Naples Creek is a stream in

San Mateo County, California San Mateo County ( ), officially the County of San Mateo, is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 764,442. Redwood City is the county seat, and the third most populated city following Dal ...

, United States that rises on the western slopes of the Santa Cruz Mountains and discharges to 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 contin ...

. The specific point of discharge is onto Naples Beach, a unit of the

Half Moon Bay State Beach Half Moon Bay State Beach is a stretch of protected beaches in the state park system of California, United States, on Half Moon Bay. From north to south it comprises Roosevelt, Dunes, Venice, and Francis Beaches. The park was established in ...

. This watercourse runs through the city of

Half Moon Bay Half Moon Bay is a coastal city in San Mateo County, California, United States, approximately south of San Francisco. Its population was 11,795 as of the 2020 census. Immediately at the north of Half Moon Bay is Pillar Point Harbor and the un ...

, which municipality has planning jurisdiction over the creekside area within its city boundaries. In the Open Space Element of Half Moon Bay's General Plan, Naples Creek is designated to have significant

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The p ...

and

riparian zone A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. Riparian is also the proper nomenclature for one of the terrestrial biomes of the Earth. Plant habitats and communities along the river margins and banks a ...

biotic resources.City of Half Moon Bay Open Space Element of the General Plan
/ref> The city of Half Moon Bay is proposing a trail along Naples Creek to expand on the recreational use of this natural resource. The area near the Mouth of Naples Creek is already in public ownership and is traversed by the coastside public trail along the low-lying blufftop. Further upstream along the banks of Naples Creek, the lower reach banks are in public ownership as within the right-of-way of Guerrero Avenue resources. The city recognizes the entire riparian area as an important open space resource and is considering re-zoning to open space the entire passage of the stream through the Half Moon Bay.

Hydrology

Naples Creek rises in the

foothills Foothills or piedmont are geographically defined as gradual increases in elevation at the base of a mountain range, higher hill range or an upland area. They are a transition zone between plains and low relief hills and the adjacent topogr ...

of the Santa Cruz Mountains at an approximate

headwaters The headwaters of a river or stream is the farthest place in that river or stream from its estuary or downstream confluence with another river, as measured along the course of the river. It is also known as a river's source. Definition The ...

elevation of over 400 feet and runs southwest through agricultural land and urban developed areas in the lower reach to the

. Regionally, both the surface water and the

groundwater Groundwater is the water present beneath Earth's surface in rock and soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations. About 30 percent of all readily available freshwater in the world is groundwater. A unit of rock or an unconsolidated ...

flow with the slope of the terrain, that is, from the northeast to the southwest. Groundwater in the lower reach has been found at 20 to 80 feet below the surface in unconsolidated Quaternary

marine terrace A raised beach, coastal terrace,Pinter, N (2010): 'Coastal Terraces, Sealevel, and Active Tectonics' (educational exercise), from 2/04/2011or perched coastline is a relatively flat, horizontal or gently inclined surface of marine origin,Pira ...

deposits and in unconsolidated Quaternary

alluvium Alluvium (from Latin ''alluvius'', from ''alluere'' 'to wash against') is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. ...

. There are few groundwater barriers in the vicinity of the mouth of Naples Creek, a circumstance giving rise to local salt water intrusion. Chlorides exceeding 100 parts per million in groundwater were found in the early 1970s along this part of Half Moon Bay State Beach. Near the mouth of Naples Creek the banktop elevation varies between an elevation ranging from 30 to 40 feet above mean sea datum.U.S. Geological Survey, ''Half Moon Bay 7.5" Quadrangle'', 1961, photorevised 1968 and 1973

References

Rivers of San Mateo County, California Rivers of Northern California {{California-river-stub

Hydrology

See also

References