, name_native_lang = , name_other = , name_etymology = , image = Novato Creek 5.jpg , image_caption = Novato Creek in summer 2016 , map = , map_size = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = California , pushpin_map_size = , pushpin_map_caption= Location of the mouth within California , subdivision_type1 = Country , subdivision_name1 =

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, subdivision_type2 = State , subdivision_name2 =

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, subdivision_type3 = Region , subdivision_name3 = Marin County , subdivision_type4 = , subdivision_name4 = , subdivision_type5 = Cities , subdivision_name5 =

Novato Novato ( Spanish for "Novatus") is a city in Marin County, California, in the North Bay region of the Bay Area. At the 2020 census, Novato had a population of 53,225. History What is now Novato was originally the site of several Coast Miwok ...

, length = , width_min = , width_avg = , width_max = , depth_min = , depth_avg = , depth_max = , discharge1_location= , discharge1_min = , discharge1_avg = , discharge1_max = , source1 = Northeastern Marin County , source1_location = above

Novato, California Novato (Spanish for "Novatus") is a city in Marin County, California, in the North Bay region of the Bay Area. At the 2020 census, Novato had a population of 53,225. History What is now Novato was originally the site of several Coast Miwok ...

, source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , mouth = , mouth_location = , mouth_coordinates = , mouth_elevation = , progression = , river_system = , basin_size = , tributaries_left = Bowman Canyon Creek , tributaries_right = Vineyard Creek, Arroyo Avichi, Arroyo San Jose , custom_label = , custom_data = , extra = Novato Creek is a stream in eastern Marin County, California,

. It originates in highlands between Red Hill and

Mount Burdell Mount Burdell Open Space Preserve is a nature reserve in Marin County, California, United States, within the San Francisco Bay Area. It is managed by Marin County Parks. Mount Burdell rises above sea level. Hidden Lake, a seasonal pond located ...

above the city of

, and flows before emptying into

San Pablo Bay San Pablo Bay is a tidal estuary that forms the northern extension of San Francisco Bay in the East Bay and North Bay regions of the San Francisco Bay Area in northern California. Most of the Bay is shallow; however, there is a deep water c ...

south of Petaluma Point.

History

Miwok The Miwok (also spelled Miwuk, Mi-Wuk, or Me-Wuk) are members of four linguistically related Native American groups indigenous to what is now Northern California, who traditionally spoke one of the Miwok languages in the Utian family. The word ...

and

Pomo The Pomo are an Indigenous people of California. Historical Pomo territory in Northern California was large, bordered by the Pacific Coast to the west, extending inland to Clear Lake, and mainly between Cleone and Duncans Point. One small ...

people were the earliest residents of the watershed. Olompali, the site of a significant Miwok village, is located at the southern base of Mt. Burdell. In 1839 Mexican land grants established Rancho Novato. Grazing brought a host of invasive annual grassland plants that eventually dominated the deep-rooted native perennial grasses and altered runoff rates. By 1856 extensive apple orchards occupied the valley floor and many of the creeks had been channelized for irrigation. The tidal marshlands had also been diked and drained for agriculture (primarily oat-hay production) by the middle of the nineteenth century. In the 1880s the creek was dredged to make way for schooners bound for San Francisco. Novato, one of the four townships in existence when Marin County formed in 1850, was incorporated in 1960. Ground was broken for Hamilton Air Force Base in 1932 and dedicated in 1935 (the base was decommissioned in 1974, and designated as a historic district in 1988). Land use changes have increased

sediment Sediment is a naturally occurring material that is broken down by processes of weathering and erosion, and is subsequently transported by the action of wind, water, or ice or by the force of gravity acting on the particles. For example, sa ...

supply and decreased sediment transport, causing the lower reaches of Novato Creek to become shallower. In addition, the construction of Stafford Dam (starting in 1952) increased its drainage area by .

Watershed and course

The Novato Creek watershed basin is . Novato Creek is joined (heading downstream) by six major tributaries along its length: Leveroni, Bowman Canyon, Warner, Vineyard Creek, Arroyo Avichi, Arroyo de San Jose, and Simmonds Slough. Arroyo San Jose itself has two tributaries. It is joined on the left by Ignacio Creek and on the right by Pacheco Creek (at Pacheco Pond) just before entering Novato Creek. Novato Creek and its tributaries are often eroded, incised channels. It is one of the driest watersheds in Marin County. Novato Creek begins to the west of

and initially descends to the west. However, it soon turns south, then east to feed into Stafford Lake. It descends through the city of

. East of Novato it crosses under U.S. Route 101 and State Route 37 before flowing through Bel Marin Keys and entering the northwest corner of

. Just before entering the Bay, Novato Creek flows along Bel Marin Keys, a community on the creek and a series of adjacent lagoons, at an elevation of above sea level.

Ecology

Salmonids (

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 ...

(''Oncorhynchus mykiss'') and

Chinook salmon The Chinook salmon (''Oncorhynchus tshawytscha'') is the largest and most valuable species of Pacific salmon in North America, as well as the largest in the genus '' Oncorhynchus''. Its common name is derived from the Chinookan peoples. Other ...

(''Oncorhynchus tshawytscha'')) are also found within the Novato Creek watershed. The Novato Creek watershed is known to support 10 extant fish species (6 native and 4 introduced). Native species include California roach, Sacramento pikeminnow, Sacramento sucker, steelhead, threespine stickleback, and Prickly sculpin. Introduced species include rainwater killifish, western mosquitofish, striped bass, and green sunfish. Fawcett (2000 and 2006) also noted the presence of non-native bluegill, largemouth bass, brown bullhead, chameleon goby, and inland silverside. Historically, the watershed supported native tidewater goby; the last collection occurred in 1945. Wetland-adapted species occur along Rush Creek and the lower Novato Creek wetlands. Noteworthy species include San Pablo song sparrow, California black rail, saltmarsh common yellowthroat, and California clapper rail. Western pond turtles and naturalized bullfrogs are known to occur in Novato Creek.

Bridges

Novato Creek is spanned by many bridges, including: * at milepost 11.96 of State Route 37, a pair of

prestressed concrete Prestressed concrete is a form of concrete used in construction. It is substantially "prestressed" ( compressed) during production, in a manner that strengthens it against tensile forces which will exist when in service. Post-tensioned concreted i ...

slabs built in 1959 * at milepost 20.51 of U.S. 101, a pair of concrete continuous

tee beam A T-beam (or tee beam), used in construction, is a load-bearing structure of reinforced concrete, wood or metal, with a -shaped cross section. The top of the -shaped cross section serves as a flange or compression member in resisting compress ...

s built in 1974 * at Redwood Boulevard in Novato, a pair of concrete tee beams reconstructed in 1988 * at Novato Boulevard in Novato, a concrete continuous tee beam built in 1969 * at Seventh Street in Novato, a concrete continuous slab built in 1971 * at Simmons Avenue in Novato, a concrete tee beam built in 1932 and reconstructed in 1970 * at Grant Avenue in Novato, a concrete tee beam built in 1936 * at Sutro Avenue in Novato, a concrete slab built in 1935 and reconstructed in 1972 * at Diablo Avenue in Novato, a concrete slab built in 1966

References

External links

Novato Creek Map

Friends of Novato Creek
{{San Francisco Bay watershed Rivers of Marin County, California Rivers of Northern California Tributaries of San Pablo Bay