The 19.6-mile (31.5 km) river drains the forested Franciscan assemblage of the California Coast Ranges.

[2] The lowermost mile of channel is through Quaternary alluvium and dune sand of an estuarine floodplain typical of coastal inlets along the Cascadia subduction zone.

[4] The floodplain upstream of the Highway 101 bridge is cleared as grazing pasture, and the upland portion of the drainage basin, including the former company town of Crannell, is in private ownership growing forest products.

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