Martini Creek is a

coastal The coast, also known as the coastline or seashore, is defined as the area where land meets the ocean, or as a line that forms the boundary between the land and the coastline. The Earth has around of coastline. Coasts are important zones in ...

stream whose watershed lies entirely within

San Mateo County, California San Mateo County ( ), officially the County of San Mateo, is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 764,442. Redwood City is the county seat, and the third most populated city following Dal ...

, United States on the western exposures of the Montara mountain block, discharging to the Pacific Ocean. It flows about from its source on

Montara Mountain Montara Mountain, positioned between the unincorporated community of Montara, California, to the southwest and the city of Pacifica, California, to the north, forms the northern spur of the Santa Cruz Mountains, a narrow mountain range running the ...

to its mouth in

Montara State Beach Montara State Beach is a beach located in the coastal region of the U.S. state of California, eight miles north of Half Moon Bay on State Route 1. It is operated by the California State Department of Parks and Recreation under the San Mateo Co ...

. This stream has a

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

composed of open space and agricultural lands. Some of the basin has moderate to steep slopes and much of the basin

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

is northern coastal scrub, and in places almost of a

pygmy forest In anthropology, pygmy peoples are ethnic groups whose average height is unusually short. The term pygmyism is used to describe the phenotype of endemic short stature (as opposed to disproportionate dwarfism occurring in isolated cases in a p ...

nature. There are numerous species of

flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' ...

and

fauna Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is ''funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as ''Biota (ecology ...

which are found in this watershed, including the rare plant

Hickman's potentilla ''Potentilla hickmanii'' (called Hickman's potentilla or Hickman's cinquefoil) is an endangered perennial herb of the rose family. This rare plant species is found in a narrowly restricted range in two locations in coastal northern California, ...

Yellow Bush Lupine ''Lupinus arboreus'', the yellow bush lupine (US) or tree lupin (UK), is a species of flowering plant in the legume family Fabaceae. Description ''Lupinus arboreus'' is an evergreen shrub growing to tall (hence the alternative common name, tree ...

is also seen here in a low growing form The creek name became widely publicized when a highway alternative for the Devil's Slide bypass became dubbed the "Martini Creek Alignment". The highway proposal caused considerable study during the 1980s and 1990s of

biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...

geology Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ea ...

air quality Air pollution is the contamination of air due to the presence of substances in the atmosphere that are harmful to the health of humans and other living beings, or cause damage to the climate or to materials. There are many different types ...

and acoustics conditions within this watershed.

Bibliography

* '' Biological Assessment, Species of Concern, Proposed Route 1 Devil's Slide

Tunnel A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube cons ...

Bypass Project, San Mateo County, California'' Prepared by; Caltrans, Office of Environmental Planning, South. July, 1998. * ''Devil's Slide Improvement Project,

San Mateo County San Mateo County ( ), officially the County of San Mateo, is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 764,442. Redwood City is the county seat, and the third most populated city following Daly ...

, California, Draft Second Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement'', Caltrans District 4 (1999) * Hogan, Michael and Ballard George, ''Air Quality and

Noise Noise is unwanted sound considered unpleasant, loud or disruptive to hearing. From a physics standpoint, there is no distinction between noise and desired sound, as both are vibrations through a medium, such as air or water. The difference aris ...

Analyses for the Bypass Alternative, Devil's Slide Improvement Project'', Caltrans District 4, prepared by Earth Metrics Inc., Burlingame, CA (1984) * Hovland, John H., Ph.D., P.E., ''A Study of the Feasibility of Stabilizing the Landslide Area Along Highway One, San Mateo County, California, by Dewatering'', April, 1998 * Woodward-Clyde Consultants, ''Devil’s Slide

Study: Feasibility Report'', October, 1996.

External links

* Rivers of San Mateo County, California Rivers of Northern California {{California-river-stub