![Matilija Falls CA](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/35/Matilija_Falls_CA.jpg)
Matilija Creek ( ) is a major stream in
Ventura County
Ventura County () is a county in the southern part of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 843,843. The largest city is Oxnard, and the county seat is the city of Ventura.
Ventura County comprises the Oxnar ...
in the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...
of
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 ...
. It joins with North Fork Matilija Creek to form the
Ventura River
The Ventura River, in western Ventura County in southern California, United States, flows from its headwaters to the Pacific Ocean. The smallest of the three major rivers in Ventura County, it flows through the steeply sloped, narrow Ventura V ...
. Many tributaries feed the mostly free flowing, creek,
[U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data]
The National Map
, accessed March 16, 2011 which is largely contained in the
Matilija Wilderness
The Matilija Wilderness is a wilderness area in Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties, Southern California. It is managed by the U.S. Forest Service, being situated within the Ojai Ranger District of the Los Padres National Forest. It is locate ...
. Matilija was one of the
Chumash Chumash may refer to:
*Chumash (Judaism), a Hebrew word for the Pentateuch, used in Judaism
*Chumash people, a Native American people of southern California
*Chumashan languages, indigenous languages of California
See also
* Chumash traditional ...
rancherias under the jurisdiction of
Mission San Buenaventura
Mission San Buenaventura ( es, MisiĆ³n San Buenaventura), formally known as the Mission Basilica of San Buenaventura, is a Catholic parish and basilica in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. The parish church in the city of Ventura, California, Unite ...
. The meaning of the Chumash name is unknown.
Course
From its headwaters south of
Sespe Creek
Sespe Creek (Chumash: S'eqp'e', "Kneecap") is a stream, some long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed March 16, 2011 in Ventura County, southern California, in the Western ...
in the
Matilija Wilderness
The Matilija Wilderness is a wilderness area in Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties, Southern California. It is managed by the U.S. Forest Service, being situated within the Ojai Ranger District of the Los Padres National Forest. It is locate ...
in
Santa Barbara County
Santa Barbara County, California, officially the County of Santa Barbara, is located in Southern California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 448,229. The county seat is Santa Barbara, and the largest city is Santa Maria.
Santa Barba ...
, the creek flows east then south through a narrow V-shaped canyon into Ventura County. Below Matilija Falls it turns east and receives the Upper North Fork from the left, and almost immediately below that the West Fork (Murietta Canyon) from the right. The creek then flows east through a wider valley along the north side of the
Santa Ynez Mountains
The Santa Ynez Mountains are a portion of the Transverse Ranges, part of the Pacific Coast Ranges of the west coast of North America. It is the westernmost range in the Transverse Ranges.
The range is a large fault block of Cenozoic age created ...
before it empties into the mostly silted in Matilija Lake reservoir, formed by the high concrete arch Matilija Dam. Below the dam the creek flows southeast, through
Matilija Hot Springs
Matilija Hot Springs is a thermal spring system of 22 hot and cold springs, and is a former resort located northwest of the town of Ojai, California. The site was designated a Ventura County Historical Landmark (#25) in 1972.
History
Indigenou ...
, and meets the North Fork Matilija Creek at the hamlet of
Ojala, forming the Ventura River.
The smaller North Fork Matilija Creek flows west and south from its headwaters near Rose Valley. The North Fork runs southwest, along Forest Route 6N31, and receives Cannon Creek from the right and Bear Creek from the left. It then cascades through the narrow Wheeler Gorge and through the community of
Wheeler Springs. It flows briefly east and joins Matilija Creek shortly downstream.
Highway 33 largely parallels the North Fork, from the top of Dry Lakes Ridge to the mouth.
Fed by some perennial springs, despite its location in arid terrain, the creek flows year round, and can flood severely following winter storms.
Ecology
![Matilija poppy closeup](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/99/Matilija_poppy_closeup.jpg)
The name of the
Matilija poppy
''Romneya'' () is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the poppy family (Papaveraceae). There are two species in genus ''Romneya'', which was named for Irish astronomer John Thomas Romney Robinson. They are known commonly as Matilija poppies ...
(''
Romneya
''Romneya'' () is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the poppy family (Papaveraceae). There are two species in genus ''Romneya'', which was named for Irish astronomer John Thomas Romney Robinson. They are known commonly as Matilija poppies ...
'') is taken from the Matilija creek canyon.
[ The Matilija Dam was constructed in 1947 on lower Matilija Creek for the purpose of supplying water storage and flood control, blocking access of anadromous ]Steelhead trout
Steelhead, or occasionally steelhead trout, is the common name of the anadromous form of the coastal rainbow trout or redband trout (O. m. gairdneri). Steelhead are native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific basin in Northeast Asia and N ...
(''Oncorhynchus mykiss'') to over ten miles of upstream spawning areas. Historically 5,000 steelhead trout used the upper Matilija basin. The Robles Diversion Dam on the Ventura River downstream posed a barrier to trout migration until a $6 million fish ladder was constructed in 2006. Recent genetic analysis of the steelhead in Matilija Creek (both above and below Matilija Dam) has shown them to be of native and not hatchery stocks.
River modifications
The creek has one dam on it, Matilija Dam
Matilija Dam is a concrete arch dam in Ventura County, California, completed in 1947. Designed for water storage and flood control, it impounds Matilija Creek to create the Matilija Reservoir in the Los Padres National Forest, south of the Matil ...
, built in 1947 to provide flood control and water supply for agricultural and urban uses in Ventura County. When completed, the dam was high and could impound more than of water. The reservoir has now almost completely filled with sediment, rendering it nearly useless. The dam was notched to reduce its height twice in the late 20th century, in order to allow some of the accumulated sediment to flow downstream. It is currently slated for removal.
See also
*Rindge Dam
Rindge Dam is a dam on Malibu Creek in the Santa Monica Mountains of Southern California.
Located in Malibu Creek State Park, it sits just northeast of Malibu Canyon Road, and is partially visible from the turnouts south of the tunnel.
Histo ...
, which Malibu Creek
Malibu Creek is a year-round stream in western Los Angeles County, California. It drains the southern Conejo Valley and Simi Hills, flowing south through the Santa Monica Mountains, and enters Santa Monica Bay in Malibu, California. The Malibu C ...
filled with sediment like Matilija Dam
*Riparian zone restoration
Riparian-zone restoration is the ecological restoration of riparian-zone habitats of streams, rivers, springs, lakes, floodplains, and other hydrologic ecologies. A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stre ...
References
External links
Matilija Dam.org
{{Ventura River
Rivers of Southern California
Rivers of Ventura County, California