Figure 1.

Map of the mouth of Pescadero Creek based on Figure 3-5 of the Pescadero Marsh Natural
Preserve Hydrologic Enhancement Plan by Philip Williams and Associates, 1990.

Survey of Outlet Cross Section and Profile

Figure 1 shows a map of the outlet channel as it appeared at about low tide (-1.06 tide table or -4.05
NGVD) on January 31, 2003 when the survey was done. The bedrock sill at the bend is about 280 feet
downstream of the Highway 1 Bridge. The bedrock sill constricts the flow to the inside of the bend.
A cross section, about 89 feet upstream from the bend in the outlet channel from Pescadero Marsh, was
surveyed on January 31, 2003. A profile, starting at the bend and extending upstream to the approximate
western edge of the Highway 1 Bridge, was also surveyed.
The graph of the cross section is shown in Figure 2. The graph of the longitudinal profile of the outlet
channel is shown in Figure 3. The cross section survey began about 15:20 and ended about 15:40. The
profile survey began about 15:58 and ended about 16:15. Low tide was estimated to be about -4.05 feet
NGVD (-1.06 feet in tide table) and to have occurred at about 16:05.
Photos 5 and 6 show the location of the cross section and the reach where the longitudinal profile was
surveyed.
Figure 2 shows the graph of the cross section. The water was moving very fast, the velocity was estimated
to be about 7 feet per second (see below). Therefore, when the survey rod was held on the bottom of the
channel a considerable wake formed in front of the rod and made it very difficult to read the water depth.
The water surface at about 10 feet on the cross section was taken in the lee of an upstream projection of
rock, so the velocity was low and there was virtually no wake. Therefore, the water surface of the cross
section was assumed to equal the water surface at 10 feet on the cross section (= 1.43 at 15:38).
Figure 3 shows the water surface profile at the time of the survey and the regression equation to estimate
the water surface elevation at any location on the profile. The regression equation is:
Water Surface = 0.3614 * Ln(x) -0.3177 Eq. 1
where x is the distance upstream from the bend. The regression has an R-squared value of 0.994.
The water surface slope at any location along the channel upstream of the bend can be estimated by
evaluating the derivative of the regression equation describing the water surface at the point of interest.
Equation 2 is the derivative of the regression equation (Eq. 1).
Derivative = 0.3614*(1/x) Eq. 2
where x is the distance upstream from the bend. Evaluating the derivative (Eq. 2) at the cross section (x =
89 feet upstream of the bend) gives a slope of 0.004. The profile was surveyed about three hours after the
tide dropped below the apparent level of the bedrock sill at -1.0 feet NGVD.
The water surface elevation at the cross section was estimated to be 1.29 feet at 16:05 when the profile
was surveyed. So, the water surface at the cross section appears to have lowered 0.14 feet in about 27
minutes. It is assumed that this drop was caused by the streambed lowering as a result of the high
sediment transport rate in the outlet channel.
The slope of the water surface, at a fixed point above the bend (bedrock sill), is assumed to increase with
the time past the moment when the tide drops below -1.0 feet NGVD. The slope of the water surface at a
point along the channel would continue to increase until the tide rose back up to the level of the bedrock
sill, at about -1.0 feet NGVD and then the water surface slope would decline until the tide rose past the
point along the channel under consideration.
Consequently, the water velocity and sediment transport rate should also increase and decrease in
response to the level of the tide. The increase in water velocity and sediment transport capacity that
occurs after the tide drops below -1.0 feet NGVD causes the channel to incise near the bedrock sill. The
channel incision then propagates upstream towards the lagoon. This claim is verified by photos taken
during the survey.
Photos 1 and 2 show the channel around the bedrock sill at approximately 13:00 when the tide was at -1.0
feet NGVD. Note that the water surface is essentially level with the beach sand. Photo 3 was taken at
15:53 when the tide was about -3.97 NGVD and photo 4 was taken at 16:57 when the tide was about -
3.79 NGVD. Note the steep bank on the right bank of the channel (looking downstream). So, 3 to 4 hours
after the tide dropped below -1.0 feet NGVD the steep right bank projected about 2 feet above the water
surface at the bend. This steep bank is the result of the outlet channel incising.
Photo 5 shows the channel at and above the cross section. Note the decreased bank steepness on the right
bank (left edge of photo) near the bridge indicating little to no incision about two and one-half hours after
the tide dropped below -1.0 NGVD.
 Pescadero Beach Outlet Cross Section
89 feet Upstream of Bend
4.00

3.50

3.00

2.50
Elevation, feet NVGD-29

2.00

1.50

1.00

0.50

0.00

-0.50

-1.00
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
Distance from Left Bank, feet

Ground Water Surface

Figure 2. Pescadero Marsh outlet cross section surveyed on January 31, 2003 between 15:20 and 15:40.

Pescadero Beach Outlet Profile

January 31, 2003 at 16:10
2.00

Highway 1
1.80

1.60
Water Surface Elevation, feet NVGD-29

1.40
y = 0.3614Ln(x) - 0.3177
2
R = 0.994
1.20

1.00

0.80

0.60

0.40

0.20

0.00
0 50 100 150 200 250 300
Distance Above Bend

Water Surface Estimated Water Surface

Figure 3. Pescadero Marsh outlet profile was surveyed on January 31, 2003 between 16:00 and 16:15.
 Pescadero Tides and Marsh Water Elevations
for January 30 to February 1, 2003
5.00

4.00

3.00
Tide Elevation NGVD 29, feet

2.00

1.00

0.00

-1.00

-2.00

-3.00

-4.00
Survey of Outlet Cross Section began at 15:20 Survey of Outlet Profile Ended at 16:15
-5.00
1/

1/

1/

1/

1/

1/

1/

1/

2/

2/

2/

2/

2/
30

30

30

30

31

31

31

31

1/

1/

1/

1/

2/
20

20

20

20

20
/

/
20

20

20

20

20

20

20

20

03

03

03

03

03
03

03

03

03

03

03

03

03

0:

6:

12

18

0:
0:

6:

12

18

0:

6:

12

18

00

00

00
:0

:0
00

00

00

00
:0

:0

:0

:0

0
0

0
Date & Time

Tides NGVD Datalogger

Figure 4. The tides estimated for Pescadero Beach and the marsh water surface elevations for the day of
the survey are shown in the graph. On a rising tide, the marsh water level begins is falling until the tide
reaches about 0.0; NGVD.

Estimating the Discharge in the Outlet Channel

The discharge in the outlet channel changes over the course of the tidal cycle. The discharge is controlled
by the difference in the water surface elevation in the marsh and in the ocean. The discharge is also
controlled by the presence of a bedrock sill approximately 280 feet to the west of the Highway 1 Bridge.
When the level of the ocean drops below the level of the lagoon, near the Highway Bridge, the discharge
is out of the marsh and into the ocean. Conversely, when the tide rises above the level of the lagoon, near
the Highway Bridge, the flow is from the ocean into the marsh. The flow into the marsh is augmented by
ocean waves moving up the outlet channel.
Figure 4 shows the tides and the water level in the marsh on the day of the survey. On a rising tide, the
marsh water level, at the datalogger, continues falling until the tide reaches about 0.0; NGVD. Once the
rising tide is above 0.0 feet NGVD, the marsh water level, at the datalogger, begins to rise. The
datalogger is about 3,300 feet upstream of the west edge of the Highway 1 Bridge. The datalogger
reported a water surface elevation of 1.97 feet NGVD and 16:02 on the day of the survey. The water
surface at the west edge of the Highway 1 Bridge was 1.70 feet NGVD at 16:15. So, the level at the
datalogger was 0.21 feet higher at about low tide which was at 16:05 and the water surface slope between
the bridge and the datalogger was about 0.00006.
The bedrock sill controls the discharge going out of the marsh by limiting the channel slope between the
lagoon (bridge) and the sill. At the time of our survey, the elevation of the water surface at the sill was
about -1.15 NGVD. The tide dropped to about -4 NGVD during the survey. The surf zone was about
300 feet downstream of the bend at low tide, so the channel slope between the bend and the surf was
about 0.010 compared to a slope of about 0.004 at the cross section. The average slope from the lagoon
(bridge) down the channel to the surf zone is about 0.0108.
The cross section analysis program, WINXSPRO, developed by WEST Consultants for the US Forest
Service (1998), was used to estimate the discharge in the outlet channel at the time of the survey. The
WINXSPRO program requires the x-y coordinates of the cross section, the channel slope and an estimate
of the size of the bed material.
The cross section survey supplied the x-y coordinates, the channel profile gave a slope of about 0.004 at
the cross section and the beach sand was assumed to have 84% (d-84) of the grains smaller than 1 mm.
Table 1 summarizes the discharge and channel geometry estimated by the program.

Table 1. The discharge was estimated and channel geometry was summarized with the WINXSPRO
program.
Width 49.3 feet
Ave Depth 1.23 feet
Area 60.4 sq-feet
Velocity 7.0 feet per sec
Discharge 424 cu-feet per sec
Slope 0.004
Froude Number 1.118
d-84 1.0 mm

The discharge was estimated to be 424 cfs and the average water velocity was estimated to be 7 feet per
second. The Froude number is greater than 1.0, so the flow at the cross section was supercritical. The
program was also run with the d-84 set to 0.5 mm and to 1.5 mm. The discharge with a d-84 of 1.5 mm
was 400 cfs, a 6% difference. The discharge with a d-84 of 0.5 mm was 465 cfs, a 10% difference. So, the
estimate of 424 cfs seems to be reasonable and does not require a precise measurement of the d-84.
Photo 1 & 2. The outlet channel at the bedrock sill is shown at about 12:55. The tide is at -1.10 NGVD
(+1.89 in tide table). The marsh elevation at the datalogger was 3.06 NGVD. Note that the sill is
submerged and that the water surface is level with the beach. Occasionally ocean waves almost reached
the sill.
Photos 3 & 4. The bend is shown looking downstream and upstream. The upper photo was taken at 15:53
and the tide was about -3.97 NGVD with the marsh water level at 2.01 NGVD. The lower photo was
taken at 16:57 and the tide was about -3.79 NGVD with the marsh water level at 1.68 NGVD.
Photo 5 & 6. These two photos show the location of the cross section. It is about 89 down to the bend
and about 280 up to the bridge. These photos were taken at about 15:30 and the tide was at -3.86 NGVD
(-0.87 tide table) and the