Discover Humboldt: Mattole River Outlet – Petrolia California
Dock of Humboldt Axe and his dog, Brody, explore the Mattole River Outlet in the Discover Humboldt video above
The Mattole River Outlet near Petrolia is a unique and ecologically significant location where the Mattole River meets the Pacific Ocean. This area is characterized by its rugged coastline, pristine river habitats, and diverse wildlife. The estuary serves as a crucial habitat for various species of fish, including salmon and steelhead, which rely on its waters for spawning and early life stages. The river and its outlet are integral to the local ecosystem, supporting not only fish but also numerous bird species and other wildlife.
The Mattole River Outlet is also significant for its cultural and historical importance. The region is home to the Mattole people, who have lived in the area for thousands of years and maintain a deep connection to the land and river. Today, the community of Petrolia and surrounding areas continue to value and protect the river and its outlet, recognizing its importance for both ecological health and cultural heritage.
Earlier Discover Humboldt Videos we shared:
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My problems with this episode: The Petrolia post office is tucked into the side of the Petrolia Store. Our “down town.” I’ve never heard it called an outlet. Always the mouth, as in “the mouth is open”. Doc never mentioned the Lost Coast Trail. He walked right past the traihead on the way to the beach. And, it can be seen in numerous scenes. The video is rich and well edited. I just wish Doc had put more emotion into his telling. Full disclosure; I live 2 miles upriver from the mouth.
Please do not let the word “outlet” become the new buzzword for “estuary” or “mouth” of the Mattole River. Or any river. In fact, please don’t ever use it again in relation to anything that matters, other than a place to plug in an electrical cord, or perhaps a forum for venting aggravation. Thank you.
Laura, multiple dictionaries already use outlet that way: https://www.dictionary.com/browse/outlet Websters 1828 version even says, “The mouth of a river is its outlet ” https://webstersdictionary1828.com/Dictionary/outlet I think that ship has long sailed through the outlet and onto the high seas.
Hahaha, i see what you did there 😉
Still, it’s an unusual and weird usage.
I guessed you would laugh! Yay, I love that we have the same sense of humor.
”Outlet” is a bit odd, I never heard it used for the mouth of the Mattole but it is legitimate as Kym says. Odd and not often used but grammatically correct. No mention of the King Range National Conservation Area, the 26-mile wilderness beach hike to Shelter Cove, the high country trails including King Peak rising 4,000 ft. from the beach in less than three miles, even though he pointed right to the map where he was standing. For Mattole Valley XL, continue through the valley to Honeydew, taking a break at A.Way Park for picnicking and swimming, then over the bridge at Honeydew through magnificent Humboldt Redwoods State Park to U.S. 101. A fantastic long day trip for visiting friends and family. Videography and editing were excellent. Good job, I hope we’ll see more, but do your research on locations ahead of time.
Maybe tell Dock directly via YouTube.
I am not registered with YouTube. If Doc doesn’t read Kym’s reader responses, then that is his loss. BTW, my inclination was to be kinder and gentler than I really felt since I I try not to be grumpy and harsh.
The entire scenic drive from Ferndale to the Mattole mouth was edited down to mere seconds. Eyestraining blur. Extremely poor editing. A few minutes of the green late spring hills dropping off to the beach, the Sitka spruce forest, the incredible view of Sugarloaf island off Cape Mendocino, westernmost point in contiguous USA, the incredible drop to Ocean House and final run on the beach to Petrolia are all worth one or three minutes, not a nanosecond blur. Just two or three minutes of each vista, not a miasmic blur. Another commenter mentioned the lack of “emotion.” I’ll say! Doc seemed to have no idea of the spectacular area he was in or any unique information that is readily available online and in the library. Zero prep for this video. Doc and his dog pal sack out on the beach for some ZZZZs. BFD. Might as well have taken 101 to Clam Beach with a high speed blur video, sacked out with his dog, and called it a day.
Of course, I wish him the best, but the video hurt my feelings. I must be out of synch or something. Why would you assume Doc would not read these reviews? WTF? Why would I be obligated to comment on YouTube even if I was registered? What is wrong with RHBB? That’s where I READ it, that’s where I commented. Anyway, have a great everything, I look forward to your comments as I do other “regulars.”
I’ve also only ever heard of it being referred to as “The Mouth of the Mattole”…
Not that “Mattole River Outlet” wouldn’t be technically correct…
It’s just that it’s unheard of…
Google “Mattole River Outlet”, and you get precisely TWO hits, this RHBB article, and the Humboldt Axe video that it showcases…
That’s it, two hits…
🤔🧐,
For anybody with any experience in Humboldt, they know, only two hits isn’t going to cut it…
😁
“Mattole River Outlet”…???
It’s just that, well, that’s not what it’s known as around here…
🤷♂️
You could call the Eiffel Tower the Franco Cast Iron Structure, but eyes would roll…
Do miss “The Hidaway”. Sorry they closed. A fun place.
Well what comes to mind in using the word outlet is that somebody used AI in writing this story and video. I have lived in Humboldt and California all my life. The mouth of a river is typically used. The estuary encorporates the whole. I have heard the bar of a river. Like an old friend who talked of crossing the Columbia River bar and exiting it’s mouth could at times be terrifying. As well as stories about ships coming into the Eel River mouth and across its Bar. Thus entering the estuary. Outlet is more apropos for what happens with the conveyance of water flow going in one direction. Because a bays Inlet tells a person direction. All in all just a wordsmith conveying a meaning.