavy rain and meltwater from hail and snow. Stormwater can soak into the soil ( infiltrate) and become groundwater, be stored on depressed la ...

capture projects, to reduce the county's reliance on imported water. Such projects range from

Irvine Lake Irvine Lake is a reservoir in Orange County, California, United States. It is on Santiago Creek, located in Silverado, California, east of the city of Irvine and close to Irvine Regional Park. The reservoir is currently operated by the Serrano ...

– the county's largest body of fresh water, created by damming Santiago Creek in 1931 – to the extensive Santa Ana River

groundwater recharge Groundwater recharge or deep drainage or deep percolation is a hydrologic process, where water moves downward from surface water to groundwater. Recharge is the primary method through which water enters an aquifer. This process usually occurs in ...

operations that provide as much as half the domestic water used in the county.

San Gabriel River watershed

The San Gabriel River flows mainly in

Los Angeles County Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, with 9,861,224 residents estimated as of 2022. It is the ...

, and forms part of the border between Orange and Los Angeles Counties. * San Gabriel River ** Coyote Creek *** Carbon Creek ***

Moody Creek Moody may refer to: Places * Moody, Alabama, U.S. * Moody, Indiana, U.S. * Moody, Missouri, U.S. * Moody, Texas, U.S. * Moody County, South Dakota, U.S. * Port Moody, British Columbia, Canada * Hundred of Moody, a cadastral division in South A ...

***

Fullerton Creek Fullerton Creek is a tributary of Coyote Creek, which is a lower tributary of the San Gabriel River. The San Gabriel River is found in northwest Orange County, southeast Los Angeles County, and southwest Riverside County in the U.S. state of Cal ...

***

Brea Creek Brea Creek is one of four principal tributaries of Coyote Creek, which is a lower tributary of the San Gabriel River in California. It drains parts of Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino counties. The creek flows U.S. Geological Survey. Nati ...

**** Tonner Canyon ***

North Fork Coyote Creek North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...

(La Canada Verde Creek) ****

La Mirada Creek LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figure ...

***

Imperial Creek Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * Imperial, Tex ...

Anaheim Bay Anaheim Bay is an extensive harbor and wetland complex in Orange County, California in the United States. The bay is located on the Pacific Ocean coast of northwestern Orange County next to Seal Beach and is split into several distinct but interco ...
watershed

* Bolsa Chica Channel ** Anaheim-Barber City Channel ** Westminster Channel * Sunset Channel *

East Garden Grove-Wintersburg Channel East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fac ...

** Ocean View Channel

Santa Ana River The Santa Ana River is the largest river entirely within Southern California in the United States. It rises in the San Bernardino Mountains and flows for most of its length through San Bernardino and Riverside Counties, before cutting through ...
watershed

The -long Santa Ana River begins in

San Bernardino County San Bernardino County (), officially the County of San Bernardino, is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California, and is located within the Inland Empire area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 2,181, ...

and flows through

Riverside County Riverside County is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,418,185, making it the fourth-most populous county in California and the 10th-most populous in the Unit ...

before bisecting northern Orange County. *

** Talbert Channel *** Huntington Beach Channel ** Greenville-Banning Channel **

*** Handy Creek *** Weir Canyon *** Fremont Canyon *** Limestone Canyon ***

Black Star Canyon Black Star Canyon is a remote mountain canyon in the Santa Ana Mountains, located in eastern Orange County, California. It is a watershed of the Santa Ana River. Black Star Canyon is a popular destination for mountain bikers as well as hikers du ...

***

Silverado Canyon Silverado Canyon is a roughly 2,500-foot-deep (760 m) gorge in the Santa Ana Mountains, in the U.S. state of California. The small stream it is associated with, Silverado Creek, rises on the north slope of Modjeska Peak at the elevation of and f ...

**** Ladd Canyon *** Williams Canyon *** Pancho Canyon ***

Modjeska Canyon Modjeska Canyon is an unincorporated community on the western slope of the Santa Ana Mountains in eastern Orange County, California. It is a suburban community of several hundred residents, with a small park and a volunteer fire station. The Z ...

**** Harding Canyon ***

Bear Trap Canyon Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Nor ...

Walnut Canyon Walnut Canyon National Monument ( Hopi: Wupatupqa) is a United States National Monument located about southeast of downtown Flagstaff, Arizona, near Interstate 40. The canyon rim elevation is ; the canyon's floor is 350 ft lower. A long ...

** Blue Mud Canyon ** Gypsum Canyon ** Coal Canyon

Newport Bay watershed

* Santa Ana-Delhi Channel (Big Canyon) ** Paularino Channel ** Santa Ana Gardens Channel *

** Bonita Creek ** Sand Canyon Wash ** San Joaquin Wash ** Lane Channel **

Peters Canyon Wash Peters Canyon Wash is a tributary of San Diego Creek in central Orange County in the U.S. state of California. About long north-south, the wash, now mostly channelized, flows in a relatively straight course southwest from the Peters Canyon Rese ...

*** Santa Ana-Santa Fe Channel *** Como Channel *** El Modena-Irvine Channel *** Central Irvine Channel *** Hicks Canyon Wash *** Rattlesnake Canyon Wash ** Marshburn Channel ** Bee Canyon Wash **

Agua Chinon Creek Agua Chinon Creek or Agua Chinon Wash is an urban stream in the city of Irvine, Orange County, California. The creek flows southwest from its headwaters in the foothills of the Santa Ana Mountains for about to join San Diego Creek near the Ver ...

*** Borrego Canyon Wash *** La Cañada Creek ***

Serrano Creek Serrano Creek is a roughly tributary of San Diego Creek in the U.S. state of California. The creek starts in the Santa Ana Mountains in a canyon in Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park, near the boundary of the Cleveland National Forest. It then flows sou ...

Aliso Creek watershed

* Aliso Creek **

Wood Canyon Creek Wood Canyon Creek is a perennial stream in Aliso and Wood Canyons Wilderness Park, Orange County, California. A tributary of Aliso Creek, it drains a deep undeveloped valley to the west of Aliso Viejo. The Wood Canyon was populated by the Acjach ...

** Sulphur Creek *** Narco Channel ** Dairy Fork ** Aliso Hills Channel ** English Canyon Creek ** Munger Creek

San Juan Creek San Juan Creek, also called the San Juan River, is a long stream in Orange and Riverside Counties, draining a watershed of .7.5 Minute Quadrangle Map, U.S. Geological Survey, San Juan Capistrano, 1968, photorevised 1981 Its mainstem begins in ...
watershed

Arroyo Trabuco Arroyo Trabuco (known also as Trabuco Creek) is a -long stream in coastal southern California in the United States. Rising in a rugged canyon in the Santa Ana Mountains of Orange County, the creek flows west and southwest before emptying into San ...

(Trabuco Creek) ***

Oso Creek Oso Creek is an approximately tributary of Arroyo Trabuco in southern Orange County in the U.S. state of California. Draining about in a region north of the San Joaquin Hills and south of the Santa Ana Mountains, the creek is Trabuco Creek's ...

**** La Paz Creek *** Tijeras Canyon Creek *** Live Oak Canyon Creek *** Hickey Canyon Creek *** Falls Canyon Creek *** Holy Jim Creek **

El Horno Creek El Horno Creek, or Horno Creek (Spanish: "Oven Creek"), is a tributary stream of San Juan Creek in Orange County in the U.S. state of California. It is approximately long and drains an area of . The creek joins San Juan Creek on the right bank, o ...

** Cañada Chiquita **

Cañada Gobernadora Cañada Gobernadora is a tributary to San Juan Creek, about long, in southern Orange County in the U.S. state of California. The creek begins in the foothills of the Santa Ana Mountains (), at an elevation of , and flows south through residential ...

Trampas Canyon Trampas Canyon is a short tributary of San Juan Creek in southern Orange County the U.S. state of California. It rises in forks on steep slopes of the southern Santa Ana Mountains (), and flows north to where it is dammed by Trampas Canyon Dam (US ...

Bell Canyon Bell Canyon is a major drainage of the Santa Ana Mountains in Orange County, California in the United States. Bell Creek (also known as Bell Canyon Creek or Arroyo de las Campanas) flows about in a southerly direction to its confluence with San ...

*** Crow Canyon *** Dove Creek ***

Tick Creek Tick Creek is a tributary of the Gasconade River in northwestern Phelps County in the Ozarks of Missouri. The stream headwaters are approximately four miles west of Rolla at . The stream flows west passing north of Doolittle then turns north an ...

Verdugo Canyon Verdugo may refer to: * Verdugo (river), a river in Pontevedra, Galicia, Spain * Verdugo (surname) * Verdugo Mountains, a mountain range in California, United States * Verdugo Park, a park in California, United States * Verdugo Recreation Center ...

** Lucas Canyon ***

Aliso Canyon Aliso Canyon is a canyon located in Orange County, California in the United States. The canyon is a water gap across the San Joaquin Hills carved out by Aliso Creek, possibly as recently as the last ice age. Located in a semi-arid climate, it ...

** Cold Springs Canyon ** Hot Springs Creek ** Lion Canyon Creek ** Long Canyon Creek

San Mateo Creek watershed

San Mateo Creek is mostly in Riverside and San Diego Counties, with only a small portion in Orange County; however, some of its tributaries extend into Orange County. * San Mateo Creek **

Cristianitos Creek Cristianitos Canyon Creek, a stream or arroyo, tributary to San Mateo Creek, in the Santa Ana Mountains. its source is within Orange County, California. Its source is at an altitude of 800 feet, at the head of Cristianitos Canyon, in the footh ...

*** Talega Canyon *** Gabino Canyon

Coastal streams

A number of smaller streams flow into the Pacific Ocean along the Orange County coast. They are listed below from north to south. Waterways indicated in the above lists are italicized, to clarify location: *''Newport Bay'' * Buck Gully * Los Trancos Canyon * Muddy Canyon * Moro Canyon * Emerald Canyon *

Laguna Canyon Laguna Canyon (also called Cañada de las Lagunas, meaning "Lake Canyon" in Spanish) is a canyon that cuts through the San Joaquin Hills in southern Orange County, California, in the United States, directly south of the city of Irvine. The canyo ...

** El Toro Creek *''Aliso Creek'' * Salt Creek ** Arroyo Salada Storm Channel *''San Juan Creek'' * Prima Deshecha Cañada * Segunda Deshecha Cañada *''San Mateo Creek''

Notes

References

External links

OC Watersheds
{{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Rivers Of Orange County, California *

Orange County Orange County most commonly refers to: *Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area Orange County may also refer to: U.S. counties *Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando *Orange County, Indiana *Orange County, New ...