Miramar Beach, California facts for kids
Miramar Beach is a beautiful sandy beach located in San Mateo County, California. It's one of many beaches along Half Moon Bay, a large curve of the Pacific Ocean that's well-known for its awesome surfing waves and many visitors.
Right above the beach, there's a flat area about eight meters (26 feet) high. This is where the small community of Miramar is located. It's a quiet neighborhood, but it also has places like restaurants and hotels for people visiting the coast. A small stream called Arroyo de en Medio flows across Miramar Beach and into the Pacific Ocean.
You can get to Miramar Beach from State Route 1 by turning west onto Magellan Avenue, then left onto Mirada Road. There's also a public walking trail along the cliffs that stretches for three miles, all the way to the city of Half Moon Bay. This trail offers amazing ocean views and is a great spot for birdwatching.
Arroyo de en Medio: A Coastal Stream
Arroyo de en Medio is a stream that cuts through the flat land near Miramar Beach before flowing into the ocean. The stream has steep banks, about 40 degrees, and the channel floor is about eight meters (26 feet) deep compared to the top of the banks.
Even though it's a stream, Arroyo de en Medio often dries up in the summer months. This means it's an "intermittent" stream. However, you might still see some standing water near its mouth during summer. This water often comes from street runoff, like from people watering their gardens or washing cars. The very end of the stream, where it meets the ocean, doesn't have many tall trees. Instead, it's a marshy area filled with sedge plants.
Plants and Animals of Arroyo de en Medio
The streambed at the mouth of Arroyo de en Medio is home to many plants that need water to grow. These include willow trees (Salix species), sedge plants (Carex species), stream monkey flower (Mimulus species), and red alder trees (Alnus oregona).
These plants, and others that grow along the stream, provide food and shelter for many different animals. Some animals eat the plants directly, while others eat insects that feed on the plants. You might see many spider webs near the stream's mouth, which means there are lots of insects. These insects are food for other animals like salamanders, tree frogs, lizards, and many kinds of birds.
The area is also important for birds to build their nests and raise their young. In a study done in 1989, no endangered San Francisco garter snakes were seen here, but they were found at a nearby stream called Denniston Creek. The area around the stream's mouth is considered a special "riparian corridor," which means it's a protected natural area because of its unique plants and animals.
