Matilija Creek - Geography

Geography

From its headwaters south of Sespe Creek, the creek flows east and south through a narrow, flat-floored valley. It then turns east and receives the Middle Fork, which flows generally south and west, on the right, then flows east paralleling Forest Road 5N24 before it empties into Matilija Lake (really a reservoir), now mostly a mudflat, on a broad, flat alluvial fan. After exiting the approximately 200-foot (61 m) high dam, the creek turns north and meets the North Fork Matilija Creek; from there on it is called the Ventura River.

The smaller North Fork Matilija Creek flows west and south from its headwaters near Rose Valley, which is the source of Sespe Creek. The creek runs west, paralleling Forest Route 6N31, and receives a small tributary with a roughly fan-shaped drainage basin from the left. It then turns north and cascades through a narrow gorge, then receives a tributary from the left. It then begins to parallel California State Route 33 as it nears the town of Wheeler Springs. It arcs to the east and joins Matilija Creek shortly downstream.

Fed by some perennial springs, despite its location in arid terrain, the creek flows year round, and tends to reach enormous flows in the rainy season.