Putah Creek

Geobox|River
name = Putah Creek
native_name = Liwaito
other_name =
category = stream
etymology =
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image_caption = Putah Creek, UC Davis Arboretum
country = United States
state = California
region = Yolo, Solano, Napa, and Lake counties
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source = Cobb Mountain
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source_elevation_imperial =
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source_lat_d = 38 | source_lat_m = 48 | source_lat_s = 26 | source_lat_NS = N
source_long_d = 122 | source_long_m = 43 | source_long_s = 21 | source_long_EW = W
source_coordinates_note = Gnis|234522|Putah Creek]
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mouth = El Marcero
mouth_location =
mouth_region = | mouth_country =
mouth_elevation_imperial = 36
mouth_elevation_note =
mouth_lat_d = 38 | mouth_lat_m = 32 | mouth_lat_s = 36 | mouth_lat_NS = N
mouth_long_d = 121 | mouth_long_m = 41 | mouth_long_s = 51 | mouth_long_EW = W
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length_imperial = 70
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Putah Creek (Patwin: "Liwaito" [Smithsonian Institution, Bureau of American Ethnology, Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico (1906), pt. 1, p.711] ) is a major stream in Northern California, a tributary of the Yolo Bypass. The convert|70|mi|km|0|adj=on long creek has its headwaters in the Mayacamas Mountains, a part of the Coast Range.

The creek originates from springs on the east side of Cobb Mountain south of the town of Cobb in southwestern Lake County. It descends eastward to the town of Whispering Pines, where it turns southeast, parallelling State Route 175. It passes the town of Anderson Springs, where it joins Bear Canyon Creek. North of Middletown, it curves couterclockwise around Harbin Mountain, merging in close succession with Dry Creek, Helena Creek, Crazy Creek, Harbin Creek, and Big Canyon Creek. From Harbin Mountain, it flows east again, joining Bucksnort Creek, then enters Napa County at a confluence with Hunting Creek about convert|11|mi|km|0|abbr=on east of Middletown. In Napa County, the creek flows southeast, merging with Butts Creek just before it empties into Lake Berryessa.

Downstream of Monticello Dam, on the southeastern corner of the lake, Putah Creek leaves Napa County and becomes the boundary between Yolo County and Solano County. In this section it offers excellent fishing/fly fishing opportunities year round. Information on stream flows and conditions area available through http://www.offthehookflyfishing.com/napa-valley-fly-fishing.html or http://www.putahcreekflyfishing.com/ free of charge.The steam continues East along State Route 128, meeting Pleasants Creek, McCune Creek, and Dry Creek and passing through the town of Winters to reach Interstate 505. From there it continues eastward, parallelling Putah Creek Road to Stevenson Bridge Road. A few miles east of Davis, the county line turns south, but the creek continues eastward, passing south of Davis to feed into the Yolo Bypass about a quarter mile (400 m) west of the Sacramento Deep Water Channel.

Dams and diversions

Monticello Dam, a concrete arch dam, is the only major storage dam on the creek. It forms Lake Berryessa, which has a capacity of 1,602,000 acre-feet (1.98 km³), making it one of the largest reservoirs in the state of California. The dam and lake are part of the United States Bureau of Reclamation's Solano Project. The project's purpose is to provide water for irrigation, though it also supplies municipal and industrial water to major cities in Solano County. About 32,000 acre-feet (39,000,000 m³) is provided by the project annually. An 11 MW hydroelectric plant generates electricity for the Solano Irrigation District, which owns and operates the dam.

Putah Diversion Dam diverts water into Putah South Canal about convert|6|mi|km downstream of Monticello Dam. The dam is a gated concrete weir structure with an earth-fill embankment wing. It creates the small Lake Solano, which has a capacity of only 750 acre-feet (930,000 m³). The canal is entirely concrete-lined except for a mile (1.6 km) of pipe called the Putah South Pipeline. Most of the lands are below the level of the canal and are served by gravity. Lands above pump water straight from the canal. The canal ends at Terminal Dam, which is made from earth-fill. The dam forms a small 119 acre-foot (147,000 m³) reservoir. The reservoir supplies drinking water to the city of Vallejo. Most of the canal is operated by Solano Irrigation District, but the Bureau of Reclamation operates the headworks.

References

* [http://bioregion.ucdavis.edu/book/00_Entering/00_02_circ_int.html University of California Davis 1]
* [http://bioregion.ucdavis.edu/where/putahft.html University of California Davis 2]
* [http://www.bartleby.com/69/27/P09427.html Columbia Gazetteer of North America]
* [http://www.usbr.gov/dataweb/html/solano.html United States Bureau of Reclamation]
* [http://www.activeboard.com/forum.spark?forumID=65954 Putah Creek Fishing Reports]

ee also

* List of watercourses in the San Francisco Bay Area