San Lorenzo River
| San Lorenzo River Rio de San Lorenzo | |
|---|---|
The San Lorenzo River southeast of downtown Santa Cruz. | |
1954 Map of Waddell Creek, Scott Creek and San Lorenzo River | |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| State | California |
| County | Santa Cruz County |
| Cities | Boulder Creek, Brookdale, Ben Lomond, Felton, Santa Cruz |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | Santa Cruz Mountains |
| • location | Castle Rock Ridge |
| • coordinates | 37°15′15″N 122°07′10″W / 37.25417°N 122.11944°W |
| • elevation | 2,670 ft (810 m) |
| Mouth | Monterey Bay |
• location | Santa Cruz, California |
• coordinates | 36°57′51″N 122°00′45″W / 36.96417°N 122.01250°W |
• elevation | 0 ft (0 m) |
| Length | 29.3 mi (47.2 km) |
| Basin size | 138 mi2 (360 km2) |
| Discharge | |
| • location | Santa Cruz |
| • average | 122.4 cu ft/s (3.47 m3/s) |
| Basin features | |
| Tributaries | |
| • left | Craig Springs Creek, Kings Creek, Two Bar Creek, Bear Creek, Spring Creek Gulch, Love Creek, Newell Creek, Zayante Creek, Eagle Creek, Powder Mill Creek, Branciforte Creek |
| • right | Tin Can Creek, Spring Creek, Boulder Creek, Malosky Creek, Clear Creek, Alba Creek, Hubbard Gulch, Manson Creek, Fall Creek, Bull Creek, Shingle Mill Creek, Gold Gulch Creek |
The San Lorenzo River (Spanish: Río de San Lorenzo) is a 29.3-mile-long (47.2 km) river in the U.S. state of California. The name San Lorenzo derives from the Spanish language for "Saint Lawrence" due to its reported sighting on that saint's feast day by Spanish explorers. Its headwaters originate in Castle Rock State Park in the Santa Cruz Mountains and flow south by southeast through the San Lorenzo Valley before passing through Santa Cruz and emptying into Monterey Bay and the Pacific Ocean.