Santa Ynez River

Santa Ynez River Río Grande de San Vernardo
Aerial view of the mouth of the river
Map of the Santa Ynez River watershed
Location
Country	United States
State	California
County	Santa Barbara
Cities	Solvang, Lompoc
Physical characteristics
Source
• location	Transverse Ranges
• coordinates	34°28′40″N 119°26′51″W / 34.47778°N 119.44750°W / 34.47778; -119.44750[1]
• elevation	4,140 ft (1,260 m)[2]
Mouth	Pacific Ocean
• coordinates	34°41′31″N 120°36′7″W / 34.69194°N 120.60194°W / 34.69194; -120.60194[1]
• elevation	0 ft (0 m)
Length	92 mi (148 km)[3]
Basin size	896 sq mi (2,320 km2)[4]
Discharge
• location	Narrows, near Lompoc
• average	127 cu ft/s (3.6 m3/s)
• minimum	0 cu ft/s (0 m3/s)
• maximum	120,000 cu ft/s (3,400 m3/s)
Basin features
Tributaries
• left	Alder Creek, Alisal Creek, Salsipuedes Creek, Miguelito Creek
• right	Santa Cruz Creek, Cachuma Creek, Santa Agueda Creek, Zanja de Cota Creek, Alamo Pintado Creek, Zaca Creek

The Santa Ynez River is one of the largest rivers on the Central Coast of California. It is 92 miles (148 km) long,^[3] flowing from east to west through the Santa Ynez Valley, reaching the Pacific Ocean at Surf, near Vandenberg Space Force Base and the city of Lompoc.

The river drains the north slope of the Santa Ynez Mountains, the south slope of the San Rafael Mountains, as well as much of the southern half of Santa Barbara County. Its drainage basin is 896 square miles (2,320 km²) in area.^[4] The river's flow is highly variable. It usually dries up almost completely in the summer, but can become a raging torrent in the winter. The river has three dams which can impound a total of 210,000 acre-feet (260,000,000 m³) of water in wet years.