House Creek is a 12.3 miles (19.8 km) 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 the mountains of western Sonoma County, California

Sonoma County, California

Sonoma County, located on the northern coast of the U.S. state of California, is the largest and northernmost of the nine San Francisco Bay Area counties. Its population at the 2010 census was 483,878. Its largest city and county seat is Santa Rosa....

 which empties into the Wheatfield Fork Gualala River

Wheatfield Fork Gualala River

The Wheatfield Fork Gualala River is a stream in the mountains of western Sonoma County, California which empties into the South Fork Gualala River just east of Sea Ranch, California.-Course:Tributaries include:*Fuller Creek*Haupt Creek*Tobacco Creek...

.

Course

The creek originates on Welbridge Ridge and descends initially to the west. Cedar Creek enters from the southeast, then Britain Creek from the north. It follows Sewell Road southward for about 0.5 mile (0.80467 km) to where Pepperwood Creek enters from the east, then westward about 0.6 mile (0.965604 km) to where Allen Creek enters from the southwest. It then flows generally northward. After Soda Spring Creek enters from the east, the creek crosses under Stewarts Point Skaggs Springs Road and empties into the Wheatfield Fork.

Habitat and pollution

As of 2000, House Creek and most of its major tributaries supported steelhead trout. However, by 2002 the trout were so threatened that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration , pronounced , like "noah", is a scientific agency within the United States Department of Commerce focused on the conditions of the oceans and the atmosphere...

 took action against Hedgpeth Ranch operator James Soper for killing 34 juvenile fish by driving a tractor through the creek.

Bridges

The Stewarts Point Skaggs Springs Road bridge was built in 1921 and widened to 34.5 feet (10.5 m) in 1976. By road it is 20.8 miles (33.5 km) east of State Route 1

California State Route 1

State Route 1 , more often called Highway 1, is a state highway that runs along much of the Pacific coast of the U.S. state of California. It is famous for running along some of the most beautiful coastlines in the world, leading to its designation as an All-American Road.Highway 1 does not run...

. It consists of three spans, each roughly 50 feet (15 m) long. Sonoma County bid out the seismic retrofitting of this structure in 2002.