Talk:Salinas River (California)

Underground
more than a small drainage ditch at this point. the earthquake caused the river to break through the dunes at its present mouth south of castroville.

also, around 1850, the slough emptied all the way up north at the pajaro mouth--Prunetucky (talk) 05:50, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

Growing up in Salinas we were taught in grade school that the Salinas River is one of the largest underground rivers in the United States...no source, just memory.. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Salinas12345678 (talk • contribs) 21:50, 5 June 2009 (UTC)


 * I've also not been able to find a source for that information. —  f c s u p e r ( How's That?, That's How! ) (Exclusionistic Immediatist ) — 18:23, 8 August 2010 (UTC)

Change of outlet location in 1906?
According to Wikipedia on the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, that earthquake significantly changed the course of the Salinas River at its outlet. The Salinas River article doesn't mention this change. If the change did indeed happen (and a fragmentary part of this Talk page indicates that it did), this is a significant fact and should be referenced in both articles. Oaklandguy (talk) 02:33, 25 December 2016 (UTC)

Unfounded claim
The statement in paragraph two that "the lower reaches of the Salinas river (north of King City) remained entirely dry during the three years 2013–2016" was "Most probably primarily due to recent increases in agricultural water demand in the Salinas Valley, and the resultant lowering of water tables," is totally speculative and does not cite any proof. The cited USGS table merely shows the water levels, but does not prove what caused them. Unfounded, but seemingly scientific sounding claims like this are part of why Wikipedia is jack. From December 2011 - March 2017 California had one of the worst droughts in White peoples' history. Maybe that was a cause or the cause. Without evidence, readers cannot know whether or not ag had this effect on the water levels during those drought years, or whether it was due to the drought, or something else, or a combination of factors.

Also, the USGS table is three years outdated. We have been regularly driving on Highway 1 over the Salinas River, about two miles from its mouth, throughout this year, and there has always been a heck of a lot of water in it. Mirage?

— Preceding unsigned comment added by Nigel Self (talk • contribs) 03:56, 30 September 2019 (UTC)

The Salinas River mouth did not change course in 1906
The Salinas River mouth did not change position as a result of the 1906 earthquake. This is an error propagated from a brief incorrect history written by the Census Bureau in 2016. The 1908 Lawson report details damage to the Moss Landing area and does not reference this change. Just fractures and liquefaction. https://oac.cdlib.org/view?docId=hb1h4n989f&brand=oac4&doc.view=entire_text This thesis attributes the change to a series of winter storms (1908-1909)and the decision of farmers to maintain the new channel position. See page 70 here: https://library.elkhornslough.org/attachments/Schwartz_1983_Geologic_History_of_Elkhorn.pdf Feline cannon (talk) 20:35, 14 July 2023 (UTC)


 * Good catch though we should probably go back to the Master's Thesis's source which is, pages 144-154 and in particular page 149  which does point to the change of the river's mouth (again). Erp (talk) 05:18, 15 July 2023 (UTC)
 * That looks like a great reference with a nice discussion.
 * The assertion is also present in wikipedia’s 1906 earthquake page. Seemingly stemming from a history blog written by someone at the Census Bureau in 2016. But there is abundant evidence that the change didn’t occur prior to 1908/1909. Feline cannon (talk) 07:45, 15 July 2023 (UTC)

2023 and 1995 flooding
Would it be worth noting the 2023 and 1995 flooding since it featured the third and second highest stage height at Spreckels respectively and 1995 featured an insane 30.29 stage height with a peak flow of 95,000 CFS. (USGS gauge data https://waterwatch.usgs.gov/index.php) Big clutch (talk) 02:09, 17 June 2024 (UTC)