Hospital Creek
Hospital Creek, originally Arroyo de Ospital, or Arroyo del Osnital is a tributary of the San Joaquin River draining eastern slopes of a part of the Diablo Range within San Joaquin County. The creek is approximately long, Course It has its source on the southeast flank of Mount Oso, in Stanislaus County. From there it flows northwest then north through Hospital Creek Canyon around Mount Oso into San Joaquin County. It then turns east to dip back briefly over the border into Stanislaus County before turning back north into San Joaquin County flowing then northeast to emerge from the Diablo Range foothills. From the canyon mouth it flows east into the Central Valley of California, United States. Though its downstream end is uncertain as it disappears into a former slough of the San Joaquin River in the San Joaquin Valley in Stanislaus County. History Originally called Arroyo de Ospital in the Diseño del Rancho Pescadero, this creek was a watering place on the El Camino Viejo. A map of routes to the southern gold mines in 1851 showed this creek as Arroyo del Osnital. Neither Ospital or Osnital is a Spanish word, so presumably it was a Native American word,