A home to what?!? — San Benito River

Not the actual river, but hey, it’s royalty free. Better than being sued by some angry Californian.

Welcome kids to Geography class. Today we’re talking about rivers — this was my least favourite subject in Geography, what with U-Shaped Rivers, erosion, and V-shaped valleys. Just a few GCSE trigger words for you there. Don’t panic, the San Benito River might actually be interesting — could there be gold under there? Could this be the place where people go “sleeping with the fishes” for the Californian mafia?

The San Benito River is a river found on the central west coast of California, spanning 109 miles. Historically the river was home to the Mutsun and Chalon subgroups of Ohlone Native Americans. In present day, the river is home to homeless encampments and a several year build-up of trash, garbage, rubbish, E.T. the Extra Terrestrial Atari game, whatever you want to call it.

The clear up has begun, however, as the homeless encampment and the trash was removed in 2015.
Finally, the river is home to a number of decorative gems and minerals, including Serpentine — which sounds like something you’d find in Harry Potter stories — and Benitoite, a beautiful rare blue gem first described by George Louderback in 1907 naming it after the county of San Benito.

Benitoite Mine


So there you have it, the San Benito River, not quite a gold mine for cowboys or burial site for victims of the California mafia. Maybe I shouldn’t have got your hopes up or mine. Please excuse my clickbait title.

You didn’t think I’d leave you without telling you what happened to the homeless, did you? The homelessness crisis in the area has dropped 19% since 2015 due to an increase in homeless shelters and long term housing. Here’s hoping this trend continues.

Random Facts
· San Benito translates to Saint Benedict.
· Benitoite is the state gem of California.
· Serpentine is California’s official State Rock.
· San Benito County is home to New Idria, a ghost town. Spooky.

Did you play “Clicks to Hitler/Jesus”? Comment your scores.

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