Orestimba Creek
| Orestimba Creek | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Etymology | Spanish |
| Native name | Arroyo de Orestimba (Spanish) |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| State | California |
| Region | Stanislaus County |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source confluence | |
| • location | Confluence of North Fork Orestimba Creek and South Fork Orestimba Creek, Stanislaus County, California |
| • coordinates | 37°18′09″N 121°17′22″W / 37.30250°N 121.28944°W[1] |
| • elevation | 669 ft (204 m) |
| Mouth | |
• location | Mouth at the San Joaquin River, 7.3 miles north of Newman, in Stanislaus County |
• coordinates | 37°25′19″N 121°00′12″W / 37.42194°N 121.00333°W[1] |
• elevation | 46 ft (14 m)[1] |
| Basin features | |
| River system | San Joaquin River |
| Tributaries | |
| • left | North Fork Orestimba Creek, Oso Creek, Crow Creek |
| • right | South Fork Orestimba Creek |
Orestimba Creek, originally Arroyo de Orestimba (Orestimba, a Yokutsan word for "meeting place") is a tributary of the San Joaquin River draining eastern slopes of part of the Diablo Range within the San Joaquin Valley of California.
History
[edit]The Orestimba name derives from the Ohlone language ores meaning bear. It is first mentioned as Arroyo de Orestimac in the historic record in Padre José Viader's exploration diary of 1810. He was the long-serving head of Mission Santa Clara de Asis.[2] Arroyo Orestimba was a watering place on El Camino Viejo in the San Joaquin Valley and was the primary water source for Rancho Orestimba y Las Garzas near its northern boundary.[3] The ranch house of Rancho Orestimba y las Garzas, was built above the sycamore grove on Arroyo de Orestimba.[4]
In 1981 the Mustang-Gill Ranch, which included much of the South Fork Orestimba Creek watershed in southwest Stanislaus County, was acquired by California State Parks and became part of Henry W. Coe State Park. The Park's General Plan, approved in 1985, designated the 22,000 acres (89 km2) of the Park as the Orestimba Wilderness.[5]
In 1998 the Simon Newman Ranch was acquired by The Nature Conservancy which continues to manage its 33,000 acres (130 km2) which include the eastern Diablo Range foothills watersheds of both Orestimba Creek and Garzas Creek.[6][7]
Watershed and Course
[edit]The Orestimba Creek watershed drains 141 square miles (370 km2) and is the largest of the 13 tributaries of the San Joaquin River's westside basin.[8][9]
The Orestimba Creek mainstem has its source at the confluence of the North Fork and South Fork of Orestimba Creek (elevation 673 feet (205 m)) and flows northeast 27.0 miles (43.5 km) to its mouth at the San Joaquin River 7.3 miles (11.7 km) north of Newman in Stanislaus County.[10] Its two major tributaries each begin just west of the Diablo Range Crest just inside Stanislaus County's border with Santa Clara County. North Fork Orestimba Creek[11] begins at elevation 3,083 feet (940 m) about 1.1 miles (1.8 km) north-by-northwest of Black Mountain[12] and the much longer and lower gradient South Fork Orestimba Creek[13] begins at elevation 1,462 feet (446 m).
After the confluence of the North and South Forks, mainstem Orestimba Creek receives only two named tributaries (from the left heading downstream): Oso Creek[14] in the mountains and Crow Creek[15] on the Central Valley floor. North Fork Orestimba Creek receives no named tributaries. However, South Fork Orestimba Creek receives several named tributaries, all beginning just west of the Diablo Range Crest and joining from the left: first Hartman Creek[16], then Red Creek[17], then Robison Creek[18], and then Sheep Thief Creek[19].
Ecology
[edit]The Orestimba Creek watershed is dominated by blue oak (Quercus douglasii) and gray pine (Pinus sabiniana) with patches of riparian, chaparral and grasslands habitats.[20] Native mammal species include black-tailed jackrabbit (Lepus californicus), brush rabbit (Sylvilagus bachmani), California ground squirrel (Otospermophilus beecheyi), coyote (Canis latrans), grey fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus), striped skunk (Mephitis mephitis), bobcat (Lynx rufus), puma (Puma concolor) and Columbian black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus columbianus). Historically pronghorn (Antilocapra americana) and tule elk (Cervus canadensis nannodes) were present, with tule elk now present after translocations to Mount Hamilton circa 1980.[21]
Recreation
[edit]Upper South Fork Orestimba Creek and its Hartman Creek, Red Creek and Robison Creek subtributaries are included in a designated wilderness area of about 22,000 acres (8,900 ha) in a northern section of Henry W. Coe State Park known as the "Orestimba Wilderness".[22]
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Orestimba Creek
- ↑ Erwin G. Gudde, William Bright (1998). California Place Names. The Origin and Etymology of Current Geographical Names. Berkeley, California: University of California Press. p. 172. ISBN 9780520266193.
- ↑ Diseño del Rancho Orestimba
- ↑ Mildred Brooke Hoover, Douglas E. Kyle, Historic Spots in California, Stanford University Press, 2002, p.517
- ↑ Ron Erskine (March 27, 2014). "The Nearby Wilderness: Seeking Solitude and Serenity in the Orestimba". Bay Nature. Retrieved June 9, 2026.
- ↑ Alex Barnum (July 22, 1998). "Nature Group Buys Ranches to Corral San Joaquin Valley Sprawl / Largest Bay Area land acquisition protects oak hills". SFGate. San Francisco, California. Retrieved June 9, 2026.
- ↑ Miriam Tsalyuk, Maggi Kelly, Kevin Koy, Wayne M. Getz, H. Scott Butterfield (2015). "Monitoring the Impact of Grazing on Rangeland Conservation Easements Using MODIS Vegetation Indices". Rangeland Ecology & Management. 68: 173–185. Retrieved June 9, 2026.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ↑ Westcot, Dennis W. (1991). Preliminary Estimate of Salt and Trace Element Loading to the San Joaquin River by Ephemeral Streams Draining the Eastern Slope of the Coast Range (Diablo Range) (Report). Rancho Cordova, California: California Regional Water Quality Control Board Central Valley Region.
- ↑ San Joaquin River Basin Rotational Sub-basin Monitoring: Westside Basin, November 2004 – November 2005 (Orestimba, Del Puerto, Salado, Ingram, and Hospital Creeks) (PDF) (Report). Rancho Cordova, California: California Regional Water Quality Control Board Central Valley Region. February 1, 2010. Retrieved June 5, 2026.
- ↑ U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map Archived 2012-03-29 at the Wayback Machine, accessed June 7, 2026
- ↑ "North Fork Orestimba Creek". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
- ↑ "Black Mountain". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
- ↑ "South Fork Orestimba Creek". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
- ↑ "Oso Creek". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
- ↑ "Crow Creek". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
- ↑ "Hartman Creek". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
- ↑ "Red Creek". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
- ↑ "Robison Creek". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
- ↑ "Sheep Thief Creek". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
- ↑ Michael G. Barbour, Jack Major, ed. (1977). Terrestrial Vegetation of California. New York City, New York: Wiley. ISBN 978-0-471-56536-9.
- ↑ Timothy Slowik (2023). Prehistoric Chronology and Upland Settlement on Orestimba Creek, Central Diablo Range, California (Thesis). Sacramento, California: California State University, Sacramento. p. 105. Retrieved June 10, 2026.
- ↑ "Henry W. Coe State Park Brochure (and map)" (PDF). Sacramento, California: California State Parks. 2009. Retrieved June 9, 2026.