Austin Creek
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| Austin Creek | |
| stream | |
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| State | California |
| Region | Sonoma County |
| Tributaries | |
| - left | East Austin Creek |
| - right | Bearpen Creek, Kidd Creek |
| City | Cazadero, California |
| Source | The Cedars (Sonoma County, California) |
| - location | 13 mi (20 km) west of Healdsburg, California |
| - elevation | 1,965 ft (599 m) |
| - coordinates | [1] |
| Mouth | Russian River |
| - location | 1 mi (2 km) north of Duncans Mills, California |
| - elevation | 23 ft (7 m) [1] |
| - coordinates | [1] |
Austin Creek is a southward-flowing stream in the mountains of western Sonoma County, California which empties into the Russian River about 4 mi (6 km) from the Pacific Ocean.
Contents |
[edit] Course
The creek originates in an isolated area known as The Cedars, about 13 mi (20 km) west of Healdsburg, California. It flows south past Layton Mine into a wooded canyon, where it joins King Ridge Road just above its confluence with Bearpen Creek. It parallels King Ridge Road to the town of Cazadero and continues south through confluences with East Austin Creek and Kidd Creek. It flows under State Route 116 at milepost 4.93[2] and enters the Russian River about 1 mi (2 km) north of the town of Duncans Mills.
[edit] History
In the 1885-1886, the North Pacific Coast Railroad extended its narrow-gauge line up Austin Creek to transport lumber from Cazadero to points south.[3] The railroad grade was later converted to road, becoming Cazadero Highway.[4]
[edit] Habitat and pollution
As of 2000, Austin Creek and all its major tributaries all supported steelhead trout. Austin Creek and East Austin Creek also harbored California freshwater shrimp.[5]
[edit] Bridges
Many bridges span Austin Creek. The longest of these is the State Route 116 bridge, which is 380 ft (116 m) long and was built in 1962.[2]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c USGS GNIS: Austin Creek
- ^ a b "National Bridge Inventory Database".
- ^ Hilton, George Woodman (1990). American Narrow Gauge Railroads. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press, p. 329. ISBN 0804717311.
- ^ "Cazadero History". Retrieved on 2008-09-01.
- ^ Cox, Bill (2000). "Major Streams in Sonoma County". Retrieved on 2007-12-04.
