Wolf Valley is a

graben In geology, a graben () is a depression (geology), depressed block of the Crust (geology), crust of a planet or moon, bordered by parallel normal faults. Etymology ''Graben'' is a loan word from German language, German, meaning 'ditch' or 't ...

rift valley A rift valley is a linear shaped lowland between several highlands or mountain ranges produced by the action of a geologic rift. Rifts are formed as a result of the pulling apart of the lithosphere due to extensional tectonics. The linear ...

in the

Elsinore Trough The Elsinore Trough is a graben rift valley in Riverside County, southern California. It is created by the Elsinore Fault Zone. It is located between the Santa Ana Mountains to the west, and the Temescal Mountains of the Perris Block and the Tem ...

, in western

Riverside County, California Riverside County is a County (United States), county located in the Southern California, southern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, its population was 2,418,185, making it the fourth-most ...

Overview

Wolf Valley is the southernmost of the graben valleys making up the Elsinore Trough, created by the

Elsinore Fault Zone The Elsinore Fault Zone is a large, right-lateral strike-slip geological fault structure in Southern California. The fault is part of the trilateral split of the San Andreas Fault system and is one of the largest, though quietest, faults in South ...

. It lies between the Wildomar Fault on the east, at the foot of the

Temecula Basin Temecula Basin is a sedimentary basin, which, along with the Aguanga Basin, is part of the Elsinore Fault Zone, in southwestern Riverside County, California. The Temecula Basin is a basin of down faulted Mesozoic basement rock, overlain by late C ...

and the

Willard Fault Willard may refer to: People * Willard (name) Geography Places in the United States * Willard, Colorado * Willard, Georgia * Willard, Kansas *Willard, Kentucky * Willard, Michigan, a small unincorporated community in Beaver Township, Bay Cou ...

on the west, at the foot of the

Santa Ana Mountains The Santa Ana Mountains are a short peninsular mountain range along the coast of Southern California in the United States. They extend for approximately southeast of the Los Angeles Basin largely along the border between Orange and Riversid ...

. Wolf Valley lies south of

Temecula Creek Temecula Creek, formerly known as the Temecula River, runs U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed March 16, 2011 through southern Riverside County, California, United States, pa ...

. The southern end of the graben valley is where the Elsinore Fault Zone changes the direction of strike along the southern side of

Agua Tibia Mountain Agua means water in Spanish. Agua may also refer to: Places * ''Agua de Dios'' (God's water), a municipality in Colombia * Volcán de Agua, a stratovolcano located in Guatemala Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Agua'' (film), a 2006 Argentin ...

, northeast of Pala Mountain. The valley is drained by Pechanga Creek and its tributaries, itself a tributary of the

Santa Margarita River The Santa Margarita River which with the addition of what is now Temecula Creek, was formerly known as the Temecula River, is a short intermittent river on the Pacific coast of Southern California in the United States, approximately U.S. Geolog ...

. The

Pechanga Indian Reservation The Pechanga Band of Indians, also known as ''Payómkawichum'' (the People of the West), stand as 1 of 6 federally recognized tribes of Luiseño Indians, currently located in Riverside County, California. The modern understanding of the tribe, P ...

and part of the city of

Temecula Temecula (; , ; Luiseño: ''Temeekunga'') is a city in southwestern Riverside County, California, United States. The city had a population of 110,003 as of the 2020 census and was incorporated on December 1, 1989. The city is a tourist and ...

are located in this valley. * Head of Wolf Valley * Mouth of Wolf Valley

References

Valleys of Riverside County, California Elsinore Trough Valleys of California {{RiversideCountyCA-geo-stub