Miller 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 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 ...

in eastern

Marin County, California Marin County ( ) is a County (United States), county located in the northwestern part of the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 262,231. Its county seat a ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. It originates on

Big Rock Ridge Big Rock Ridge is a ridge near Novato, California, and the 2nd tallest point in Marin County. The ridge is 5 miles long, and runs from the northwest to the east, dividing Novato's Ignacio Valley and San Rafael's Lucas Valley, and separating Novat ...

and empties into

San Pablo Bay San Pablo Bay is a tidal estuary that forms the northern extension of the San Francisco Bay in the East Bay and North Bay regions of the San Francisco Bay Area in northern California. Most of the Bay is shallow; however, there is a deep wate ...

east of Marinwood. A middle school called Miller Creek Middle School was named after the creek and is home to 6th, 7th, and 8th graders.

History

The name honors James Miller, an Irishman who settled on part of Rancho San Pedro, Santa Margarita y Las Gallinas in 1845.

Watershed and Course

The Miller Creek watershed drains . Miller Creek originates on Big Rock Ridge southwest of the city of Novato. It descends southward to Lucas Valley Road, where it turns eastward into Gallinas Valley, paralleling the road to Miller Creek Road. There it crosses Lucas Valley Road and jogs northward through Marinwood Park before turning east again along the southern edge of Marinwood. It crosses under

U.S. Route 101 U.S. Route 101, or U.S. Highway 101 (US 101), is a major north–south highway that traverses the states of California, Oregon, and Washington on the West Coast of the United States. It is part of the United States Numbered Highway Syst ...

at milepost 15.35 and flows through channels in McInnes County Park to empty into the west end of

Ecology

In recent years,

steelhead trout Steelhead, or occasionally steelhead trout, is the anadromous form of the coastal rainbow trout or Columbia River redband trout (''O. m. gairdneri'', also called redband steelhead). Steelhead are native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacif ...

(''Oncorhyncus mykiss'') of multiple ages have been identified in Miller Creek. It has been identified by EPA,

Marin County Marin County ( ) is a county located in the northwestern part of the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 262,231. Its county seat and largest city is San Rafael. Marin County is ac ...

Public Works and

California Department of Fish and Game The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), formerly known as the California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG), is an American state agency under the California Natural Resources Agency. The Department of Fish and Wildlife manages ...

for restoration potential for trout because it has high quality connected riparian habitat, minimal barriers to fish passage and no reservoirs.

Habitat and pollution

The California Coastal Commission considers Miller Creek a Critical Coastal Area because it is an impaired water body (listed under Section 303(d) of the U.S.

Clean Water Act The Clean Water Act (CWA) is the primary federal law in the United States governing water pollution. Its objective is to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation's waters; recognizing the primary respo ...

) which adjoins the

San Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge San Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge in California established in 1970. It extends along the northern shore of San Pablo Bay, from the mouth of the Petaluma River, to Tolay Creek, Sonoma Creek, and ending a ...

. Livestock have grazed on the watershed since the 1800s, causing widening and downcutting of the creek. It continues to carry a heavy load of sediment from grazing activity, and its lower reaches are also impacted by suburban development.

Bridges

Miller Creek is spanned by numerous bridges, including: * at Lucas Valley Road, a concrete continuous slab built in 1961 and 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 capital 'T'-shaped cross section. The top of the T-shaped cross section serves as a flange or compression member in resisti ...

built in 1959. * at U.S. Route 101, an concrete continuous slab built in 1952 and reconstructed in 1987. * at Mount Shasta Drive, an concrete continuous slab built in 1962. * at Mount Lassen Drive, a concrete continuous slab built in 1965 and a concrete slab built in 1925. * at Mount McKinley Road, a concrete continuous slab built in 1963. * at Bridgegate Drive, a prestressed concrete tee beam built in 1987. * at Las Gallinas Avenue, a concrete continuous slab built in 1970.

References

External links

Historical Ecology of Miller Creek by North Bay Watershed Association and SFEI
{{San Francisco Bay watershed Rivers of Marin County, California Rivers of Northern California Tributaries of San Pablo Bay