Estero de San Antonio is a
stream in the northern
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 ...
counties of
Marin
Marin (French) or Marín (Spanish "sailor") may refer to:
People
* Marin (name), including a list of persons with the given name or surname
* MaRin, in-game name of professional South Korean ''League of Legends'' player Jang Gyeong-hwan (born 19 ...
and
Sonoma which empties into
Bodega Bay.
Course
The Estero springs just north of the Marin-Sonoma county line (from a hill overlooking
Bloomfield, California) and runs south along Gericke Road into Marin County. Just north of Fallon-Two Rock Road, it turns west, flowing under the road just east of
State Route 1. It flows south along the highway for , then crosses under the highway at milepost 47.6 and continues west to a confluence with
Stemple Creek southeast of
Fallon, California. From there, it winds its way westward, passing under Middle Road and Valley Ford Franklin School Road before emptying into Bodega Bay north of
Dillon Beach, California
Dillon Beach is a census-designated place (CDP) in Marin County, California, United States. It is located west of Tomales, at an elevation of . The population was 246 at the 2020 census. Dillon Beach was named after the founder, George Dillon, who ...
.
Ecology
The Estero de San Antonio has a variety of habitat types, including freshwater ponds, mudflats, eelgrass and saltgrass area, and wooded ravines. It is estimated that the Estero has of associated wetlands.
In the summer or early fall, a sandbar often forms at the mouth of the Estero, damming it until the winter rains arrive. Area residents used to blast the sandbar to dispel high salt concentrations in the Estero.
Nomenclature
The
United States Geological Survey
The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, ...
's
Geographic Names Information System
The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) is a database of name and locative information about more than two million physical and cultural features throughout the United States and its territories, Antarctica, and the associated states of ...
cites ten variant names for this stream, including ''Stemple Creek'' (the name of its
main tributary), ''Estero De Americano'' (almost identical to
the parallel estuary north), ''Arroyo de San Antonio'' (also applied to
Walker Creek, a parallel estuary south), and ''San Antonio Creek'' (the name of
a creek further east along the county line).
In particular, the Estero's watershed is often referred to as the ''Stemple Creek watershed''.
The stream is also referred to as ''Fallon Creek''.
Bridges
The Estero de San Antonio is crossed by three
concrete continuous slab bridges:
* The Valley Ford Franklin School Road bridge, built in 1964, is long.
* The Middle Road bridge, built in 1958, is long.
* The State Route 1 bridge, built in 2001, is long.
It is also crossed at Fallon-Two Rock Road by a concrete
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 ...
bridge built in 1932.
See also
*
Estero Americano
*
List of watercourses in the San Francisco Bay Area
These watercourses (rivers, creeks, sloughs, etc.) in the San Francisco Bay Area are grouped according to the bodies of water they flow into. Tributaries are listed under the watercourses they feed, sorted by the elevation of the confluence so tha ...
*
San Antonio Creek (Marin County, California)
San Antonio Creek is a northward then eastward-flowing stream in the California, United States, counties of Marin and Sonoma that forms part of the boundary between those counties. It empties into the tidal portion of the Petaluma River.
Histor ...
References
{{Reflist
Rivers of Marin County, California
Rivers of Sonoma County, California
West Marin
Wetlands of the San Francisco Bay Area
Rivers of Northern California