What is a watershed?

A watershed is an area of land that channels rainfall and runoff into a common body of water.  The term "watershed" is often used interchangeably with "drainage basin".  A watershed can encompass a small area of land that drains into a creek.  The San Luis Obispo Creek watershed drains approximately 84 square miles, with the City of San Luis Obispo at its geographic center.  Four tributaries (Stenner Creek, Brizzolara Creek, East Fork San Luis Obispo Creek, and mainstem San Luis Obispo Creek) flow south and west out of the Santa Lucia mountain range to converge within the City itself; they are joined by the valley-bottom tributaries of Prefumo Creek (flowing east out of the Los Osos Valley) and Davenport Creek (flowing west out of the Edna Valley).  Mainstem San Luis Obispo Creek leaves the broad, alluvial valley in which the City is situated to the south through the narrow canyon that extends about six miles to the Pacific Ocean at the town of Avila Beach.

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