A recent sunset paints the sky over the San Lorenzo River and downtown Santa Cruz in vibrant colors as the river flows to the Monterey Bay. … During normal rainfall years, the water supply mostly meets the county’s needs. However, demand during droughts exceeds supply in parts of the county, resulting in a deficit. Over many years, this has led to chronic “overdrafting” of the basins and the lowering of the groundwater level causes saltwater intrusion to occur near the coast. Santa Cruz is one of only a few counties in California that does not receive any water from outside the county.

Other river photos:

• Sky-Hi News (Granby, Colo.): Photos: Fall colors along the Colorado River​