Salinas River (California)

Salinas River
Rio del Monterey,^[1]^[2] Rio San Antonio,^[1] Rio San Elizario,^[3] Rio Santa Delfina^[4]
Salinas River; Rio del Monterey, Rio San Antonio, Rio San Elizario, Rio Santa Delfina
	View of the Salinas River near San Ardo in May 2008. During the rainier winter months, the river may occasionally reconnect with Monterey Bay. The San Ardo Oil Field is visible in the distance.
	Map of the Salinas River watershed
Native name	ua kot taiauačorx (Southern Ohlone)
Location
Country	United States
State	California
Cities and towns	Paso Robles, Soledad, Salinas
Physical characteristics
Source	Los Machos Hills in the Los Padres National Forest
• location	San Luis Obispo County, California
• coordinates	35°12′57.2394″N 120°13′26.112″W / 35.215899833°N 120.22392000°W
• elevation	2,150 ft (660 m)
Mouth	Monterey Bay
• location	6 miles north of Marina, California
• coordinates	36°44′58″N 121°48′13″W / 36.74944°N 121.80361°W
• elevation	0 ft (0 m)
Length	175 mi (282 km)
Basin size	4,160 sq mi (10,800 km2)
Discharge
• location	near Spreckels
• average	421 cu ft/s (11.9 m3/s)
• minimum	0 cu ft/s (0 m3/s)
• maximum	95,000 cu ft/s (2,700 m3/s)
Basin features
Tributaries
• left	Nacimiento River, San Antonio River, Arroyo Seco
• right	Estrella River, San Lorenzo Creek

The Salinas River (Rumsen: ua kot taiauačorx)^[6] is the longest river of the Central Coast region of California, running 175 miles (282 km) and draining 4,160 square miles (10,800 km²).^[7] It flows north-northwest and drains the Salinas Valley that slices through the central California Coast Ranges south of Monterey Bay.^[3] The river begins in southern San Luis Obispo County, originating in the Los Machos Hills of the Los Padres National Forest. From there, the river flows north into Monterey County, eventually making its way to connect with the Monterey Bay, part of the Pacific Ocean, approximately 5 miles (8.0 km) south of Moss Landing. The river is a wildlife corridor, and provides the principal source of water from its reservoirs and tributaries for the farms and vineyards of the valley.

^ ^a ^b Cite error: The named reference Gudde was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Hoover, Mildred; et al. (1966). Historic Spots in California (3rd ed.). Palo Alto, California: Stanford University Press. p. 219.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Salinas River
^ Bancroft, Hubert H. (1884–1890). History of California. 7 vols. San Francisco, California: A.L. Bancroft and Company. p. v1/p150.
^ Measured in Google Earth using the path measure tool
^ Heizer, R.F. (5 December 1952). "The mission Indian vocabularies of Alphonse Pinart" (PDF). University of California Anthropological Records. 15 (1): 1–84. Retrieved April 8, 2021.
^ Donald J. Funk, Adriana Morales (2002–2003). Upper Salinas River and Tributaries Watershed Fisheries Report and Early Actions (PDF) (Report). Upper Salinas Tablas Resource Conservation District. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 July 2011. Retrieved 15 December 2010.