The Gualala River begins high in the Coast Range before emptying into the Pacific Ocean near the town that shares its namesake.
The river provides recreation, municipal and industrial water supply for the community of Gualala, CA and is important wildlife habitat for freshwater fish including salmon and steelhead. The most important problem for the watershed is excessive erosion, and historical and current logging in old growth and second growth have greatly increased the sedimentation load into the river.
