Soquel Creek is a southward flowing creek that begins in the

Santa Cruz Mountains The Santa Cruz Mountains, part of the Pacific Coast Ranges, are a mountain range in central and Northern California, United States. They form a ridge down the San Francisco Peninsula, south of San Francisco. They separate the Pacific Ocean fr ...

in Santa Cruz County,

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

and enters

Monterey Bay Monterey Bay is a bay of the Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica ...

at Capitola Beach in

Capitola, California Capitola is a small seaside town in Santa Cruz County, California. Capitola is located on the northern shores of Monterey Bay, on the Central Coast of California. The city had a population of 9,938 at the 2020 census. Capitola is a popular tour ...

History and ecology

The

redwood Sequoioideae, popularly known as redwoods, is a subfamily of coniferous trees within the family Cupressaceae. It includes the largest and tallest trees in the world. Description The three redwood subfamily genera are '' Sequoia'' from coas ...

(''Sequoia sempervirens'') forests of the middle and upper watershed were heavily logged during the second half of the 1800s, and into the twentieth century. Most of today's forests are second growth, with most trees now over one hundred years old. Water quality of the creek is measured.

Watershed and course

Soquel Creek drains the largest watershed of mid-Santa Cruz County, and passes through the communities of

Soquel Soquel (; Ohlone: ''Sokel'') is an unincorporated town and census-designated place (CDP) in Santa Cruz County, California, located on the northern coast of Monterey Bay. The population was 9,980 at the 2020 census. Geography Soquel is located a ...

and Capitola. Part of the creek's upper reaches flow through

Soquel Demonstration State Forest Soquel Demonstration State Forest (SDSF or SDF) is one of eight Cal Fire operated Demonstration State Forests totaling 71,000 acres. Collectively, the forests represent the most common forest types in the state. The State Forests grow approxim ...

and the western part of

The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park is a state park of California, United States, protecting a secondary forest in the watershed of Aptos Creek and Soquel Creek within the Santa Cruz Mountains. It is located outside Aptos, California and cont ...

. About 25% of the headwaters of the watershed are on land protected by the state.

References

{{Monterey Bay Area Rivers of Santa Cruz County, California Rivers of Northern California Drainage basins of Monterey Bay

History and ecology

Watershed and course

See also

References