Nicasio Creek

Nicasio Creek
stream
Nicasio Creek
Country United States
State California
Region Marin County
District West Marin
Landmark Nicasio Reservoir
Source Big Rock Ridge
 - location 4 mi (6 km) southwest of Novato
 - elevation 1,030 ft (314 m)
 - coordinates 38°3′42″N 122°37′37″W / 38.06167°N 122.62694°W / 38.06167; -122.62694 [1]
Mouth Lagunitas Creek
 - location 2 mi (3 km) east of Point Reyes Station
 - elevation 39 ft (12 m) [1]
 - coordinates 38°4′12″N 122°46′12″W / 38.07000°N 122.77000°W / 38.07000; -122.77000Coordinates: 38°4′12″N 122°46′12″W / 38.07000°N 122.77000°W / 38.07000; -122.77000 [1]

Nicasio Creek is an 11.9-mile-long (19.2 km)[2] stream in Marin County, California, United States which feeds into Lagunitas Creek. The Nicasio Reservoir, formed in 1961 by Seeger Dam, is located on this stream.

Course

Originating on Big Rock Ridge west of the city of Novato, Nicasio Creek descends initially to the south. Approaching Lucas Valley Road, it turns and follows the road as it winds westward, passing south of Skywalker Ranch to the town of Nicasio. North of Nicasio, it feeds into Nicasio Reservoir just as Halleck Creek enters from the east. The reservoir drains to the west, through a gap in Bolinas Ridge. From the dam, Nicasio Creek parallels Point Reyes-Petaluma Road westward about 1 mile (1.6 km), then empties into Lagunitas Creek.

Ecology

A river otter (Lontra canadensis) was collected by the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology at the southwest corner of Nicasio Reservoir in January, 2008.[3]

Bridges

There are at least two bridges spanning Nicasio Creek. Point Reyes-Petaluma Road crosses the creek in two places: once 3.47 miles (5.58 km) east of State Route 1 on a 133-foot (41 m) concrete continuous tee beam constructed in 1960, and again 3.2 miles (5.1 km) east of State Route 1 on a 102-foot (31 m) concrete tee beam built in 1937.[4]

References

  1. 1 2 3 U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Nicasio Creek
  2. ↑ U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map, accessed March 9, 2011
  3. ↑ "Lontra canadensis brevipilosus". Museum of Vertebrate Zoology. 2008-01-29. Retrieved 2011-05-23.
  4. ↑ "National Bridge Inventory Database".

See also

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 9/11/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.