Maacama Creek is a 7.3 miles (11.7 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 northern 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....

, U.S.A.

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, which empties into the Russian River

Russian River (California)

The Russian River, a southward-flowing river, drains of Sonoma and Mendocino counties in Northern California. With an annual average discharge of approximately , it is the second largest river flowing through the nine county Greater San Francisco Bay Area with a mainstem 110 miles ...

 near the city of Healdsburg

Healdsburg, California

Healdsburg is a city located in Sonoma County, California, in the United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city had a population of 11,254...

.

Course

Maacama Creek begins at the confluence of McDonnell Creek and Briggs Creek near Peter Hill in the Mayacamas Mountains. From there, it flows south, paralleling Briggs Ranch Road almost to State Route 128

California State Route 128

State Route 128 is a state highway in the U.S. state of California, connecting the Mendocino coast to the Central Valley through the state's Wine Country.-Route description:...

, where it turns westward. It parallels the highway for about 0.7 miles (1.1 km) before passing under to meet Redwood Creek. Upon entering the Alexander Valley

Alexander Valley

The Alexander Valley is a Californian American Viticultural Area just north of Healdsburg in Sonoma County. It is home to many wineries and vineyards, as well as the city of Cloverdale. It is the largest and most fully planted wine region in Sonoma. Highway 101 runs through the valley, and the...

, it turns southward again and parallels Chalk Hill Road until it meets Franz Creek. It then flows west another 0.7 miles (1.1 km) to enter the Russian River about 4 miles (6 km) east of Healdsburg.

Habitat and pollution

As of 2000, Maacama Creek and all its major tributaries all supported steelhead trout. Franz Creek also harbored California freshwater shrimp

Syncaris pacifica

Syncaris pacifica is an endangered species of freshwater shrimp in the family Atyidae that occurs only in a limited range within the northern San Francisco Bay Area, California, USA. Specifically, this species occurs only in 17 stream segments within Sonoma, Napa and Marin Counties...

, and Redwood Creek and Maacama Creek hosted coho salmon

Coho salmon

The Coho salmon, Oncorhynchus kisutch, is a species of anadromous fish in the salmon family. Coho salmon are also known as silver salmon or "silvers". It is the state animal of Chiba, Japan.-Description:...

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Bridges

Two bridges span Maacama Creek: The Chalk Hill Road bridge is a 170 feet (52 m) concrete arch built in 1915, and State Route 128

California State Route 128

State Route 128 is a state highway in the U.S. state of California, connecting the Mendocino coast to the Central Valley through the state's Wine Country.-Route description:...

crosses the creek at milepost 17.25 on a 147 feet (45 m) concrete continuous tee beam built in 1931.