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Map Satellite This has been called one of the more spectacular examples of stream piracy in the United States. Pancho Rico Creek, flowing down through the lower end of Slack Canyon, beheaded the San Lorenzo Creek and captured the upper drainage of Peachtree Valley. In a span of some 4,000 years Pancho Rico Creek has cut a 60-meter (200-foot) gorge through the Pliocene sediments of the Pancho Rico formation here. At the capture site there is a massive slide due in part to the cutting of the gorge which undermined the loose sediments.
Most of the area is an open pine-oak woodland with some grasslands. The rare Lessingia occidentalis is found nearby and may be present in the area.
Integrity: The area is used for cattle grazing.
Use: Private
Ref: Durham, David L. and W. O. Addicott. 1965. Pancho Rico Formation, Salinas Valley, California. United States Geological Survey Prof. Pap. 524A.
July 1975
Inventory of California Natural Areas
Revision © 2009 Steven Louis Hartman
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