The San Jacinto River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data
The National Map
accessed March 16, 2011

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of ...

Riverside County, California Riverside County is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,418,185, making it the fourth-most populous county in California and the 10th-most populous in the Uni ...

. The river's headwaters are in

Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument The Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument is a National Monument in southern California. It includes portions of the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto mountain ranges, the northernmost ones of the Peninsular Ranges system. The national ...

. The lower portion of the

watershed Watershed is a hydrological term, which has been adopted in other fields in a more or less figurative sense. It may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, called a "watershe ...

is urban and agricultural land. As a partially endorheic watershed that is contiguous with other

Great Basin The Great Basin is the largest area of contiguous endorheic watersheds, those with no outlets, in North America. It spans nearly all of Nevada, much of Utah, and portions of California, Idaho, Oregon, Wyoming, and Baja California. It is noted fo ...

watersheds, the western side of the San Jacinto Basin is a portion of the

Great Basin Divide The Great Basin Divide in the western United States is the ridgeline that separates the Great Basin from the Pacific Ocean watershed, which completely surrounds it. The Great Basin is the largest set of contiguous endorheic watersheds of No ...

Course

San Jacinto River 2019 - State St Bridge

The river is formed at the west base of the

San Jacinto Mountains The San Jacinto Mountains (''Avii Hanupach''Munro, P., et al. ''A Mojave Dictionary''. Los Angeles: UCLA. 1992. in Mojave) are a mountain range in Riverside County, located east of Los Angeles in southern California in the United States. The mo ...

by the confluence of its North and South forks. The South Fork flows from near Santa Rosa Summit, through Pine Meadow and

Garner Valley This is a list of geographic place names, or toponyms, in Riverside County, California. The county itself was named for the city of Riverside, the county seat, which in turn was named for its location beside the Santa Ana River. Municipalities ...

to Lake Hemet, which holds of water. Hemet Dam was built in 1895 to supply water to the city of

Hemet Hemet is a city in the San Jacinto Valley in Riverside County, California. It covers a total area of , about half of the valley, which it shares with the neighboring city of San Jacinto. The population was 89,833 at the 2020 census. The foundi ...

. Downstream of the dam, the South Fork joins the North Fork east of the town of Valle Vista near Highway 74, and the main stem of the San Jacinto River continues northwest until it discharges into Mystic Lake, a couple of miles east of

Lake Perris Lake Perris is an artificial lake completed in 1973. It is the southern terminus of the California State Water Project, situated in a mountain-rimmed valley between Moreno Valley and Perris, in what is now the Lake Perris State Recreation Area. ...

. Overflow from the river then flows southwest, passing under Ramona Expressway and Interstate 215, and through

Railroad Canyon Railroad Canyon, originally named San Jacinto Canyon, also known as Cottonwood Canyon, and Annie Orton Canyon, is a valley located in Riverside County, California. It encloses the lower course of the San Jacinto River at the point where the river ...

Railroad Canyon Reservoir Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...

, also called Canyon Lake, which has a capacity of . Downstream of Railroad Canyon Dam, the river continues flowing roughly west southwest through the canyon through the

Temescal Mountains Temescal Mountains, also known as the Sierra Temescal (Spanish for "sweat lodge range"), are one of the northernmost mountain ranges of the Peninsular Ranges in western Riverside County, in Southern California in the United States. They extend fo ...

for about until it drains into

Lake Elsinore Lake Elsinore is a natural freshwater lake in Riverside County, California, located east of the Santa Ana Mountains and fed by the San Jacinto River. Originally named ''Laguna Grande'' by Spanish explorers, it was renamed for the town of Elsino ...

. The lake usually has no outflow other than evaporation, but in years of heavy rainfall it overflows into Temescal Creek, which flows northwest to the

Santa Ana River The Santa Ana River is the largest river entirely within Southern California in the United States. It rises in the San Bernardino Mountains and flows for most of its length through San Bernardino and Riverside Counties, before cutting throug ...

Corona, California Corona ( Spanish for "Crown") is a city in Riverside County, California, United States. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 157,136, up from 152,374 at the 2010 census. The cities of Norco and Riverside lie to the north and no ...

List of tributaries of the San Jacinto River

* Cottonwood Canyon Creek in

* Canyon Lake in Railroad Canyon ** Salt Creek * Perris Valley Channel * Bautista Creek * Indian Creek **

Lake Fulmor Lake Fulmor is a small artificial lake formed by an earthen dam on Indian Creek in the San Jacinto Mountains of Riverside County, California. The lake is located just off State Route 243, about northwest of the unincorporated community of Pine ...

* North Fork San Jacinto River ** Logan Creek ** Stone Creek ** Black Mountain Creek ** Fuller Mill Creek *

South Fork San Jacinto River South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz ...

** Dry Creek ***

Strawberry Creek Strawberry Creek is the principal watercourse running through the city of Berkeley, California. Two forks rise in the Berkeley Hills of the California Coast Ranges, and form a confluence at the campus of the University of California, Berkeley. ...

*** Coldwater Creek ** Spillway Canyon Creek ** Lake Hemet ** Herkey Creek ** Fobes Canyon Creek ** Pipe Creek ** Martinez Creek ** Gold Shot Creek ** Penrod Canyon Creek

References

External links

* {{San Jacinto River (California), state=expanded Rivers of Riverside County, California San Jacinto Mountains Tributaries of Temescal Creek Tributaries of the Santa Ana River Rivers of Southern California Watersheds of California