San Dieguito River
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The San Dieguito River is a major river in
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 ...
, United States. Its headwaters rise on the southern slope of the
Volcan Mountains The Volcan Mountains are a mountain range of the Peninsular Ranges System, located in the East County region of San Diego County, California. Geography The Volcans are a northwest–southeast range with an approximate length of and width of . ...
in
San Diego County 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 the river flows generally southwest for ,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data
The National Map
accessed March 16, 2011
draining before emptying into the
Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
north of
San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...
.


Course

The river officially begins at the confluence of two streams, Santa Ysabel Creek and Santa Maria Creek, near the town of San Pasqual. Santa Ysabel Creek rises in the northeastern corner of the San Dieguito River watershed and flows west, creating
Lake Sutherland Lake Sutherland is located on the Olympic Peninsula about west of Port Angeles, Washington. The lake is located just to the east of Lake Crescent. Lake Sutherland drains into Indian Creek, which is a tributary of the Elwha River The Elwha River ...
. It then flows out of the lake's dam and westwards for the rest of its course. Its total length is about . Santa Maria Creek, the smaller of the two streams, begins near the city of
Ramona ''Ramona'' is a 1884 American novel written by Helen Hunt Jackson. Set in Southern California after the Mexican–American War, it portrays the life of a mixed-race Scottish– Native American orphan girl, who suffers racial discrimination and ...
and flows northwards about through the Ramona Grasslands and Bandy Canyon. A third fork, Temescal Creek, rises in the
Cleveland National Forest Cleveland National Forest encompasses 460,000 acres (), mostly of chaparral, with a few riparian areas. A warm dry mediterranean climate prevails over the forest. It is the southernmost U.S. National Forest of California. It is administered by th ...
near
Lake Henshaw Lake Henshaw is a reservoir in San Diego County, California at the southeast base of Palomar Mountain, approximately northeast of San Diego, California and southeast of Los Angeles. The lake covers approximately and holds of water when full ...
and flows south about into Santa Ysabel Creek. From there the river flows west past the city of Escondido, and under
Interstate 15 Interstate 15 (I-15) is a major Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway in the western United States, running through Southern California and the Intermountain West. I-15 begins near the Mexico–United States border, Mexican border i ...
before being impounded by the
Lake Hodges Dam A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much larger ...
to form
Lake Hodges Lake Hodges is a lake and reservoir located within the city limits of San Diego, California. It is about north of Downtown San Diego, just north of the Rancho Bernardo community, and just south of the city's border with Escondido. When full, th ...
. From the dam to its mouth, the river flows through the long and narrow
San Dieguito River Park San Dieguito River Park is a greenway of in San Diego County, California, United States. The park, established in 1989, stretches for from the mouth of the San Dieguito Lagoon (a lagoon between Solana Beach and Del Mar) to the Volcan Mountain ...
past
Del Mar Del Mar is Spanish for "of the sea" or "from the sea". It may refer to: Places in the United States * Del Mar, California * Del Mar High School, located in San Jose, California * Del Mar racetrack, located in Del Mar, California * Del Mar Fai ...
, and broadens into a tidal waterway and a
lagoon A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into ''coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons'') a ...
as it crosses under
Interstate 5 Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels through the states of Califor ...
and past the Del Mar Fairgounds to empty into the Pacific Ocean at Del Mar, California.


Watershed

The San Dieguito River watershed has vast areas, over 83%, of open space. As a result, it provides habitat for hundreds of plant and animal species. Vegetation cover ranges from pine forest on the slopes of the headwater mountains to arid grassland on the plateaus and plains further downstream. However, 18% of the basin, mostly along the shoreline, is devoted to urban areas. About 150,000 people live in the San Dieguito River watershed, but could expand to 210,000 by 2015. The lower river suffers from pollutants that affect rivers all over Southern California, mainly from
E. coli ''Escherichia coli'' (),Wells, J. C. (2000) Longman Pronunciation Dictionary. Harlow ngland Pearson Education Ltd. also known as ''E. coli'' (), is a Gram-negative, facultative anaerobic, rod-shaped, coliform bacterium of the genus ''Escher ...
bacteria from
urban runoff Urban runoff is surface runoff of rainwater, landscape irrigation, and car washing created by urbanization. Impervious surfaces (roads, parking lots and sidewalks) are constructed during land development. During rain , storms and other precipit ...
.


History

Prehistorically, the San Dieguito tribe inhabited much of San Diego County, with their main villages on the San Dieguito River. Remains of this culture are identified as the "San Dieguito River Complex". By the 16th century, most of the basin formed the southern part of the
Luiseño The Luiseño or Payómkawichum are an indigenous people of California who, at the time of the first contacts with the Spanish in the 16th century, inhabited the coastal area of southern California, ranging from the present-day southern part of L ...
tribal territory. The
Portola expedition Portola may refer to: * Portola (album), ''Portola'' (album), a 1998 album by Rose Melberg * Portola, California * Portola, San Francisco, California People with the surname * Gaspar de Portolá (ca. 1717-aft.1784), Spanish soldier, first governor ...
of 1769 camped at the river, not far from the coast. On the
De Anza Expedition Juan Bautista de Anza Bezerra Nieto (July 6 or 7, 1736 – December 19, 1788) was an expeditionary leader, military officer, and politician primarily in California and New Mexico under the Spanish Empire. He is credited as one of the founding fa ...
's way back to Mexico from
San Francisco Bay San Francisco Bay is a large tidal estuary in the U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the big cities of San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland. San Francisco Bay drains water from a ...
, Father Pedro Font mentions "San Dieguillo" in his diary on January 10, 1776. An Indian rancheria, San Dieguito, is mentioned under the jurisdiction of the San Diego Mission in 1778. In 1840 or 1841, after the Mission Period, the name was applied to the
Rancho San Dieguito Rancho San Dieguito was a Mexican land grant in present-day San Diego County, California given in 1845 by Governor Pío Pico to Juan María Osuna. The rancho property was renamed Rancho Santa Fe in 1922 by the Santa Fe Land Company. History Jua ...
, which was granted in 1845. The rancho name was later changed to
Rancho Santa Fe Rancho Santa Fe is a census-designated place (CDP) in San Diego County, California, United States, within the San Diego metropolitan area. The population was 3,156 at the 2020 census. The CDP is primarily residential with a few shopping block ...
.


Crossings

From mouth to source, the river crosses under: *Camino Del Mar (Historic
U.S. Route 101 U.S. Route 101, or U.S. Highway 101 (US 101), is a north–south United States Numbered Highway that runs through the states of California, Oregon, and Washington, on the West Coast of the United States. It is also known as (The Royal Roa ...
) *The
Surf Line The Surf Line is a railroad line that runs from San Diego north to Orange County along California's Pacific Coast. It was so named because much of the line is near the Pacific Ocean, within less than in some places. The tracks are now owned by ...
which carries
NCTD The North County Transit District (typically abbreviated as NCTD) is the agency responsible for public transportation in Northern San Diego County, California. The agency manages the COASTER commuter rail service between Oceanside and San Dieg ...
's
Coaster Coaster (stylized as COASTER) is a commuter rail service in the central and northern coastal regions of San Diego County, California, United States operated by the North County Transit District (NCTD). The commuter rail line features eight s ...
&
Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
Pacific Surfliner The ''Pacific Surfliner'' is a passenger train service serving the communities on the coast of Southern California between San Diego and San Luis Obispo. The service carried 2,924,117 passengers during fiscal year 2016, a 3.4% increase from F ...
*Jimmy Durante Boulevard *
Interstate 5 Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels through the states of Califor ...
(
San Diego Freeway The San Diego Freeway is one of the named principal Southern California freeways. It consists of the following two segments: *Interstate 5 Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United S ...
) * El Camino Real *Via de Santa Fe (in
Rancho Santa Fe Rancho Santa Fe is a census-designated place (CDP) in San Diego County, California, United States, within the San Diego metropolitan area. The population was 3,156 at the 2020 census. The CDP is primarily residential with a few shopping block ...
) *Bing Crosby Boulevard *
Lake Hodges Dam A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much larger ...
*David Kreitzer Lake Hodges Bicycle Pedestrian Bridge *
Interstate 15 Interstate 15 (I-15) is a major Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway in the western United States, running through Southern California and the Intermountain West. I-15 begins near the Mexico–United States border, Mexican border i ...
Lake Hodges Bridge The Lake Hodges Bridge is a component of Interstate 15 that spans Lake Hodges in San Diego, just south of the city limits of Escondido, California. Lake Hodges Bridge is an important part of San Diego's north–south transportation axis. The orig ...
(
Escondido Freeway The Escondido Freeway is one of the named principal Southern California freeways. It consists of the following segments: *California State Route 15, from Interstate 5 southeast of Downtown San Diego and Interstate 8 in San Diego *Interstate 15 I ...
)


See also

*
San Diego River The San Diego River is a river in San Diego County, California. It originates in the Cuyamaca Mountains northwest of the town of Julian, then flows to the southwest until it reaches the El Capitan Reservoir, the largest reservoir in the river's ...
*
Santa Margarita River The Santa Margarita River which with the addition of what is now Temecula Creek, was formerly known as the Temecula River, is a short intermittent river on the Pacific coast of southern California in the United States, approximately U.S. Geologic ...
*
Otay River The Otay River () is a river in southern San Diego County, California. The river begins at San Miguel Mountain, flows through the Upper and Lower Otay Reservoirs, and continues on between the southern part of the Chula Vista and the Otay Mesa ...
*
San Dieguito River Park San Dieguito River Park is a greenway of in San Diego County, California, United States. The park, established in 1989, stretches for from the mouth of the San Dieguito Lagoon (a lagoon between Solana Beach and Del Mar) to the Volcan Mountain ...


References

{{Authority control Rivers of San Diego County, California Rivers of Southern California Watersheds of California