San Diego Creek
| San Diego Creek | |
|---|---|
San Diego Creek at Alton Parkway in Irvine | |
Map of the Newport Bay watershed, with San Diego Creek highlighted | |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| State | California |
| Region | Orange County |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | Santa Ana Mountains |
| • location | El Toro, Lake Forest |
| • coordinates | 33°38′28″N 117°41′03″W / 33.64111°N 117.68417°W |
| • elevation | 700 ft (210 m) |
| Mouth | Upper Newport Bay |
• location | Near University of California Irvine |
• coordinates | 33°38′55″N 117°52′28″W / 33.64861°N 117.87444°W |
• elevation | 0 ft (0 m) |
| Length | 15 mi (24 km) |
| Basin size | 112.2 sq mi (291 km2) |
| Discharge | |
| • location | Campus Drive at Irvine, CA |
| • average | 61 cu ft/s (1.7 m3/s) |
| • minimum | 0 cu ft/s (0 m3/s) |
| • maximum | 43,500 cu ft/s (1,230 m3/s) |
| Basin features | |
| Tributaries | |
| • left | La Cañada Wash, San Joaquin Wash, Bonita Creek |
| • right | Bee Canyon Wash, Peters Canyon Wash |
San Diego Creek is a 16-mile (26 km) urban waterway flowing into Upper Newport Bay in Orange County, California, United States. Its watershed covers 112.2 square miles (291 km2) in parts of eight cities, including Irvine, Tustin, and Costa Mesa. From its headwaters in Laguna Woods the creek flows northwest to its confluence with Peters Canyon Wash, where it turns abruptly southwest towards the bay. Most of the creek has been converted to a concrete flood control channel, but it also provides important aquatic and riparian habitat along its course and its tidal estuary.
The watershed is heavily urbanized with master planned residential and commercial development. It accounts for 80 percent of the whole Newport Bay watershed, which has an urban population of over 700,000. There is also agriculture, high-tech industry and 15,700 acres (64 km2) of designated open space. Orange County Great Park (formerly El Toro Marine Corps Air Station), one of the largest urban parks in the US, is also situated in the watershed.