Bean Creek (Zayante Creek tributary)

Bean Creek
Arcadia Creek
Bean Creek as it runs through Mount Hermon, California
Location of the mouth of Bean Creek in Felton, California
Location
CountryUnited States
StateCalifornia
RegionSanta Cruz County
MunicipalityFelton, California
Physical characteristics
Source 
  coordinates37°07′51″N 121°58′57″W / 37.13083°N 121.98250°W / 37.13083; -121.98250
  elevation1,920 ft (590 m)
MouthZayante Creek
  location
Felton, California
  coordinates
37°03′5″N 122°03′41″W / 37.05139°N 122.06139°W / 37.05139; -122.06139
  elevation
266 ft (81 m)
Basin features
Tributaries 
  rightMackenzie Creek, Ruins Creek, Lockhart Gulch

Bean Creek is a 9.1-mile-long (14.6 km) stream that rises on the western slopes of the Santa Cruz Mountains and discharges to Zayante Creek. This stream traverses relatively rugged, forested lands and is the locus of an important fossil bearing formation. These fossils are embedded in the Lower Santa Margarita Formation and include Astrodapsis spatiosus;also rare species of gastropod Thais cf. lapillis, and shark teeth (e.g. Isurus hastalis). After joining Zayante Creek, the flows reach the San Lorenzo River and then the Pacific Ocean at Santa Cruz, California.