Mark West Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data
The National Map
, accessed March 9, 2011

stream A stream is a continuous body of surface water flowing within the bed and banks of a channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to by a variety of local or regional names. Long large streams ...

that rises in the

Mayacamas Mountains The Mayacamas Mountains are located in northwestern California in the United States. The mountain range is part of the Northern Inner Coast Ranges, of the California Coast Ranges System. Geography The Mayacamas Mountains are located south of the ...

Sonoma County, California Sonoma County () is a 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. It is to the north of Marin County and the south of Mendoci ...

, United States. Tributaries of Mark West Creek include Porter Creek and Hummingbird Creek, both of which originate in the same mountain range. Discharge waters of Mark West Creek reach the Russian River after a confluence with the

Laguna de Santa Rosa The Laguna de Santa Rosa is a wetland complex that drains a watershed encompassing most of the Santa Rosa Plain in Sonoma County, California, United States. The California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment has issued a safe eati ...

. The Community Clean Water Institute has developed a program for monitoring

pollutant A pollutant or novel entity is a substance or energy introduced into the environment that has undesired effects, or adversely affects the usefulness of a resource. These can be both naturally forming (i.e. minerals or extracted compounds like o ...

s in Mark West Creek. The four-mile stretch of Mark West Creek from Mark West Lodge to Mark West Creek Road is a challenging class III-V

whitewater kayaking Whitewater kayaking is an adventure sport where a river is navigated in a decked kayak. Whitewater kayaking includes several styles. River running; where the paddler follows a river and paddles rapids as they travel. Creeking usually involving s ...

run.California whitewater - Mark West Creek, Sonoma County
/ref>

Course

Mark West Creek originates about west of

St. Helena, California St. Helena ( ; Wappo language, Wappo: ''Anakotanoma'') is a city in Napa County, California, Napa County, in the Wine Country of California. Located in the North Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the ...

near St. Helena Road. The road goes along the Creek westward to Calistoga Road, where the Creek turns northeast, flowing through the town of

Mark West Springs Mark West Springs is set of springs in eastern Santa Rosa, California that were used as a resort since 1880 and perhaps earlier. Mark West Springs is located on Porter Creek Road in the Mayacamas Mountains. Mark West Creek flows through the co ...

. From there, it descends southward. Mark West Springs Road was built next to it. The Creek passes Mayacama Golf Club and turns westward, emerging from hills east of the

Sonoma County Airport Sonoma may refer to: * ''Sonoma'' (beetle), a genus of beetles * Sonoma County, California, a county in northern California in the United States ** Sonoma, California, the city for which the county is named ** Sonoma Valley, the region in Sonoma ...

. The

Northwestern Pacific Railroad The Northwestern Pacific Railroad is a regional shortline railroad utilizing a stretch of the 271 mile mainline between Schellville and Windsor with freight and Sonoma–Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) commuter trains. Formerly, it was a r ...

and later

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 ...

were built over it south of Airport Boulevard and the Creek continues generally westward, passing south of the airport to join the Laguna de Santa Rosa east of Forestville. From there, the Creek flows north to a confluence with Windsor Creek, and then flows westward, entering the Russian River east of Steelhead Beach Regional Park. Near the Laguna de Santa Rosa confluence, Mark West Creek has been diverted southward in three separate places, making it appear that the Creek feeds the Laguna instead of vice versa. Since 1988, the Creek length between the Laguna de Santa Rosa and the Russian River has often been considered part of the Laguna. The Laguna de Santa Rosa Foundation has promoted this nomenclature.

Watershed

The Mark West Creek drainage basin covers a large portion of Sonoma County, from Mount Saint Helena and

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, ...

in the east to Forestville in the west. It includes four cities (

Santa Rosa Santa Rosa is the Italian, Portuguese and Spanish name for Saint Rose. Santa Rosa may also refer to: Places Argentina * Santa Rosa, Mendoza, a city * Santa Rosa, Tinogasta, Catamarca * Santa Rosa, Valle Viejo, Catamarca *Santa Rosa, La Pampa * S ...

Rohnert Park Rohnert Park is a city in Sonoma County, California, United States, located approximately north of San Francisco. The population at the 2020 United States Census was 44,390. It is an early planned city and is the sister city of Hashimoto in ...

Sebastopol Sevastopol (; uk, Севасто́поль, Sevastópolʹ, ; gkm, Σεβαστούπολις, Sevastoúpolis, ; crh, Акъя́р, Aqyár, ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea, and a major port on the Black Sea ...

, and Cotati) and the incorporated town of

Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places Australia * Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area * Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland **Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...

. Adjacent watersheds include those of

Green Valley Creek Green Valley Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed March 9, 2011 stream in Sonoma County, California, United States, which springs from the hills above the Bohemian ...

, Petaluma River,

Sonoma Creek , name_etymology = , image = Beaver Dam Sonoma Creek, Sonoma Thanksgiving 2009.jpg , image_caption = Beaver dam on Sonoma Creek at Maxwell Farms Regional Park in Sonoma, California, 2009 , image_size = 300 , ma ...

, the

Napa River The Napa River is a river approximately long in the U.S. state of California. It drains a famous wine-growing region called the Napa Valley, in the mountains north of the San Francisco Bay. Milliken Creek and Mt. Veeder watersheds are a few ...

, and the Russian River.

Footnotes

External links

Laguna de Santa Rosa FoundationFriends of Mark West Watershed non-profit
{{Mayacamas Mountains Rivers of Sonoma County, California Mayacamas Mountains Tributaries of the Russian River (California) St. Helena, California Rivers of Northern California

Course

Watershed

See also

Footnotes

External links