The Little Sur River
The Little Sur River (1), on the Central Coast of California, drains a portion of Big Sur (1), where the Santa Lucia Mountains rise from the Pacific Ocean. Both the South Fork and the North Fork of the Little Sur River have their headwaters in the Santa Lucia Mountains, straddling Pico Blanco mountain. The forks converge about two miles before the river empties into the Pacific.
The Little Sur River flows for 23 miles, counting both forks. The upper part of the the watershed of the river lies in the Ventana Wilderness of the Los Padres National Forest. The coastal part of the watershed is largely private land. The South Fork of the river flows over granite bedrock with portions flowing over limestone and marble bedrock. The river has eroded the limestone and marble sot that it travels underground in several locations. The tributaries of the South Fork include Lachance Creek, Mill Creek, Bixby Creek, Turner Creek, and Rocky Creek. The North Fork flows over mostly granite bedrock.
The Wikipedia article details a legal battle between the California Department of Fish and Game and the Monterey Bay Area Council of the Boy Scouts over the filling of a reservoir behind a dam on the North Fork in the Pico Blanco Boy Scout Camp. I have written a number of times about California being very much defined by water (1, 2, 3, 4, 5). The South Fork of the river is free flowing, but diversions are allowed on both forks to supply drinking water to local landowners.
-Bill at Cheshire Cat Photo™
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