Washington Creek is a southward-flowing

stream A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a stream ...

Sonoma County, California Sonoma County () is a county (United States), county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States Census, its population was 488,863. Its county seat and largest city is Santa Rosa, California, Santa Rosa. It is to the n ...

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 territorie ...

which enters the city of

Petaluma Petaluma (Miwok: ''Péta Lúuma'') is a city in Sonoma County, California, located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. Its population was 59,776 according to the 2020 census. Petaluma's name comes from the Miwok village nam ...

and discharges to the

Petaluma River The Petaluma River is a river in the California counties of Sonoma and Marin that becomes a tidal slough for most of its length. The headwaters are in the area southwest of Cotati. The flow is generally southward through Petaluma's old town, ...

Course

Washington Creek rises on the west flank of

Sonoma Mountain Sonoma Mountain is a prominent landform within the Sonoma Mountains of southern Sonoma County, California. At an elevation of , Sonoma Mountain offers expansive views of the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Sonoma Valley to the east. In fact, ...

and descends to the southwest. It crosses under Adobe Road just north of East Washington Street, then parallels East Washington Street through Rooster Run Golf Club and into suburban Petaluma, crossing under Sonoma Mountain Parkway and Maria Drive. After East Washington Creek enters from the east the creek continues southwestward, passing under North McDowell Parkway and

U.S. 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 ...

. Emerging from the U.S. 101 interchange, the creek flows westward, crossing under Madison Street and Holly Lane to enter the Petaluma River just north of the Payran Street bridge.

Habitat and pollution

On March 7, 2000, a Sonoma Mountain dairy rancher pleaded "no contest" to charges that in 1999 he dumped of manure and urine into Washington Creek. This was reportedly the first time a Sonoma County dairy farmer had faced fines stemming from criminal charges in a creek pollution case.

References

External links

bicycle routes
{{San Francisco Bay watershed Rivers of Sonoma County, California Rivers of Northern California Tributaries of the Petaluma River

Course

Habitat and pollution

See also

References

External links