San Juan Creek facts for kids
Quick facts for kids San Juan Creek |
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Hikers ford San Juan Creek below the hot springs, February 2008.
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Map of the San Juan Creek watershed
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| Other name(s) | San Juan River |
| Country | United States |
| State | California |
| Region | Orange County, Riverside County |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Main source | head of San Juan Canyon, at the confluence of Morrell Canyon Creek with Bear Canyon Creek, Santa Ana Mountains 1,690 ft (520 m) 33°36′49″N 117°26′07″W / 33.61361°N 117.43528°W |
| River mouth | San Juan Lagoon, Doheny State Beach, Dana Point 0 ft (0 m) 33°27′42″N 117°41′01″W / 33.46167°N 117.68361°W |
| Length | 29 mi (47 km) |
| Basin features | |
| Basin size | 133.9 sq mi (347 km2) |
| Tributaries |
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San Juan Creek is a small river in Orange County, California, about 27 miles (43 km) long. Its watershed occupies 133.9 square miles (357 square kilometers). It begins in the Santa Ana Mountains, and ends, after a journey winding west and south, in the Pacific Ocean in Dana Point.
Its biggest tributary, Trabuco Creek or Arroyo Trabuco, is about 21 miles (34 km) long, flowing south from the Santa Ana Mountains into San Juan Creek. Oso Creek is a smaller tributary to Trabuco Creek, but has a lot of water in it the entire year.
Nearby rivers
North along coast
South along coast
Images for kids
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The uppermost reaches of San Juan Creek are called San Juan Canyon and are followed by the narrow Ortega Highway.
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Bell Creek, the second largest tributary of San Juan Creek, flowing through Caspers Wilderness Park
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San Juan Creek between San Juan Capistrano and Dana Point, after a rain
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Lake Mission Viejo is an artificial lake formed by a dam across Oso Creek, used primarily for recreation.
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Upland riparian and stream habitat along Hot Spring Canyon
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Steelhead trout have recently begun to return to San Juan Creek, only to find many man-made obstructions preventing them from spawning.
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Pre-contact tribal boundaries in Southern California
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Mission San Juan Capistrano
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San Juan Creek at the old Ganado bridge, c. 1958
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Drop structure viewed during rainfall, near the San Juan-Trabuco confluence
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Concrete banks of San Juan Creek in Dana Point, c. 1963
