The San Lorenzo River is the main river running through Santa Cruz, California. The river originates in the Santa Cruz Mountains at an elevation of 2,500 feet and flows for approximately 30 miles before it empties into Monterey Bay. The San Lorenzo Riverwas once one of the most popular steelhead trout and coho salmon rivers on the Central Coast of California. In an effort to save this fishery, it has been designated a "Catch and Release" stream since 1984 by the US Department of Fish and Game. In 1960, it was estimated that there were more than 30,000 fish living in this river, in 1994, that was down to 1,000. Location of Santa Cruz, California Downtown Santa Cruz, California Historical Cocoanut Grove, Santa Cruz, California Santa Cruz is located at 36°5819 North, 122°135 West (36. ... The Santa Cruz Mountains, part of the Pacific Coast Ranges, are a mountain range in central California. ... Monterey Bay is a bay of the Pacific Ocean, on the coast of California, south of San Francisco. ...

Following devestating floods in 1955, the Army Corps of Engineers put in flood control measures that ultimately failed. Both the city and the Corps blamed one another but the river was dying. The floods of 1982 showed that the flood control efforts were a failure. A restoration project has been underway since 1985. Recent counts of fish show it is slowly rising to a population of 3,000.

Another problem for the river and its habitat is the pollution from the city of Santa Cruz and the upstream communities of Felton, Ben Lomond, Brookdale, and Boulder Creek. The San Lorenzo River Watershed has the highest septic system density of any comprable area in the state of California. Bacteria levels were dangerously high in the 1980s but have improved over the last few years. Still the bacteria levels in many areas barely meet the standards for safe swimming and the nitrate levels are extremely high and are a threat to the drinking water supply for much of the county. Felton is the name of several places: in the United Kingdom: Felton, Somerset, England in the United States: Felton, California Felton, Delaware Felton, Minnesota Felton, Pennsylvania Felton Township, Minnesota This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Ben Lomond, 974 m (3196 feet), is a mountain in the Scottish Highlands. ... Brookdale is a census-designated place located in Orangeburg County, South Carolina. ... Boulder Creek is a census-designated place located in Santa Cruz County, California. ...

See also

• List of California rivers