San Diego Citizen Watershed Monitoring Consortium Friday, 10th February 
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SDCWMC > Watersheds

San Luis Rey Watershed

Map of San Luis Rey watershed


The San Luis Rey River watershed is located east of the City of Oceanside in the northwestern portion of San Diego County. The 558 square mile drainage is the largest hydrologic unit in the San Diego region. The watershed drains to the Pacific Ocean to the west and is bounded by the Moserate Mountains to the north, the Cleveland National Forest and Camp Pendleton to the northwest, and Escondido, San Diego, and other cities to the south. The basin is roughly 50 miles long by 16 miles wide, and is divided into two hydrologic units by Henshaw Dam. The areas above and below the dam encompass 206 and 354 square miles, respectively (USACOE, 1977).

Approximately 92.5% of the San Luis Rey River watershed is located in unincorporated areas of San Diego County. Roughly one-fourth of the land area in the watershed is located west of Interstate 15 including portions of the cities of Oceanside and Vista, the communities of Fallbrook and Bonsall, and the southwestern portion of Camp Pendleton. The land west of I-15 has multiple uses including open space/ undeveloped, residential, commercial/ industrial, and agricultural. East of Interstate 15, most of the land is owned and managed by government agencies (county, state, and federal), special districts, and Native American bands. The predominant land uses are open space/ undeveloped and agricultural.
Hydrologic Areas: Lower San Luis, Monserate, Warner Valley
Major Water Bodies: San Luis Rey River and Lake Henshaw

If you would like to select one of these major water bodies as your collection site, follow these instructions to get the information you will need for the registration form:

  • Go to iTouchMap.com.
  • If possible, enter the zip code of the area where you are collecting your sample in the "Address" field at the top of the page. If you don't know the zip code, enter the name of the watershed or city and state. Then, click the "Go" button. The comic book bubble will show the latitude and longitude on the map on that same page.
  • The first number is the latitude. The second is the longitude. These are the numbers you'll need to enter into the Collection Site Information section of the registration form.

If you need assistance in selecting a collection site, please contact us. We'll be happy to help you find a site that's as close to your group' or school's location as possible.