Hospital Creek, originally Arroyo de Ospital,
or Arroyo del Osnital
is a
tributary
A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream (''main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which they ...
of the
San Joaquin River
The San Joaquin River ( ; ) is the longest river of Central California. The long river starts in the high Sierra Nevada and flows through the rich agricultural region of the northern San Joaquin Valley before reaching Suisun Bay, San Francis ...
draining eastern slopes of a part of the
Diablo Range
The Diablo Range is a mountain range in the California Coast Ranges subdivision of the Pacific Coast Ranges in northern California, United States. It stretches from the eastern San Francisco Bay Area at its northern end to the Salinas Valley a ...
within
San Joaquin County
San Joaquin County ( ; , meaning " St. Joachim"), officially the County of San Joaquin, is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 779,233. The county seat is Stockton.
San Jo ...
.
The creek is approximately long,
[U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data]
The National Map
, accessed March 11, 2011
Course
It has its source on the southeast flank of
Mount Oso
Mount Oso () is a mountain in Western Stanislaus County, California, and is located on the Diablo Range. At feet in elevation, it is the third highest point in Stanislaus County. There are many radio stations and an unused forest fire lookout ...
, in
Stanislaus County
Stanislaus County ( ; ) is a county located in the San Joaquin Valley of the U.S. state of California. As of 2023, its estimated population is 564,404. The county seat is Modesto.
Stanislaus County makes up the Modesto metropolitan statistic ...
. From there it flows northwest then north through Hospital Creek Canyon around Mount Oso into San Joaquin County. It then turns east to dip back briefly over the border into Stanislaus County before turning back north into San Joaquin County flowing then northeast to emerge from the Diablo Range foothills.
From the canyon mouth it flows east into the
Central Valley of
California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
, United States. Though its downstream end is uncertain as it disappears into a former slough of the
San Joaquin River
The San Joaquin River ( ; ) is the longest river of Central California. The long river starts in the high Sierra Nevada and flows through the rich agricultural region of the northern San Joaquin Valley before reaching Suisun Bay, San Francis ...
in the
San Joaquin Valley
The San Joaquin Valley ( ; Spanish language in California, Spanish: ''Valle de San Joaquín'') is the southern half of California's Central Valley (California), Central Valley. Famed as a major breadbasket, the San Joaquin Valley is an importa ...
in
Stanislaus County
Stanislaus County ( ; ) is a county located in the San Joaquin Valley of the U.S. state of California. As of 2023, its estimated population is 564,404. The county seat is Modesto.
Stanislaus County makes up the Modesto metropolitan statistic ...
.
History
Originally called Arroyo de Ospital in the Diseño del
Rancho Pescadero, this creek was a watering place on the
El Camino Viejo
El Camino Viejo a Los Ángeles (), also known as El Camino Viejo and the Old Los Angeles Trail, was the oldest north-south trail in the interior of Spanish colonial Las Californias (1769–1822) and Mexican Alta California (1822–1848), present d ...
. A map of routes to the southern gold mines in 1851 showed this creek as Arroyo del Osnital. By 1857 Britton & Rey's Map Of The State Of California referred to the creek as Arroyo de Osnita. However by 1873, its name was changed to what it closely sounds like in English and was referred to as Hospital Creek on an official state of California Map.
Geology
East of the
San Joaquin Fault The San Joaquin Fault is a seismically active geological structure in the California Central Valley. East of the San Joaquin fault there is a flow pattern of alluvium that has been reported to be a mud flow. This flow pattern was deposited in the e ...
in the vicinity of Hospital Creek there is a flow pattern of
alluvium
Alluvium (, ) is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. Alluvium is also sometimes called alluvial deposit. Alluvium is ...
that has been reported as a mud flow. This flow pattern was deposited in the early
Holocene
The Holocene () is the current geologic time scale, geological epoch, beginning approximately 11,700 years ago. It follows the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene to ...
or the late
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene ( ; referred to colloquially as the ''ice age, Ice Age'') is the geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fin ...
.
[Bartow, ''Geologic map of the east flank of the diablo range from Hospital Creek to Poverty Flats'' (1985)]
See also
*
Ingram Creek
Ingram Creek, originally Arroyo de la Suerte, is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed March 11, 2011 tributary of the San Joaquin River in Stanislaus County, in the San Joa ...
References
{{reflist
Rivers of San Joaquin County, California
Rivers of Stanislaus County, California
Tributaries of the San Joaquin River
Diablo Range
Geography of the San Joaquin Valley
El Camino Viejo
Rivers of Northern California