Carmel River
Encyclopedia
The Carmel River is a 36 mi (57.9 km) river
on the Central Coast of California
in Monterey County
that originates in the Santa Lucia Mountains
. The river flows northwest through the Carmel Valley
with its mouth
at the Pacific Ocean
south of Carmel-by-the-Sea. It is often considered the northern boundary of Big Sur
. The Carmel River drains a watershed
of about 255 square miles (660 km²).
, whose written account greatly exaggerated its proportions, confusing later explorers. In his 1945 novel 'Cannery Row,' John Steinbeck wrote "The Carmel is a lovely little river. It isn't very long but in its course it has everything a river should have."
s beyond its bankside riparian zone
: starting in mixed evergreen forest
s, then down through montane chaparral and woodlands
to remnant coastal sage and chaparral and coastal prairie
, concluding through minor coastal sand dunes at its Pacific mouth.
Stream restoration
and conservation projects are proceeding to return/enhance migrating fish in the Salmonidae
family
, such as the steelhead trout, and other aquatic and terrestrial flora and fauna to the Carmel River ecosystem
.
s, with their reservoir
s used for drinking water
and having severe sediment
buildup.
The San Clemente Dam, built in 1921, is located 18 miles (29 km) upstream from the ocean, and once provided drinking water throughout the Monterey Peninsula
. It had an original capacity of 1450 acre.ft, but as of 2002, the capacity had fallen to less than 150 acre.ft. It is no longer used to store water and is now 90 percent silted up. State regulators declared in 1991 that it was in danger of collapsing in an earthquake and spilling the 40 million USgals (151,416.5 m³) of water trapped behind its crumbling walls. In January, 2010 an agreement was reached with the California American Water Company to dig a new half-mile channel to bypass and strand the sediment behind the dam at a cost of $84 million, beginning in 2013. This will open up a 7 miles (11.3 km) stretch of historic steelhead rainbow trout
habitat
on the river.
The Los Padres Dam, built in 1949, is located 25 miles (40.2 km) upstream from the ocean. Its original capacity was 3030 acre.ft, but as of 2008, its capacity was only 1775 acre.ft.
The oldest dam on the river, which was used as a turnout for a water pipeline, is located approximately 2000 feet (609.6 m) downstream of San Clemente Dam. This first dam and associated pipeline was constructed ca. 1880 by Charles Crocker and the Pacific Improvement Company with a labor force that included approximately 700 Chinese workers. This small dam, which has been referred to as the "Chinese Dam" and "Old Carmel River Dam," was built using hewn and mortared granite blocks. A cast-iron pipe 25 miles (40.2 km) long and 12 inches (30.5 cm) in diameter was used to deliver water from the dam to the first Del Monte Hotel on the Monterey Peninsula, crossing the Carmel River five times on its way. Remnants of the original iron pipe still exist along Carmel Valley Road, but no records have been found to show where the pipe crossed the river.
River
A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...
on the Central Coast of California
Central Coast of California
The Central Coast is an area of California, United States, roughly spanning the area between the Monterey Bay and Point Conception. It extends through Santa Cruz County, San Benito County, Monterey County, San Luis Obispo County, and Santa Barbara County...
in Monterey County
Monterey County, California
Monterey County is a county located on the Pacific coast of the U.S. state of California, its northwestern section forming the southern half of Monterey Bay. The northern half of the bay is in Santa Cruz County. As of 2010, the population was 415,057. The county seat and largest city is Salinas...
that originates in the Santa Lucia Mountains
Santa Lucia Mountains
The Santa Lucia Mountains or Santa Lucia Range is a mountain range in coastal California, running from Monterey southeast for 105 miles to San Luis Obispo. The highest summit is Junipero Serra Peak, in Monterey County...
. The river flows northwest through the Carmel Valley
Carmel Valley
The Carmel Valley AVA is an American Viticultural Area in Monterey County, California, east of Carmel-by-the-Sea. The AVA is home to a number of wineries and vineyards, as well as the town of Carmel Valley Village...
with its mouth
Mouth (water stream)
A river mouth or stream mouth is a part of a stream where it flows into another stream, river, lake, reservoir, sea, or ocean.* River delta* Estuary* Liman...
at the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
south of Carmel-by-the-Sea. It is often considered the northern boundary of Big Sur
Big Sur
Big Sur is a sparsely populated region of the Central Coast of California where the Santa Lucia Mountains rise abruptly from the Pacific Ocean. The name "Big Sur" is derived from the original Spanish-language "el sur grande", meaning "the big south", or from "el país grande del sur", "the big...
. The Carmel River drains a watershed
Drainage basin
A drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...
of about 255 square miles (660 km²).
History
The river was first described in 1602 by Spanish maritime explorer Sebastian VizcainoSebastián Vizcaíno
Sebastián Vizcaíno was a Spanish soldier, entrepreneur, explorer, and diplomat whose varied roles took him to New Spain, the Philippines, the Baja California peninsula, the California coast and Japan.-Early career:...
, whose written account greatly exaggerated its proportions, confusing later explorers. In his 1945 novel 'Cannery Row,' John Steinbeck wrote "The Carmel is a lovely little river. It isn't very long but in its course it has everything a river should have."
Ecology
The river flows through various habitatHabitat
* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...
s beyond its bankside riparian zone
Riparian zone
A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. Riparian is also the proper nomenclature for one of the fifteen terrestrial biomes of the earth. Plant habitats and communities along the river margins and banks are called riparian vegetation, characterized by...
: starting in mixed evergreen forest
California mixed evergreen forest
California mixed evergreen forest is an ecoregion, of the temperate broadleaf and mixed forests biome, that occurs in the Pacific Coast Ranges of southwestern Oregon and California, and in the Coast, Transverse, and Peninsular Ranges in California...
s, then down through montane chaparral and woodlands
California montane chaparral and woodlands
The California montane chaparral and woodlands ecoregion covers , including the mountains of the Transverse, Peninsular, and Santa Lucia Ranges of California. It is part of the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome, with cool, wet winters and hot, dry summers...
to remnant coastal sage and chaparral and coastal prairie
California coastal prairie
California coastal prairie, also known as northern coastal grassland, is a grassland plant community of California and Oregon in the Temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands Biome...
, concluding through minor coastal sand dunes at its Pacific mouth.
Stream restoration
Stream restoration
Stream restoration or river restoration, sometimes called river reclamation in the UK, describes a set of activities that help improve the environmental health of a river or stream. Improved health may be indicated by expanded habitat for diverse species and reduced stream bank erosion...
and conservation projects are proceeding to return/enhance migrating fish in the Salmonidae
Salmonidae
Salmonidae is a family of ray-finned fish, the only living family currently placed in the order Salmoniformes. It includes salmon, trout, chars, freshwater whitefishes and graylings...
family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
, such as the steelhead trout, and other aquatic and terrestrial flora and fauna to the Carmel River ecosystem
Ecosystem
An ecosystem is a biological environment consisting of all the organisms living in a particular area, as well as all the nonliving , physical components of the environment with which the organisms interact, such as air, soil, water and sunlight....
.
Dams and reservoirs
The Carmel River has two damDam
A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...
s, with their reservoir
Reservoir
A reservoir , artificial lake or dam is used to store water.Reservoirs may be created in river valleys by the construction of a dam or may be built by excavation in the ground or by conventional construction techniques such as brickwork or cast concrete.The term reservoir may also be used to...
s used for drinking water
Drinking water
Drinking water or potable water is water pure enough to be consumed or used with low risk of immediate or long term harm. In most developed countries, the water supplied to households, commerce and industry is all of drinking water standard, even though only a very small proportion is actually...
and having severe sediment
Sediment
Sediment is naturally occurring material that is broken down by processes of weathering and erosion, and is subsequently transported by the action of fluids such as wind, water, or ice, and/or by the force of gravity acting on the particle itself....
buildup.
The San Clemente Dam, built in 1921, is located 18 miles (29 km) upstream from the ocean, and once provided drinking water throughout the Monterey Peninsula
Monterey Peninsula
The Monterey Peninsula is located on the central California coast and comprises the cities of Monterey, Carmel, and Pacific Grove, and unincorporated areas of Monterey County including the resort and community of Pebble Beach.-Monterey:...
. It had an original capacity of 1450 acre.ft, but as of 2002, the capacity had fallen to less than 150 acre.ft. It is no longer used to store water and is now 90 percent silted up. State regulators declared in 1991 that it was in danger of collapsing in an earthquake and spilling the 40 million USgals (151,416.5 m³) of water trapped behind its crumbling walls. In January, 2010 an agreement was reached with the California American Water Company to dig a new half-mile channel to bypass and strand the sediment behind the dam at a cost of $84 million, beginning in 2013. This will open up a 7 miles (11.3 km) stretch of historic steelhead rainbow trout
Rainbow trout
The rainbow trout is a species of salmonid native to tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead is a sea run rainbow trout usually returning to freshwater to spawn after 2 to 3 years at sea. In other words, rainbow trout and steelhead trout are the same species....
habitat
Habitat
* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...
on the river.
The Los Padres Dam, built in 1949, is located 25 miles (40.2 km) upstream from the ocean. Its original capacity was 3030 acre.ft, but as of 2008, its capacity was only 1775 acre.ft.
The oldest dam on the river, which was used as a turnout for a water pipeline, is located approximately 2000 feet (609.6 m) downstream of San Clemente Dam. This first dam and associated pipeline was constructed ca. 1880 by Charles Crocker and the Pacific Improvement Company with a labor force that included approximately 700 Chinese workers. This small dam, which has been referred to as the "Chinese Dam" and "Old Carmel River Dam," was built using hewn and mortared granite blocks. A cast-iron pipe 25 miles (40.2 km) long and 12 inches (30.5 cm) in diameter was used to deliver water from the dam to the first Del Monte Hotel on the Monterey Peninsula, crossing the Carmel River five times on its way. Remnants of the original iron pipe still exist along Carmel Valley Road, but no records have been found to show where the pipe crossed the river.
See also
- Hydrology transport model
- List of rivers in California
- Carmel Bay State Marine Conservation AreaCarmel Bay State Marine Conservation AreaCarmel Bay State Marine Conservation Area is a marine protected area in Carmel Bay. Carmel Bay is adjacent to the city of Carmel-by-the-Sea and is near Monterey, on California’s central coast. The marine protected area covers 2.12 square miles...
