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Cache Creek (Yolo County, California)
Encyclopedia
Cache Creek is an 87 miles (140 km) stream
in Lake County, California
, Colusa County, California
and Yolo County, California
. The South Fork begins at Clear Lake in Lake County, roughly parallels State Route 20, and turns south at the junction with State Route 16 in Colusa County. The North Fork presently begins at Indian Valley Dam and Reservoir in Lake County, joining the South Fork near the highway junction at Wilbur Springs
. Bear Creek, the main tributary, travels along a scenic canyon from Wilbur Springs to Woodside, paralleling State Route 16.
trappers who cached their furs along the Sacramento River and smaller tributaries, one of which became known to them as Cache Creek. One of their camps, recognized by early settlers as French Camp, was situated in a grove of oaks on the north bank of Cache Creek one mile (1.6 km) east of the present town of Yolo, California
. Cache Creek was originally known to the Hudson's Bay Company trappers as Rivière la Cache.
is able to release. There is a rock ledge a mile and a half downstream of Clear Lake, called the Grigsby Riffle, near the bridge on State Route 53
. This sill
restricts the amount of water that can flow through at that point. The limited capacity of the stream means that it takes a very long time to drain excess flow from Clear Lake, increasing the chance of flood
ing around the lake. The bottleneck is seen as a backup to prevent flooding downstream and Yolo County is prohibited from increasing the capacity of the channel by the Bemmerly Decree. The Capay Diversion Dam, 49 miles (79 km) downstream from the Cache Creek Dam, diverts water for distribution throughout Yolo County using a 175 mile (280 km) network of canal
s.
Water rights and flooding protection have been in dispute between Yolo and Lake Counties since the late 19th century. The Yolo County Flood Control & Water Conservation District holds appropriative rights for up to 150000 acre.ft per year from Clear Lake. Current treaties attempt to ensure a balance between the needs of the two counties, although high-water conditions can cause temporary disagreements.
A large part of the creek within Lake County is designated a Wildlife Area by the state of California and the federal Bureau of Land Management
, on which vehicles are prohibited but hiking, primitive camping, and hunting are allowed. The South Fork presently hosts a growing population of the rare tule elk
, plus winter populations of bald eagles. The ruggedness of the area tends to ensure its isolation from human activity. In 2006 the United States Congress
designated 27,245 acres (110 km²) of the area as the federally protected Cache Creek Wilderness
.
The Indian Valley Dam on the North Fork of Cache Creek forms Indian Valley Reservoir
. The dam's primary purpose is water storage for irrigation
, but a 3.3 MW hydroelectric plant was built to take advantage of the falling water.
Whitewater boating on Cache Creek includes kayaking
, rafting, canoeing
and innertubing which are popular in the summertime using the water released from the dams for downstream agriculture.
Nominally a tributary of the Sacramento River
, Cache Creek now only reaches it during extremely wet years due to damming and diversion of the stream's water. Degradation of the channel caused by invasive plants
, such as Arundo donax
and Tamarix
spp., as well as gravel mining
has left no suitable habitat for Chinook salmon
and steelhead
to spawn
, even if there is enough water. Consequently, there are no longer any anadromous fish species in Cache Creek.
Stream
A stream is a body of water with a current, confined within a bed and stream banks. Depending on its locale or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to as a branch, brook, beck, burn, creek, "crick", gill , kill, lick, rill, river, syke, bayou, rivulet, streamage, wash, run or...
in Lake County, California
Lake County, California
Lake County is a county located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of California, north of the San Francisco Bay Area. It takes its name from Clear Lake, the dominant geographic feature in the county and the largest natural lake wholly within California...
, Colusa County, California
Colusa County, California
Colusa County is a county located in the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California, northwest of state capital Sacramento. As of the 2010 census, its population was 21,419. The county seat is Colusa.-History:...
and Yolo County, California
Yolo County, California
Yolo County is a county located in the northern part of the U.S. state of California, bordered by the other counties of Sacramento, Solano, Napa, Lake, Colusa, and Sutter. The city of Woodland is its county seat, though Davis is its largest city....
. The South Fork begins at Clear Lake in Lake County, roughly parallels State Route 20, and turns south at the junction with State Route 16 in Colusa County. The North Fork presently begins at Indian Valley Dam and Reservoir in Lake County, joining the South Fork near the highway junction at Wilbur Springs
Wilbur Springs, California
Wilbur Springs is an unincorporated community in Colusa County, California. It lies at an elevation of 1450 feet ....
. Bear Creek, the main tributary, travels along a scenic canyon from Wilbur Springs to Woodside, paralleling State Route 16.
History
The name of the water body comes from Hudson's Bay CompanyHudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...
trappers who cached their furs along the Sacramento River and smaller tributaries, one of which became known to them as Cache Creek. One of their camps, recognized by early settlers as French Camp, was situated in a grove of oaks on the north bank of Cache Creek one mile (1.6 km) east of the present town of Yolo, California
Yolo, California
Yolo is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Yolo County, California. It is located 5 miles northwest of the county seat, Woodland. Yolo's ZIP Code is 95697 and its area code 530. It lies at an elevation of 82 feet...
. Cache Creek was originally known to the Hudson's Bay Company trappers as Rivière la Cache.
Hydrology
The Cache Creek Dam on the South Fork of Cache Creek, five miles (8 km) downstream from Clear Lake, was built to increase Clear Lake's capacity and to regulate outflow for downstream users of Cache Creek water. The dam was later modified to include a 3 MW hydroelectric plant. The stream has a relatively small capacity, less than a quarter of the amount the damDam
A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...
is able to release. There is a rock ledge a mile and a half downstream of Clear Lake, called the Grigsby Riffle, near the bridge on State Route 53
California State Route 53
State Route 53 , also known as the Clearlake Expressway, connects SR 29 and SR 20 via the city of Clearlake. It runs in a north–south direction east of Clear Lake. The entire length of the highway is a California Scenic Highway....
. This sill
Sill (geology)
In geology, a sill is a tabular sheet intrusion that has intruded between older layers of sedimentary rock, beds of volcanic lava or tuff, or even along the direction of foliation in metamorphic rock. The term sill is synonymous with concordant intrusive sheet...
restricts the amount of water that can flow through at that point. The limited capacity of the stream means that it takes a very long time to drain excess flow from Clear Lake, increasing the chance of flood
Flood
A flood is an overflow of an expanse of water that submerges land. The EU Floods directive defines a flood as a temporary covering by water of land not normally covered by water...
ing around the lake. The bottleneck is seen as a backup to prevent flooding downstream and Yolo County is prohibited from increasing the capacity of the channel by the Bemmerly Decree. The Capay Diversion Dam, 49 miles (79 km) downstream from the Cache Creek Dam, diverts water for distribution throughout Yolo County using a 175 mile (280 km) network of canal
Canal
Canals are man-made channels for water. There are two types of canal:#Waterways: navigable transportation canals used for carrying ships and boats shipping goods and conveying people, further subdivided into two kinds:...
s.
Water rights and flooding protection have been in dispute between Yolo and Lake Counties since the late 19th century. The Yolo County Flood Control & Water Conservation District holds appropriative rights for up to 150000 acre.ft per year from Clear Lake. Current treaties attempt to ensure a balance between the needs of the two counties, although high-water conditions can cause temporary disagreements.
A large part of the creek within Lake County is designated a Wildlife Area by the state of California and the federal Bureau of Land Management
Bureau of Land Management
The Bureau of Land Management is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior which administers America's public lands, totaling approximately , or one-eighth of the landmass of the country. The BLM also manages of subsurface mineral estate underlying federal, state and private...
, on which vehicles are prohibited but hiking, primitive camping, and hunting are allowed. The South Fork presently hosts a growing population of the rare tule elk
Elk
The Elk is the large deer, also called Cervus canadensis or wapiti, of North America and eastern Asia.Elk may also refer to:Other antlered mammals:...
, plus winter populations of bald eagles. The ruggedness of the area tends to ensure its isolation from human activity. In 2006 the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
designated 27,245 acres (110 km²) of the area as the federally protected Cache Creek Wilderness
Cache Creek Wilderness
The Cache Creek Wilderness is a 27,245 acre wilderness area located in Lake County, California. The wilderness was added to the National Wilderness Preservation System when the United States Congress passed the Northern California Coastal Wild Heritage Wilderness Act in 2006...
.
The Indian Valley Dam on the North Fork of Cache Creek forms Indian Valley Reservoir
Indian Valley Reservoir
Indian Valley Reservoir is a manmade lake in Lake County, California, west of Williams near State Route 20.The capacity reservoir was created by the construction of the Indian Valley Dam across the north fork of Cache Creek in 1975...
. The dam's primary purpose is water storage for irrigation
Irrigation
Irrigation may be defined as the science of artificial application of water to the land or soil. It is used to assist in the growing of agricultural crops, maintenance of landscapes, and revegetation of disturbed soils in dry areas and during periods of inadequate rainfall...
, but a 3.3 MW hydroelectric plant was built to take advantage of the falling water.
Whitewater boating on Cache Creek includes kayaking
Kayaking
Kayaking is the use of a kayak for moving across water. Kayaking and canoeing are also known as paddling. Kayaking is distinguished from canoeing by the sitting position of the paddler and the number of blades on the paddle...
, rafting, canoeing
Canoeing
Canoeing is an outdoor activity that involves a special kind of canoe.Open canoes may be 'poled' , sailed, 'lined and tracked' or even 'gunnel-bobbed'....
and innertubing which are popular in the summertime using the water released from the dams for downstream agriculture.
Nominally a tributary of the Sacramento River
Sacramento River
The Sacramento River is an important watercourse of Northern and Central California in the United States. The largest river in California, it rises on the eastern slopes of the Klamath Mountains, and after a journey south of over , empties into Suisun Bay, an arm of the San Francisco Bay, and...
, Cache Creek now only reaches it during extremely wet years due to damming and diversion of the stream's water. Degradation of the channel caused by invasive plants
Invasive species
"Invasive species", or invasive exotics, is a nomenclature term and categorization phrase used for flora and fauna, and for specific restoration-preservation processes in native habitats, with several definitions....
, such as Arundo donax
Arundo donax
Arundo donax, Giant Cane, is a tall perennial cane growing in damp soils, either fresh or moderately saline. Other common names include Carrizo, Arundo, Spanish cane, Wild cane, and Giant reed....
and Tamarix
Tamarix
The genus Tamarix is composed of about 50-60 species of flowering plants in the family Tamaricaceae, native to drier areas of Eurasia and Africa...
spp., as well as gravel mining
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
has left no suitable habitat for Chinook salmon
Chinook salmon
The Chinook salmon, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha, is the largest species in the pacific salmon family. Other commonly used names for the species include King salmon, Quinnat salmon, Spring salmon and Tyee salmon...
and steelhead
Rainbow trout
The rainbow trout is a species of salmonid native to tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead is a sea run rainbow trout usually returning to freshwater to spawn after 2 to 3 years at sea. In other words, rainbow trout and steelhead trout are the same species....
to spawn
Spawn (biology)
Spawn refers to the eggs and sperm released or deposited, usually into water, by aquatic animals. As a verb, spawn refers to the process of releasing the eggs and sperm, also called spawning...
, even if there is enough water. Consequently, there are no longer any anadromous fish species in Cache Creek.