Lone Tree Creek, formerly Dry Creek, a

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 strea ...

and tributary to the

San Joaquin River The San Joaquin River ( ; ) is the longest river of Central California. The long river starts in the high Sierra Nevada and flows through the rich agricultural region of the northern San Joaquin Valley before reaching Suisun Bay, San Francis ...

, flowing in

San Joaquin County San Joaquin County ( ; , meaning " St. Joachim"), officially the County of San Joaquin, is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 779,233. The county seat is Stockton. San Jo ...

and Stanislaus County, central

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. It is named for the settlement of Lone Tree, about 2 1/4 miles northeast of present day Escalon. Its

headwaters The headwater of a river or stream is the geographical point of its beginning, specifically where surface runoff water begins to accumulate into a flowing channel of water. A river or stream into which one or many tributary rivers or streams flo ...

, in the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada ( ) is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primari ...

foothills, are now 3.4 miles northwest of Oakdale, about 550 ft. southwest of the end of Parson Ranch Road, in Stanislaus County. Originally its source in the foothills was a few miles to the east, but its upper reaches were subsequently diverted for irrigation. Source location of Lone Tree Creek, San Joaquin County from mapper.acme.com accessed November 22, 2011
/ref> The creek flows westward into San Joaquin County where it joins with Little John Creek. Their confluence forms French Camp Slough, a primary tributary of the San Joaquin River.

History

The settlement of Lone Tree was once the location of a crossing on Dry Creek, for the Stockton - Los Angeles Road on its route from Stockton to the

ferries A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus. ...

on the

Stanislaus River The Stanislaus River is a tributary of the San Joaquin River in north-central California in the United States. The main stem of the river is long, and measured to its furthest headwaters it is about long. Originating as three forks in the h ...

in the vicinity of Oakdale.

References

{{reflist

External links

Official map of the State of California, 1854
From 1853, showing settlement of Lone Tree and Dry Creek (as a tributary of the Stanislaus River, unlike today). From David Rumsey Historical Map Collection, www.davidrumsey.com.
Britton & Rey's Map Of The State Of California, 1857
showing settlement of Lone Tree and the creek is now nameless, and no longer a tributary of the Stanislaus River). From David Rumsey Historical Map Collection, www.davidrumsey.com. Rivers of San Joaquin County, California Rivers of Stanislaus County, California Tributaries of the San Joaquin River Rivers of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Geography of the San Joaquin Valley Rivers of Northern California Rivers of the Sierra Nevada in California