San Jacinto River (California)

For the river in Texas, see San Jacinto River (Texas).

River in California, United States

San Jacinto River

The mouth of the San Jacinto on Lake Elsinore, viewed from California State Route 74 (the Ortega Highway) on the southwest side of the lake

Map of the Santa Ana River watershed with the San Jacinto subbasin highlighted in yellow.

Location
Country| United States
State| California
Region| Riverside County
Cities| Hemet, San Jacinto, Perris, Lake Elsinore
Physical characteristics
Source| San Jacinto Mountains
• location| San Bernardino National Forest, Riverside County
• coordinates| 33°43′52″N 116°48′36″W﻿ / ﻿33.73111°N 116.81000°W﻿ / 33.73111; -116.81000[1]
• elevation| 2,100 ft (640 m)
Mouth| Lake Elsinore

• location

| Lake Elsinore, at the mouth of Railroad Canyon, northwest of the Sedco Hills and west of the Tuscany Hills of the Temescal Mountains, Riverside County

• coordinates

| 33°38′45.06″N 117°18′53.42″W﻿ / ﻿33.6458500°N 117.3148389°W﻿ / 33.6458500; -117.3148389

• elevation

| 1,243 ft (379 m)
Length| 42 mi (68 km), Northwest then southwest
Basin size| 780 sq mi (2,000 km2)[2]
Discharge|
• average| 16.4 cu ft/s (0.46 m3/s)[3]
• minimum| 0 cu ft/s (0 m3/s)
• maximum| 16,000 cu ft/s (450 m3/s)
Basin features
River system| Santa Ana River basin
Tributaries|
• left| South Fork San Jacinto River
• right| North Fork San Jacinto River

National Wild and Scenic River

Type| Wild, Scenic, Recreational
Designated| March 30, 2009[4]

The San Jacinto River is a 42-mile-long (68 km)[5] river in Riverside County, California. The river's headwaters are in Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument.[6] The lower portion of the 765-square-mile (1,980 km2) watershed is urban and agricultural land. As a partially endorheic watershed that is contiguous with other Great Basin watersheds, the western side of the San Jacinto Basin is a portion of the Great Basin Divide.

## Course

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The San Jacinto River during the destructive February 13-14, 2019 storm event. San Jacinto recorded 3.66" of rainfall on February 14. Photo is taken from the State Street bridge crossing.

The river is formed at the west base of the San Jacinto Mountains by the confluence of its North and South forks. The South Fork flows from near Santa Rosa Summit, through Pine Meadow and Garner Valley to Lake Hemet, which holds 14,000 acre-feet (17,000,000 m3) of water. Hemet Dam was built in 1895 to supply water to the city of Hemet. 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. Overflow from the river then flows southwest, passing under Ramona Expressway and Interstate 215, and through Railroad Canyon to Railroad Canyon Reservoir, also called Canyon Lake, which has a capacity of 11,900 acre-feet (14,700,000 m3). Downstream of Railroad Canyon Dam, the river continues flowing roughly west southwest through the canyon through the Temescal Mountains for about 3 miles (4.8 km) until it drains into Lake Elsinore. 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 in Corona, California.

## List of tributaries of the San Jacinto River

[edit]

* Cottonwood Canyon Creek[7] in Railroad Canyon
* Canyon Lake in Railroad Canyon
* Salt Creek[8][9]
* Perris Valley Channel[10]
* Bautista Creek[11]
* Indian Creek[12]
* Lake Fulmor
* North Fork San Jacinto River[13]
* Logan Creek[14]
* Stone Creek[15]
* Black Mountain Creek[16]
* Fuller Mill Creek[17]
* South Fork San Jacinto River[18]
* Dry Creek[19]
* Strawberry Creek[20]
* Coldwater Creek[21]
* Spillway Canyon Creek[22]
* Lake Hemet
* Herkey Creek[23]
* Fobes Canyon Creek[24]
* Pipe Creek[25]
* Martinez Creek[26]
* Gold Shot Creek[27]
* Penrod Canyon Creek[28]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "San Jacinto River". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. 1981-01-19. Retrieved 2010-11-22.
2. ^ "San Jacinto River Watershed: Geographic Setting". Lake Elsinore and Canyon Lake Task Force. Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority. Archived from the original on 2011-07-28. Retrieved 2010-11-22.
3. ^ "USGS Gage #11070500 on the San Jacinto River near Elsinore, CA" (PDF). National Water Information System. U.S. Geological Survey. 1916–2009. Retrieved 2010-11-22.
4. ^ https://www.rivers.gov/rivers/san-jacinto.php
5. ^ U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map, accessed March 16, 2011
6. ^ McDonnell, Lawrence R. (1970). Rivers of California. San Francisco, California: Pacific Gas and Electric Company. p. 43.
7. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Cottonwood Canyon
8. ^ USGS Mouth: 33°40′42″N 117°14′07″W﻿ / ﻿33.67833°N 117.23528°W﻿ / 33.67833; -117.23528
9. ^ City of Menifee General Plan Draft EIR, City of Menifee, The Planning Center, DC&E, September 2013, Page 5.9-1 Environmental Setting; Local Surface Waters and Drainage; Salt Creek
10. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Perris Valley Storm Drain
11. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Bautista Creek
12. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Indian Creek
13. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: North Fork San Jacinto River
14. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Logan Creek
15. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Stone Creek
16. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Black Mountain Creek
17. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Fuller Mill Creek
18. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: South Fork San Jacinto River
19. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Dry Creek
20. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Strawberry Creek
21. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Coldwater Creek
22. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Spillway Canyon
23. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Herkey Creek
24. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Fobes Canyon
25. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Pipe Creek
26. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Martinez Creek
27. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Gold Shot Creek
28. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Penrod Canyon

## External links

[edit]

* "Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-02-11. (4.64 MiB)

Wikimedia Commons has media related to San Jacinto River (California).

* v
* t
* e

San Jacinto River

South Fork (northwestward)|

* confluence← Strawberry Cr
* Mystic Lake
* Hemet Lake/Dam (Herkey Cr trib)

North Fork (southwestward)|

* confluence← Logan Cr
* Stone Cr
* Black Mountain Cr
* Fuller Mill Cr (soucre: SJa St F)
* source (Deer Springs)

mainstream|

* Lake Elsinore (sink)← Canyon Lake/Dam (Salt Cr trib)
* Railroad Canyon
* Indian Cr
* confluence

"rare" overflow (northwestward)|

* Santa Ana River confluence← Prado Flood Control Basin
* Corona, California
* Temescal Cr (Lee L, El Cerrito res)
* Aberhill Cr
* Lake Elsinore sill (1256 ft)

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template