 Rice Canyon's creek flows during the rainy season below its narrows to its mouth but its surface flow dries up below the narrows about 0.8 miles above its mouth in the canyon during the dry season, and above that in years with severe drought conditions.However some waterholes remain even in the dry years in the upper reach.Much of the wash in modern times has been interrupted by clay mining operations that stops the surface flows of water from Rice Canyon Creek from reaching Temescal Creek.