Strawberry Creek (San Bernardino County, California) facts for kids

Strawberry Creek is a 4-mile-long (6.4 km) stream on the south flank of the San Bernardino Mountains above the city of San Bernardino. It is part of the Warm Creek watershed in San Bernardino, California whose waters flow to the Santa Ana River. Wells under an expired (1988) special use permit from the U.S. Forest Service to Nestlé Waters North America tap into groundwater above Strawberry Creek on the San Bernardino National Forest and bottle it for sale as Arrowhead Mountain Spring Water.

Watershed and course

Strawberry Creek arises at 5,000 feet (1,500 m) just south of Rimforest in the San Bernardino Mountains, and southeast of Strawberry Peak. It flows south for 2.5 miles (4.0 km) then 1.5 miles (2.4 km) southwest until it joins East Twin Creek. East Twin Creek is joined by West Twin Creek, the latter draining Waterman Canyon. East Twin Creek is tributary to Warm Creek which is, in turn, tributary to the Santa Ana River, and eventually to the Pacific Ocean.

Habitat and Ecology

The Santa Ana speckled dace (Rhinichthys osculus ssp.) used Strawberry Creek until the combination of low flows in the 2003 summer drought and the wildfire and floods in November/December 2003 apparently wiped out the fish. The Santa Ana speckled dace are very rare and threatened by human activities such as water withdrawal, barriers to movement and isolation. The habitat supports many threatened, endangered, and Forest Service Sensitive species. The list includes, least Bell's vireo, southwestern willow flycatcher, two-striped garter snake, California spotted owl, and the southern rubber boa. Plans are being made to reintroduce the Santa Ana speckled dace and mountain yellow legged frog when water conditions are appropriate. The prolonged drought has had a significant effect on streams in southern California and their ability to support animal species that require surface water.