Morro Creek is a coastal
stream
A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a strea ...
in
San Luis Obispo County, in the central region of the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...
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 ...
. The watercourse flows from the
Santa Lucia Mountains to discharge into the
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...
, at its mouth on
Estero Bay, near the city of
Morro Bay.
Natural history
The creek is in the
coastal sage and chaparral section of the
California chaparral and woodlands
The California chaparral and woodlands is a terrestrial ecoregion of southwestern Oregon, northern, central, and southern California (United States) and northwestern Baja California (Mexico), located on the west coast of North America. It is a ...
Ecoregion
An ecoregion (ecological region) is an ecological and geographic area that exists on multiple different levels, defined by type, quality, and quantity of environmental resources. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and c ...
. Historically this watershed had
habitat
In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...
s containing considerable amounts of
chaparral
Chaparral ( ) is a shrubland plant plant community, community found primarily in California, southern Oregon, and northern Baja California. It is shaped by a Mediterranean climate (mild wet winters and hot dry summers) and infrequent, high-intens ...
, and scarce
Oak woodlands, and
Grey Pine (''Pinus sabiniana'') trees.
Cultural history
The lower reaches of Morro Creek were used as a significant
settlement of the
Chumash tribe since at least the
Millingstone Horizon.
There is also incidence of historic mining of chromium within the catchment basin.
[USGS, 1910] It was used extensively for grazing by the cattle ranches.
See also
*
Los Osos Creek
*
Morro Bay State Park
Morro Bay State Park is a state park on the Morro Bay, California#Geography, Morro Bay lagoon, in western San Luis Obispo County, California, San Luis Obispo County, on the Central Coast (California), Central Coast of California. On the lagoon's ...
*
Morro Bay State Park Museum of Natural History
*
Morro Bay State Marine Recreational Management Area and Morro Bay State Marine Reserve
*
Morro Rock
Notes
References
* ''USGS Bulletin'' (1910) United States Geological Survey, Published by The Survey, Item notes: no.430
* C.Michael Hogan (2008) ''Morro Creek'', ed. by A. Burnha
Rivers of San Luis Obispo County, California
Morro Bay
Rivers of Southern California
{{California-river-stub