Matilija Creek

From its headwaters south of Sespe Creek in the Matilija Wilderness in Santa Barbara County, the creek flows east then south through a narrow V-shaped canyon into Ventura County. Below Matilija Falls it turns east and receives the Upper North Fork from the left, and almost immediately below that the West Fork (Murietta Canyon) from the right. The creek then flows east through a wider valley along the north side of the Santa Ynez Mountains before it empties into the mostly silted in Matilija Lake reservoir, formed by the {{convert|200|ft|m|adj=on}} high concrete arch Matilija Dam. Below the dam the creek flows southeast, through Matilija Hot Springs, and meets the North Fork Matilija Creek at the hamlet of Ojala, forming the Ventura River.

The smaller North Fork Matilija Creek{{gnis|272693|North Fork Matilija Creek}} flows west and south from its headwaters near Rose Valley. The North Fork runs southwest, along Forest Route 6N31, and receives Cannon Creek from the right and Bear Creek from the left. It then cascades through the narrow Wheeler Gorge and through the community of Wheeler Springs. It flows briefly east and joins Matilija Creek shortly downstream. Highway 33 largely parallels the North Fork, from the top of Dry Lakes Ridge to the mouth.

Fed by some perennial springs, despite its location in arid terrain, the creek flows year round, and can flood severely following winter storms.{{cite news |url=http://archive.vcstar.com/news/special/outdoors/ojai-residents-use-public-agencies-to-halt-center-at-matilija-hot-springs--for-now-ep-450874456-351319341.html |title=Ojai residents use public agencies to halt center at Matilija hot springs for now |newspaper=Ventura County Star |first=Carol |last=Lawrence |date=June 23, 2016 |access-date=5 September 2016}}

File:Matilija poppy closeup.jpg native to the Matilija Creek canyon.]]

The name of the Matilija poppy (Romneya) is taken from the Matilija creek canyon. The Matilija Dam was constructed in 1947 on lower Matilija Creek for the purpose of supplying water storage and flood control, blocking access of anadromous Steelhead trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) to over ten miles of upstream spawning areas. Historically 5,000 steelhead trout used the upper Matilija basin. The Robles Diversion Dam on the Ventura River downstream posed a barrier to trout migration until a $6 million fish ladder was constructed in 2006.{{cite web |title=Efforts to Revive Southern California's Steelhead Fish Population and Recreational Fishing Industry |publisher=NOAA Fisheries |url=http://www.noaa.gov/features/economic/steelhead.html |access-date=2011-01-29 }} Recent genetic analysis of the steelhead in Matilija Creek (both above and below Matilija Dam) has shown them to be of native and not hatchery stocks.{{cite journal |title=Population genetic structure and ancestry of Oncorhynchus mykiss populations above and below dams in south-central California |author=Anthony J. Clemento |author2=Eric C. Anderson |author3=David Boughton |author4=Derek Girman |author5=John Carlos Garza |journal=Conservation Genetics |year=2009 |pages=1321–1336 | doi = 10.1007/s10592-008-9712-0 |volume=10|issue=5 |s2cid=32490944 }}

The creek has one dam on it, Matilija Dam, built in 1947 to provide flood control and water supply for agricultural and urban uses in Ventura County.{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-03-20-mn-36494-story.html|title=A Few Deadly Floods Stand Out in County|first=Joanna M. |last=Miller|date= March 20, 1994|access-date=19 March 2017|newspaper=Los Angeles Times}} When completed, the dam was {{convert|190|ft|m}} high and could impound more than {{convert|7000|acre feet|km3}} of water. The reservoir has now almost completely filled with sediment, rendering it nearly useless. The dam was notched to reduce its height twice in the late 20th century, in order to allow some of the accumulated sediment to flow downstream. It is currently slated for removal.

• Matilija Fire
• Rindge Dam, which Malibu Creek filled with sediment like Matilija Dam
• Riparian zone restoration

{{reflist}}

• [http://www.matilijadam.org/ Matilija Dam.org]

{{Ventura River}}

Category:Rivers of Southern California

Category:Rivers of Ventura County, California