River in California, United States
San Jacinto River
The mouth of the San Jacinto on Lake Elsinore, viewed from
California State Route 74 (the Ortega Highway) on the southwest side of the lake
Map of the
Santa Ana River watershed with the San Jacinto subbasin highlighted in yellow.
Country
United States State
California Region
Riverside County Cities
Hemet ,
San Jacinto ,
Perris ,
Lake Elsinore Source
San Jacinto Mountains • location
San Bernardino National Forest ,
Riverside County • coordinates
33°43′52″N 116°48′36″W / 33.73111°N 116.81000°W / 33.73111; -116.81000
[1] • elevation 2,100 ft (640 m)
Mouth
Lake Elsinore • location
Lake Elsinore , at the mouth of
Railroad Canyon , northwest of the
Sedco Hills and west of the
Tuscany Hills of the
Temescal Mountains ,
Riverside County • coordinates
33°38′45.06″N 117°18′53.42″W / 33.6458500°N 117.3148389°W / 33.6458500; -117.3148389 • elevation
1,243 ft (379 m) Length 42 mi (68 km), Northwest then southwest Basin size 780 sq mi (2,000 km2 )
[2] Discharge • average 16.4 cu ft/s (0.46 m3 /s)
[3] • minimum 0 cu ft/s (0 m3 /s) • maximum 16,000 cu ft/s (450 m3 /s)
River system
Santa Ana River basin Tributaries • left South Fork San Jacinto River • right North Fork San Jacinto River Type Wild, Scenic, Recreational Designated March 30, 2009
[4]
The San Jacinto River is a 42-mile-long (68 km)
[5]
river in
Riverside County, California . The river's headwaters are in
Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument .
[6] The lower portion of the 765-square-mile (1,980 km2 )
watershed is urban and agricultural land. As a partially
endorheic watershed that is contiguous with other
Great Basin watersheds, the western side of the San Jacinto Basin is a portion of the
Great Basin Divide .
Course
The San Jacinto River during the destructive February 13-14, 2019 storm event. San Jacinto recorded 3.66" of rainfall on February 14. Photo is taken from the State Street bridge crossing.
The river is formed at the west base of the
San Jacinto Mountains by the confluence of its North and South forks. The South Fork flows from near Santa Rosa Summit, through
Pine Meadow and
Garner Valley to
Lake Hemet , which holds 14,000
acre-feet (17,000,000 m3 ) of water. Hemet Dam was built in 1895 to supply water to the city of
Hemet . Downstream of the
dam , the South Fork joins the North Fork east of the town of
Valle Vista near Highway 74, and the main stem of the San Jacinto River continues northwest until it discharges into
Mystic Lake , a couple of miles east of
Lake Perris . Overflow from the river then flows southwest, passing under Ramona Expressway and Interstate 215, and through
Railroad Canyon to
Railroad Canyon Reservoir , also called Canyon Lake, which has a capacity of 11,900
acre-feet (14,700,000 m3 ). Downstream of Railroad Canyon Dam, the river continues flowing roughly west southwest through the canyon through the
Temescal Mountains for about 3 miles (4.8 km) until it drains into
Lake Elsinore . The lake usually has no outflow other than evaporation, but in years of heavy rainfall it overflows into
Temescal Creek , which flows northwest to the
Santa Ana River in
Corona, California .
List of tributaries of the San Jacinto River
References
^
"San Jacinto River" .
Geographic Names Information System .
United States Geological Survey ,
United States Department of the Interior . 1981-01-19. Retrieved 2010-11-22 .
^
"San Jacinto River Watershed: Geographic Setting" . Lake Elsinore and Canyon Lake Task Force . Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority. Archived from
the original on 2011-07-28. Retrieved 2010-11-22 .
^
"USGS Gage #11070500 on the San Jacinto River near Elsinore, CA" (PDF) . National Water Information System . U.S. Geological Survey. 1916–2009. Retrieved 2010-11-22 .
^
https://www.rivers.gov/rivers/san-jacinto.php
^ U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data.
The National Map , accessed March 16, 2011
^ McDonnell, Lawrence R. (1970). Rivers of California . San Francisco, California: Pacific Gas and Electric Company. p. 43.
^
U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Cottonwood Canyon
^ USGS Mouth:
33°40′42″N 117°14′07″W / 33.67833°N 117.23528°W / 33.67833; -117.23528
^
City of Menifee General Plan Draft EIR, City of Menifee, The Planning Center, DC&E, September 2013, Page 5.9-1 Environmental Setting; Local Surface Waters and Drainage; Salt Creek
^
U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Perris Valley Storm Drain
^
U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Bautista Creek
^
U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Indian Creek
^
U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: North Fork San Jacinto River
^
U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Logan Creek
^
U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Stone Creek
^
U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Black Mountain Creek
^
U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Fuller Mill Creek
^
U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: South Fork San Jacinto River
^
U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Dry Creek
^
U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Strawberry Creek
^
U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Coldwater Creek
^
U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Spillway Canyon
^
U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Herkey Creek
^
U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Fobes Canyon
^
U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Pipe Creek
^
U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Martinez Creek
^
U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Gold Shot Creek
^
U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Penrod Canyon
External links
South Fork (northwestward) North Fork (southwestward)
confluence← Logan Cr
Stone Cr
Black Mountain Cr
Fuller Mill Cr (soucre: SJa St F)
source (
Deer Springs )
mainstream "rare" overflow (northwestward)