The Big Sur River is a 15.7-mile-long (25.3 km) river on the Central Coast of California. The river drains a portion of the Big Sur area, a thinly settled region of the Central California coast where the Santa Lucia Mountains rise abruptly from the Pacific Ocean. The Big Sur River's headwaters are in the mountains, it flows roughly northwest and empties into the ocean, where there is a natural sandbar that has created a lagoon. Tributaries of the river include Pfeiffer-Redwood Creek, Juan Higuera Creek, Post Creek and Pheneger Creek.
Most of the river's 60-square-mile (160 km2) watershed is in the Ventana Wilderness of the Los Padres National Forest. Precipitation increases with altitude at Big Sur and the higher elevations can receive over 50 inches (1,300 mm) per year, about 10 inches (250 mm) higher than lower areas. The average yearly runoff on the river is 65,000 acre feet (80,000,000 m3). There are some diversions on the river and its tributaries for drinking water to supply nearby homes and resorts, but no major dams or reservoirs.
Coordinates: 36°16′50″N 121°51′36″W / 36.280519°N 121.8599558°W / 36.280519; -121.8599558
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