Putah Creek (Patwin: Liwaito[3]) is a major stream in Northern California, a tributary of the Yolo Bypass, and ultimately, the Sacramento River.

The 85-mile-long (137 km)[2] creek has its headwaters in the Mayacamas Mountains, a part of the Coast Range, and flows east through two dams.

The restoration of natural flow regimes has resulted in a doubling of riparian bird species and a return of spawning native steelhead trout and Chinook salmon, as well as protecting the livelihood of farmers on the lower watershed.

The revised fourth edition of Gudde's California Place Names has the following entry: Putah Creek [Lake, Napa, Solano Cos.].

In the baptismal records of Mission Dolores an adulto de Putü is mentioned in 1817, and the wife of Pedro Putay in 1821 (Arch.

The present version was applied to a town in 1853, was used in the Statutes of 1854, was made popular by the Bancroft maps, and finally was adopted by the USGS.

[7]According to a map created by Eugène Duflot de Mofras, a French naturalist and explorer, and published in Paris in 1844, Putah Creek was once known as Young's River, named for the fur trapper Ewing Young, who hunted beaver on an expedition up Putah Creek to Clear Lake and on to the Mendocino County Coast in March, 1833.

California Department of Fish and Wildlife regulations require "catch and release" in this section of the stream, as well as the use of artificial lures with barbless hooks.

[9] The California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) has developed a safe eating advisory for fish caught in Putah Creek based on levels of mercury or PCBs found in local species.

[10] Stormwater runoff from a nearby Superfund site formally known as the Laboratory for Energy-Related Health Research (LEHR), has shown elevated levels of Mercury reaching 500 ng/L entering Putah Creek.

Below Lake Solano, Putah Creek flows 37 kilometers (23 mi) before reaching the Yolo Bypass and by that artificial route, to the Sacramento River.

An 11 MW hydroelectric plant generates electricity for the Solano Irrigation District, which owns and operates the dam.

The Accord mandated a short three-day pulse to occur between 15 February and 31 March to initiate spawning behavior, followed by a month-long release of elevated flows.

By increasing releases briefly in winter/spring and allowing much lower flows in late summer/fall, there has been little impact on overall water availability for diversion to agriculture and residents.

[citation needed] Putah Creek is the subject of the Creedence Clearwater Revival song "Green River" and served as a childhood vacation spot for John Fogerty.