Dry Creek is a 15 miles (24 km) long stream

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 Placer County

Placer County, California

Placer County is a county located in both the Sacramento Valley and Sierra Nevada regions of the U.S. state of California, in what is known as the Gold Country. It stretches from the suburbs of Sacramento to Lake Tahoe and the Nevada border. Because of the expansion of the Greater Sacramento,...

 and Sacramento County, California

Sacramento County, California

Sacramento County is a county in the U.S. state of California. Its county seat is Sacramento, which is also the state capital. As of 2010 the county had a population of 1,418,788....

, USA, tributary to 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...

. Its watershed lies within the Sacramento Valley.. Because suburban development borders much of its length, the stream is noted for its capacity to cause local flooding

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...

 and as a recreational attraction.

Placer County

The Dry Creek watershed headwaters are in western Placer County, in the foothills of Sierra Nevada. A number of smaller streams meet in Roseville

Roseville, California

-2010:The 2010 United States Census reported that Roseville had a population of 118,788. The population density was 3,279.4 people per square mile...

, and the combined stream is called Dry Creek starting from the confluence of Antelope Creek and Miners Ravine. Dry Creek flows first southwest through Royer Park in downtown Roseville. Then it meets Cirby Creek and continues west across a Union Pacific railyard, past a City of Roseville wastewater treatment plant

Sewage treatment

Sewage treatment, or domestic wastewater treatment, is the process of removing contaminants from wastewater and household sewage, both runoff and domestic. It includes physical, chemical, and biological processes to remove physical, chemical and biological contaminants...

, into unincorporated Placer County, and then southwest again toward Sacramento

Sacramento

Sacramento is the capital of the state of California, in the United States of America.Sacramento may also refer to:- United States :*Sacramento County, California*Sacramento, Kentucky*Sacramento – San Joaquin River Delta...

.

Sacramento County

After crossing into Sacramento County, Dry Creek flows sout-southwest between Gibson Ranch County Park (to the west) and the city of Antelope

Antelope, California

Antelope is a census-designated place in Sacramento County, California, United States located approximately 15 miles northeast of downtown Sacramento and 5 miles southwest of Roseville. The population was 45,770 at the 2010 census....

 (to the east). Then it flows southwest through the community of Rio Linda, mostly split into two parallel branches that enclose a long narrow strip of land called Cherry Island. Finally, Dry Creek enters the City of Sacramento northwest of Robla

Robla, Sacramento, California

Robla is a neighborhood located within the city of Sacramento, California. The borders of Robla are generally considered to be city limits on the north adjacent to Rio Linda, McClellan Park on the east, the Beltline Freeway Interstate 80 on the south, and Northgate Boulevard on the west...

, flows west-southwest (forming a small delta

River delta

A delta is a landform that is formed at the mouth of a river where that river flows into an ocean, sea, estuary, lake, reservoir, flat arid area, or another river. Deltas are formed from the deposition of the sediment carried by the river as the flow leaves the mouth of the river...

) and merges with Steelhead Creek (Natomas East Main Drainage Canal). Steelhead Creek flows south into Discovery Park in American River Parkway

American River Parkway

The American River Parkway is a parkway that runs along the American River throughout Sacramento County, California and consists of many smaller parks and boat launching points...

 and then west (parallel with American River

American River

The American River is a California watercourse noted as the site of Sutter's Mill, northwest of Placerville, California, where gold was found in 1848, leading to the California Gold Rush...

) into Sacramento River.

Tributaries

Dry Creek tributaries include:

• Antelope Creek
  • Clover Valley Creek
• Miners Ravine
  • Secret Ravine
    Secret Ravine
    Secret Ravine is a perennial tributary of Miners Ravine which shortly thereafter runs into Dry Creek located in Placer County, California. Its course lies within the cities of Rocklin, Loomis, and Roseville, as well as unincorporated parts of Placer County. It passes through the campus of Sierra...
    
    
    • Boardman Canal
  • False Ravine
• Cirby Creek
  • Linda Creek
    • Strap Ravine
    • Swan Stream
• Goat Creek (aka. Sierra Creek)

Environmental conditions in the Roseville area

Historically Dry Creek and its tributaries have supported anadromous fish.
In the Dry Creek watershed four insecticides (DDT

DDT

DDT is one of the most well-known synthetic insecticides. It is a chemical with a long, unique, and controversial history....

, aldrin

Aldrin

Aldrin is an organochlorine insecticide that was widely used until the 1970s, when it was banned in most countries. It is a colourless solid. Before the ban, it was heavily used as a pesticide to treat seed and soil...

, heptachlor

Heptachlor

Heptachlor is an organochlorine compound that was used as an insecticide. Usually sold as a white or tan powder, heptachlor is one of the cyclodiene insecticides. In 1962, Rachel Carson's Silent Spring questioned the safety of heptachlor and other chlorinated insecticides. Due to its highly...

, and dieldrin

Dieldrin

Dieldrin is a chlorinated hydrocarbon originally produced in 1948 by J. Hyman & Co, Denver, as an insecticide. Dieldrin is closely related to aldrin, which reacts further to form dieldrin. Aldrin is not toxic to insects; it is oxidized in the insect to form dieldrin which is the active compound...

, were used extensively for soil insect control between 1945 and 1965;; certain residues of these chemical persist in upper soils of some of the upper Dry Creek watershed. In addition there have been instances of subsurface fuel releases.

38.6643477°N 121.4766217°W