Freshwater Creek

The creek basin is roughly {{convert|9227|ha|sqmi}},{{sfn|Goin|2009|p=9}} with {{convert|32.4|sqmi|ha}} of that above Freshwater Corners and {{convert|28.5|sqmi|ha}} above Freshwater town.{{sfn|USACE|1975|p=2}}

The creek is at approximately sea level at its mouth and {{convert|823|m}} above at its headwaters.{{sfn|Goin|2009|p=9}}

The highest that the creek basin as a whole rises above sea level is {{convert|2800|ft}} in the south east.{{sfn|USACE|1975|p=2}}

At the mouth the rough annual rainfall is {{convert|100|cm}} and at the headwaters it is {{convert|150|cm|in}}.{{sfn|Goin|2009|p=9}}

Most of the rainfall, between 35% and 40%, occurs in December and January.{{sfn|USACE|1975|p=2}}

Snowfall is rare.{{sfn|USACE|1975|p=2}}

The mean temperature of the creek water ranges from {{convert|15|C}} in summer to {{convert|8|C}} in winter.{{sfn|Goin|2009|p=9}}

Prevailing winds are from the Pacific Ocean.{{sfn|USACE|1975|p=2}}

In the tidal lower {{convert|6|km}} reach, the Slough, the creek is surrounded mainly by ranchland and residential properties.{{sfn|Goin|2009|p=11}}

The creek gradient is low ({{convert|34|ft/mile}}), with levees along most of the channel; the riparian forest thin; and the water brackish.{{sfn|Goin|2009|p=11}}{{sfn|USACE|1975|p=2}}

In the upper non-tidal reaches the riparian forest thickens with vegetation, conifers, and hardwood trees.{{sfn|Goin|2009|p=11}}

The gradient is much steeper at {{convert|315|ft/mile}}.{{sfn|USACE|1975|p=2}}

Most of the main river course is sparsely populated, with most of the watershed of the upper reaches being timberland that is owned and managed by the Pacific Lumber Company.{{sfn|Goin|2009|p=11}}

Most of the residential properties, including those of Freshwater, are along the banks of the main creek.{{sfn|Goin|2009|p=11}}

Logging activity has caused heavy erosion of the watershed, and Eureka Slough, via the Freshwater Slough, receives silt from the basin.{{sfn|USACE|1977|p=14}}

The general course of the creek is west-south-west for {{convert|5|mile}} and then north-west for the rest of its roughly {{convert|23|km}} total length.{{sfn|Wood|1913|p=83}}{{sfn|Goin|2009|p=9}}

{{tree list}}

• Its major tributaries are:
• McReady Gulch,{{sfn|Goin|2009|p=9}} mouth at {{coord|40.76362|-124.06521|type:river|format=dms|display=inline|name=mouth of McReady Gulch}} headwaters at {{coord|40.79524|-124.04448|type:river|format=dms|display=inline|name=McReady Gulch headwaters}}
• Cloney Gulch,{{sfn|Goin|2009|p=9}} mouth at {{coord|40.75756|-124.04953|type:river|format=dms|display=inline|name=mouth of Cloney Gulch}} headwaters at {{coord|40.77602|-124.00749|type:river|format=dms|display=inline|name=Cloney Gulch headwaters}}
• Graham Gulch,{{sfn|Goin|2009|p=9}} mouth at {{coord|40.75369|-124.04865|type:river|format=dms|display=inline|name=mouth of Graham Gulch}} headwaters at {{coord|40.75335|-124.00269|type:river|format=dms|display=inline|name=Graham Gulch headwaters}}
• South Fork Freshwater Creek,{{sfn|Goin|2009|p=9}} mouth at {{coord|40.73147|-124.04784|type:river|format=dms|display=inline|name=mouth of South Fork Freshwater Creek}}
• Little Freshwater Creek,{{sfn|Goin|2009|p=9}} mouth at {{coord|40.75683|-124.06386|type:river|format=dms|display=inline|name=mouth of Little Freshwater Creek}}

{{tree list/end}}

The eponymous town of Freshwater is located along the main creek.{{sfn|Gudde|1960|p=115}}

The land, railroad, and logging mill on the Creek were owned by the Excelsior Redwood Company until being bought at the turn of the 20th century by H. C. Smith of Minnesota, whose company after corporate reorganization was to become the Pacitic Lumber Company.{{sfn|O'Hara|Service|2018|p=17}}

The railway had originally been the Humboldt Logging Railway built by the South Bay RR & Land Company in the 1880s when it had logged out Salmon Creek.{{sfn|Carranco|Labbe|1975|p=94}}

The Creek is bridged by Myrtle Avenue, Howard Heights road, Steele Lane, the Freshwater Park Bridge, and on a private road.{{sfn|USACE|1975|p=10}}

• List of rivers of California

{{reflist|30em}}

{{refbegin}}

• {{cite encyclopedia|volume=297|series=Water-supply Papers|publisher=United States Geological Survey|year=1913|author1-first=Beatrice Dawson|author1-last=Wood|title=Freshwater Gulch, Freshwater Creek, Freshwater Slough|dictionary=Gazetteer of surface waters of California: Part III, Pacific coast and Great Basin streams|location=Washington, D.C.}}
• {{cite thesis|title=Spawning migration dynamics of ocean-returning salmonids (Oncorhychus spp.) in Freshwater Creek, California|author1-first=Jonathan J.|author1-last=Goin|publisher=Humboldt State University|degree=MSc.|date=May 2009|url=https://scholarworks.calstate.edu/downloads/8p58pg69j}}
• {{cite encyclopedia|dictionary=California Place Names: The Origin and Etymology of Current Geographical Names|author1-first=Erwin Gustav|author1-last=Gudde|publisher=University of California Press|year=1960|title=Freshwater Lagoon}}
• {{cite book|title=Humboldt Bay Harbor Marina Regulatory Permit Application|publisher=United States Army Corps of Engineers|ref={{harvid|USACE|1977}}|year=1977|id=10643–21}}
• {{cite book|title=The Ecology of Humboldt Bay, California: An Estuarine Profile|author1-first=Roger A.|author1-last=Barnhart|author2-first=Milton J.|author2-last=Boyd|author3-first=John E.|author3-last=Pequegnat|publisher=United States Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service|year=1992}}
• {{cite book|title=Mills of Humboldt County, 1910–1945|series=Images of America|author1-first=Susan J.P.|author1-last=O'Hara|author2-first=Alex|author2-last=Service|publisher=Arcadia Publishing|year=2018|isbn=9781467127769}}
• {{cite book|title=Logging the Redwoods|author1-first=Lynwood|author1-last=Carranco|author2-first=John T.|author2-last=Labbe|publisher=Caxton Press|year=1975|isbn=9780870043734}}
• {{cite book|title=Flood plain information: Freshwater Creek, Humboldt County, California|date=October 1975|publisher=United States Army Corps of Engineers|ref={{harvid|USACE|1975}}}}

{{refend}}

{{refbegin}}

• {{cite book|title=In the Redwood's Realm: By-ways of Wild Nature and Highways of Industry as Found in Humboldt County, California|editor1-first=John Mathewson|editor1-last=Eddy|author1=Humboldt Chamber of Commerce|publisher=D. S. Stanley & Company|year=1893|location=San Francisco}}
• {{cite book|title=The Natural Resources of Humboldt Bay|volume=6|series=Coastal wetlands series|author1-first=Gary W.|author1-last=Monroe|publisher=California Department of Fish and Game|year=1973|pages=88 et seq}}
• {{cite encyclopaedia|encyclopaedia=California Railroads: An Encyclopedia of Cable Car, Common Carrier, Horsecar, Industrial Interurban, Logging, Monorail, Motor Road, Shortlines, Streetcar, Switching, and Terminal Railroads in California (1851–1992)|author1-first=Alvin A.|author1-last=Fickewirth|publisher=Golden West Books|year=1992|isbn=9780870951060|article=Eureka & Freshwater Railway|page=41}}
• {{cite web|title=Freshwater Creek Watershed Analysis Revisited|date=2018-09-27|publisher=Humboldt Redwood Company|url=https://www.hrcllc.com/sites/default/files/inline-files/FreshwaterRevisit_FINAL_012219%20with%20appendices.pdf}}

{{refend}}

{{Humboldt County, California}}

Category:Rivers of Humboldt County, California

Category:Rivers of California