HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Adobe Creek, historically San Antonio Creek, is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data
The National Map
, accessed March 15, 2011
northward-flowing
stream A stream is a continuous body of surface water flowing within the bed and banks of a channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to by a variety of local or regional names. Long large streams ...
originating on Black Mountain in the
Santa Cruz Mountains The Santa Cruz Mountains, part of the Pacific Coast Ranges, are a mountain range in central and Northern California, United States. They form a ridge down the San Francisco Peninsula, south of San Francisco. They separate the Pacific Ocean from ...
. It courses through the cities of
Los Altos Hills Los Altos Hills (; ''Los Altos'', Spanish for "The Heights") is an incorporated town in Santa Clara County, California, United States. The population was 8,489 at the 2020 census. The town is known for its affluence and expensive residential rea ...
, Los Altos, and
Palo Alto Palo Alto (; Spanish for "tall stick") is a charter city in the northwestern corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto. The city was es ...
on its way to the Palo Alto Flood Basin and thence to southwestern
San Francisco Bay San Francisco Bay is a large tidal estuary in the U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the big cities of San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland. San Francisco Bay drains water f ...
in
Santa Clara County, California Santa Clara County, officially the County of Santa Clara, is the sixth-most populous county in the U.S. state of California, with a population of 1,936,259, as of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Santa Clara County and neighboring Sa ...
, United States. Historically, Adobe Creek was a
perennial stream A perennial stream is a stream that has continuous flow of surface water throughout the year in at least parts of its catchment during seasons of normal rainfall, Water Supply Paper 494. as opposed to one whose flow is intermittent. In the abse ...
and hosted runs of
steelhead trout Steelhead, or occasionally steelhead trout, is the common name of the anadromous form of the coastal rainbow trout or redband trout (O. m. gairdneri). Steelhead are native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific basin in Northeast Asia and ...
entering from the Bay, but these salmonids are now blocked by numerous flood control structures, including a tidal gate at the creek's mouth and a long concretized rectangular channel culminating in an impassable drop structure at El Camino Real. The co-founders of
Adobe Systems Adobe Inc. ( ), originally called Adobe Systems Incorporated, is an American multinational computer software company incorporated in Delaware and headquartered in San Jose, California. It has historically specialized in software for the cre ...
both lived on Adobe Creek.


History

The
Ohlone The Ohlone, formerly known as Costanoans (from Spanish meaning 'coast dweller'), are a Native American people of the Northern California coast. When Spanish explorers and missionaries arrived in the late 18th century, the Ohlone inhabited the ...
people were the original inhabitants of Adobe Creek. A large shell mound which once had a group of Indian huts was found near Adobe Creek in Palo Alto. Evidence of a smaller settlement within Los Altos was uncovered in 1971, when an Ohlone burial ground with skeletons—one with ceremonial beads—was uncovered by new construction along Adobe Creek near O'Keefe Lane. The site had other artifacts, and an archeological dig was mounted by
Foothill College Foothill College is a public community college in Los Altos Hills, California. It is part of the Foothill–De Anza Community College District. It was founded on January 15, 1957, and offers 79 Associate degree programs, 1 Bachelor's degree ...
in 1970. Around this same time, an Ohlone basket was discovered buried in the Creek bank further north. The O'Keefe site has a historical plaque at the entrance to Normandy Lane marking the historic site labeled "Ohlone Indian Village, Town of Los Altos Hills, Historical Site No. 1, Ohlone 10-L0-N11 Village Site Dedicated this day to the Ohlone People Whose ancestors made their homes here April 4, 1973. No. SCI-015. Presented by American Association of University Women of Los Altos". This Ohlone village site had an ideal location situated on the perennial reach of Adobe Creek between Interstate 280 and
Foothill Expressway There are 21 routes assigned to the "G" zone of the California Route Marker Program, which designates county routes in California. The "G" zone includes county highways in Monterey, San Benito, San Luis Obispo, Santa Clara, and Santa Cruz ...
. On the 1862 Allardt Map the upper creek is called Arroyo San Antonio (San Antonio Creek) and the lower creek is called Arroyo de las Yeguas (Yeguas Creek). ''Yeguas'' is Spanish for "mare", and the
Mission Santa Clara Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...
named it that because they built a corral for mares along the creek's banks near the Bay. Juan Prado Mesa renamed it San Antonio Creek when he was granted Rancho San Antonio in 1839 by Governor
Juan Bautista Alvarado Juan Bautista Valentín Alvarado y Vallejo (February 14, 1809 – July 13, 1882) was a Californio politician that served as Governor of Alta California from 1837-42. Prior to his term as governor, Alvarado briefly led a movement for independen ...
. The Adobe Creek name appears as early as 1855 on an official surveyor's map, which lists both the Adobe and San Antonio names for the creek. During the secularization of the missions in the 1830s, Alvarado parceled out much of their land to prominent
Californios Californio (plural Californios) is a term used to designate a Hispanic Californian, especially those descended from Spanish and Mexican settlers of the 17th through 19th centuries. California's Spanish-speaking community has resided there sinc ...
via land grants. Mesa was a soldier stationed at the
Presidio of San Francisco The Presidio of San Francisco (originally, El Presidio Real de San Francisco or The Royal Fortress of Saint Francis) is a park and former U.S. Army post on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula in San Francisco, California, and is part ...
who had become alfarez (officer in command) in 1837. He built a large square adobe, which lasted well into the twentieth century as a crumbling ruin long thought of as a fortification. The site today is on a hill on the southeast side of El Monte Avenue near Summerhill Avenue in
Los Altos, California Los Altos (; Spanish for "The Heights") is a city in Santa Clara County, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. The population was 31,625 according to the 2020 census. Most of the city's growth occurred between 1950 and 1980. Originally ...
, most of which is located on the territory of the Rancho. The upper creek originates in the historic
Rancho La Purisima Concepcion Rancho or Ranchos may refer to: Settlements and communities *Rancho, Aruba, former fishing village and neighbourhood of Oranjestad * Ranchos of California, 19th century land grants in Alta California **List of California Ranchos *Ranchos, Buenos A ...
, which was granted by Governor Alvarado in 1840 to Jose Gorgonio, an Indian living at
Mission Santa Clara Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...
. Gorgonio moved to the west bank of Adobe Creek near Fremont Avenue in Los Altos Hills. Much of the town of Los Altos Hills, California was located on this Rancho. In 1844 Rancho La Purisima Concepcion was sold to
Juana Briones de Miranda Juana Briones de Miranda (c. 1802 – 1889) was a Californio ranchera, medical practitioner, and merchant, often remembered as the "Founding Mother of San Francisco", for her noted involvement in the early development of the city of San Francisco ...
, whose family members had accompanied both the
Gaspar de Portolà Gaspar is a given and/or surname of French, German, Portuguese, and Spanish origin, cognate to Casper (given name) or Casper (surname). It is a name of biblical origin, per Saint Gaspar, one of the wise men mentioned in the Bible. Notable peo ...
and the
Juan Bautista de Anza Juan Bautista de Anza Bezerra Nieto (July 6 or 7, 1736 – December 19, 1788) was an expeditionary leader, military officer, and politician primarily in California and New Mexico under the Spanish Empire. He is credited as one of the founding f ...
Expeditions. Her uniquely constructed wood-framed, rammed-earth and adobe brick house, believed to have been built by American sailors who had deserted, is located at 4155 Old Adobe Road on the border between Palo Alto and Los Altos Hills, and is marked by a historical marker at the corner of Old Adobe Road and Old Trace Lane. Designated a California State Historical Landmark in 1954, the 160-year-old Juana Briones home was scheduled for demolition in 2007 because of damage to it by the
Loma Prieta earthquake The 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake occurred on California's Central Coast on October 17 at local time. The shock was centered in The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park in Santa Cruz County, approximately northeast of Santa Cruz on a section of t ...
in 1989. In 2009, it still stands and has been recently documented with a
Historic American Buildings Survey Heritage Documentation Programs (HDP) is a division of the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) responsible for administering the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), Historic American Engineering Record (HAER), and Historic American Landscapes ...
(HABS). After 1831, Mexican rancho owners would logically erect their dwellings on or very near creeks. Locally, Juan Prado's adobe was near Adobe Creek & Juanita Briones' adobe was near
Barron Creek Barron Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. , accessed November 13, 2011 northward-flowing stream originating in the lower foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains in Los Altos Hills in Santa ...
. Because they were permanent features of the landscape, creeks were often used as Rancho boundaries. This was true locally, where the Mexican diseño show Adobe Creek as the boundary between Rancho San Antonio and Rancho La Purisima Concepcion. When Americans took over in 1850, speculators bought much of this land. Much of it initially became large self-contained ranches—typically running cattle & growing crops like wheat, barley & oats that required little or no irrigation. That changed in a few decades when it was discovered that orchards and vineyards could thrive here. Such agriculture of course used more water. Local land was cut progressively into smaller holdings, until most of it was subdivided as the population increased. This meant more and more wells, including large ones dug along Adobe Creek by early water companies to serve the little town of Los Altos. The water table inevitably shrank as a result, and alarms about this development appeared, at least as early as the 1920s. In the early 1930s, the Los Altos News reported that the water table, which stood at 120 feet in 1898, was now down to 335 feet. The Trust for Hidden Villa is a nonprofit educational organization founded by Frank and Josephine Duveneck, who purchased most of the land comprising the upper Adobe Creek watershed in 1924. They opened Hidden Villa as a gathering place for discussion, reflection, and incubation of social reform. Over the following decades, the Duvenecks also established the first Hostel on the Pacific Coast (1937), the first multiracial summer camp (1945), and Hidden Villa's Environmental Education Program (1970), all on the creek's upper reaches. ''Adobe Creek Lodge'', an English country-style mansion, was built by Consolidated Chemicals vice-president Milton Haas in 1935. It was a destination resort in the 1940s. Bandleaders
Jimmy Dorsey James Francis Dorsey (February 29, 1904 – June 12, 1957) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, composer and big band leader. He recorded and composed the jazz and pop standards " I'm Glad There Is You (In This World of Ordinary Peop ...
and
Harry James Harry Haag James (March 15, 1916 – July 5, 1983) was an American musician who is best known as a trumpet-playing band leader who led a big band from 1939 to 1946. He broke up his band for a short period in 1947 but shortly after he reorganized ...
played there.
John Warnock John Edward Warnock (born October 6, 1940) is an American computer scientist and businessman best known for co-founding Adobe Systems Inc., the graphics and publishing software company, with Charles Geschke. Warnock was President of Adobe for ...
and
Charles Geschke Charles Matthew "Chuck" Geschke (September 11, 1939 – April 16, 2021) was an American businessman and computer scientist best known for founding the graphics and publishing software company Adobe Inc. with John Warnock in 1982, and co-creati ...
, the co-founders of the
Adobe Systems Adobe Inc. ( ), originally called Adobe Systems Incorporated, is an American multinational computer software company incorporated in Delaware and headquartered in San Jose, California. It has historically specialized in software for the cre ...
software company, both lived next to Adobe Creek in Los Altos, and named their company after the creek. The founder of Los Altos,
Paul Shoup Paul Shoup (January 8, 1874 – July 30, 1946) was an American businessman, president and later vice-chairman of the Southern Pacific Railroad in the 1920s and 1930s, a founding board member of the Stanford University School of Business, and foun ...
, picked a premium lot on Adobe Creek for his home from the ranch lands he helped purchase from Sarah Winchester that later became the community of Los Altos. The Paul Shoup House on Adobe Creek is the first property in Los Altos to be listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
.


Watershed and course

Adobe Creek drains about , arising at on the northeastern flank of Black Mountain in Los Altos Hills, California. Adobe Creek was once a
perennial stream A perennial stream is a stream that has continuous flow of surface water throughout the year in at least parts of its catchment during seasons of normal rainfall, Water Supply Paper 494. as opposed to one whose flow is intermittent. In the abse ...
, as evidenced by historical presence of
steelhead trout Steelhead, or occasionally steelhead trout, is the common name of the anadromous form of the coastal rainbow trout or redband trout (O. m. gairdneri). Steelhead are native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific basin in Northeast Asia and ...
(''Oncorhynchus mykiss''). Trout young spend their first year in fresh water and obviously cannot survive in streams that run dry seasonally. Historically, lawsuits were filed to prevent diversion of creek water for irrigation because they caused the creek to run "dry certain seasons of the year". A 1919 lawsuit against upstream creek diversion for "alfalfa fields" and "hog wallows" reads: "From time immemorial...the waters of Adobe Creek have flowed into, over upon and through the lands...from Hidden Villa high in the hills, past the wonderful home gardens of Los Altos to the Santa Clara Valley and on to the sea...Charles K. Field mourns the loss of the song of the brook that made his garden with its rockery an enchanted spot; Shoup's children can no longer wade in the stream, because there is no stream to wade in; acres and acres of McCutchen's rhododendrons are now languishing and dying with unsatisfied thirst." This written record confirms oral histories taken by local historian Don McDonald that Adobe Creek used to flow year-round. It is also consistent with Eleanor Cranston Fowle Cameron's (the sister of Senator Alan Cranston was born in 1909 and they lived on Cypress Court, north of West Edith Avenue in Los Altos Hills) account that in her youth the creek was perennial and that her "father fished the steelhead that ran up from the Bay to the pool below the waterfall". Local lumberman, Herbert Bickell, reported catching steelhead year-round in Adobe Creek until the mid-1950's when the creek's flows became intermittent behind his home on Van Buren Street. On March 1, 1973, the State Water Resources Board (SWRB is now the
California Department of Water Resources The California Department of Water Resources (DWR) is part of the California Natural Resources Agency and is responsible for the management and regulation of the State of California's water usage. The department was created in 1956 by Governor G ...
) granted water rights to the Purissima Hills Water District to withdraw 2.0 cubic feet per second (cfs) from the perennial reach where the SWRB had documented flows of 3.0 cfs on August 12, 1970, despite protestations by Robert and Mary Stutz who had rights to withdraw 0.005 cfs at Elena and Moody Roads, and Roy and Penny Lave who had rights to withdraw 0.008 cfs near Manresa Way and University Avenue. Today the creek's perennial sections are above Hidden Villa and between
Foothill Expressway There are 21 routes assigned to the "G" zone of the California Route Marker Program, which designates county routes in California. The "G" zone includes county highways in Monterey, San Benito, San Luis Obispo, Santa Clara, and Santa Cruz ...
and Interstate 280 above the Manresa Way bridge. Adobe Creek's upper tributaries are, in order, the Middle Fork Adobe Creek, then immediately the West Fork Adobe Creek (the West Fork is known locally as Letcher Creek). Next the North Fork Adobe Creek (originating on Page Mill Road near "Shotgun Bend" at an elevation over 1500 feet) joins Adobe Creek by the Duveneck's main house at Hidden Villa. The North Fork Adobe Creek is also known locally as Bunny Creek. The upper watershed of Adobe Creek is completely protected by Hidden Villa and the Mid-Peninsula Regional Open Space District. Below the confluences of the "three forks", Adobe Creek is joined by three seasonal creeks in Los Altos Hills. The first is Moody Creek (known locally as Silver Creek) and named for George Washington Moody (1824–1909), a farmer who lived along the stream. His home was located on Moody Creek (which flows down along Central Drive and then Moody Court to its confluence with Adobe Creek). Moody built Moody Road in 1867. The next Adobe Creek tributary is Purisima Creek (historically known as Purissima Creek and originating between Altamont Road and Dezahara Way and joining Adobe Creek at Deepwater Lane and Bay Tree Lane) and Robleda Creek (along Robleda Road) in Los Altos Hills. Thence, Adobe Creek departs mountainous and hilly terrain and enters the valley floor to descend through Los Altos, Mountain View, and Palo Alto. The creek's course runs . From 2003 to 2009, Upper Reach 5 of Adobe Creek (between Foothill Expressway and West Edith Avenue) was restored in an innovative partnership called the Adobe Creek Watershed Group with representatives from the
Santa Clara Valley Water District The Santa Clara Valley Water District (also known as Valley Water) provides stream stewardship, wholesale water supply and flood protection for Santa Clara County, California, in the southern San Francisco Bay Area. The district encompasses all of ...
, local residents and representatives of the City of Los Altos and the Town of Los Altos Hills. The $7.2 million project improved flood conveyance capacity in Reach 5, and also enhanced the creek ecosystem by removing the existing concrete banks and bottom, repairing and stabilizing the eroded banks using minimal hardscape, removing many non-native trees, and establishing a riparian area along of bank using mostly shrubs and trees native to the Adobe Creek watershed, as well as non-native
California redwoods ''Sequoia sempervirens'' ()''Sunset Western Garden Book,'' 1995:606–607 is the sole living species of the genus '' Sequoia'' in the cypress family Cupressaceae (formerly treated in Taxodiaceae). Common names include coast redwood, coastal ...
. Further downstream, the Palo Alto/Los Altos bike path traverses the creek, running along the
Hetch Hetchy Aqueduct Hetch Hetchy is a valley, a reservoir, and a water system in California in the United States. The glacial Hetch Hetchy Valley lies in the northwestern part of Yosemite National Park and is drained by the Tuolumne River. For thousands of years be ...
right of way. Several sections of Adobe Creek have been re-aligned, including the trapezoidal concrete drainage channel between El Camino Real and
U.S. Highway 101 U.S. Route 101, or U.S. Highway 101 (US 101), is a north–south United States Numbered Highway that runs through the states of California, Oregon, and Washington, on the West Coast of the United States. It is also known as (The Royal Roa ...
(the portion between Alma Street and El Camino Real was constructed by the SCVWD in 1959). Also, in 1956, Pink Horse Ranch developer Wendell Roscoe, re-directed Adobe Creek into a new straight line channel next to Moody Road that he dug to redirect the water along the edge of his subdivision "in order to prevent a repeat of two 100-year floods which left the 40 acre Pink Horse Ranch under 2 feet of water". Roscoe installed a flood gate at 12243 Tepa Way which can redirect the flows into the old Adobe Creek channel. In 1975, an 8-foot pipe bypass intended to prevent flooding of properties along Adobe Creek was constructed starting near the intersection of Moody and El Monte Roads (on the Foothill College Campus) going upstream approximately 2,200 feet, ending just upstream of Tepa Way. The original creek channel is now a secondary water "bypass channel" that bears high winter water flows from Adobe Creek and meanders through several properties in the Adobe Lane subdivision before passing under Moody Road and returning to the mainstem at the southeast corner of
Foothill College Foothill College is a public community college in Los Altos Hills, California. It is part of the Foothill–De Anza Community College District. It was founded on January 15, 1957, and offers 79 Associate degree programs, 1 Bachelor's degree ...
. Before passing under Highway 101, Adobe Creek is joined by
Barron Creek Barron Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. , accessed November 13, 2011 northward-flowing stream originating in the lower foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains in Los Altos Hills in Santa ...
just upstream of Highway 101. Barron Creek was alternatively known as Dry Creek, and appears as a tributary of Adobe Creek in the 1862 Allardt Map, although in the 1899 Topo Map it was tributary to
Matadero Creek Matadero Creek is a stream originating in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains in Santa Clara County, California, United States. The creek flows in a northeasterly direction for until it enters the Palo Alto Flood Basin, where it joins Ado ...
, and was much later diverted back to Adobe Creek. Barron Creek is long, originating in the Los Altos Hills foothills at elevation along La Paloma Road (just north of Alta Tierra Road), then flowing north along La Paloma Road, then it is joined by a Concepcion Road fork at Fremont Road and proceeds along Fremont Road behind Pinewood School, before turning northeasterly along Arastradero Road where it is joined by another minor fork originating in ''Esther Clark Park''. After crossing
Foothill Expressway There are 21 routes assigned to the "G" zone of the California Route Marker Program, which designates county routes in California. The "G" zone includes county highways in Monterey, San Benito, San Luis Obispo, Santa Clara, and Santa Cruz ...
it is buried in an underground pipe just west of
Gunn High School Henry M. Gunn Senior High School is one of two public high schools in Palo Alto, California, the other being Palo Alto High School. Established in , Gunn High School was named after Henry Martin Gunn, who served as the Palo Alto superintendent fr ...
but sees daylight where the creek crosses Bol Park Bike Path in a small, man-made flood control basin, then at Laguna Avenue again enters an underground pipe running beneath Los Robles Avenue to El Camino Real. Barron Creek has been greatly modified for flood control purposes; the creek bed downstream from El Camino Real is a concrete trapezoidal channel. After passing under Highway 101, Adobe Creek enters the Palo Alto Flood Basin just west of a levee at the end of San Antonio Road. This levee separates
Charleston Slough Charleston Slough is a former Leslie salt pond that is now reverting to marsh on the western shore of San Francisco Bay San Francisco Bay is a large tidal estuary in the United States, U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the S ...
on the east from Mayfield Slough on the west and is also the eastern border of the Palo Alto Baylands. The Flood Basin is maintained a couple feet below sea level in order to absorb floodwaters from Adobe Creek and
Matadero Creek Matadero Creek is a stream originating in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains in Santa Clara County, California, United States. The creek flows in a northeasterly direction for until it enters the Palo Alto Flood Basin, where it joins Ado ...
. By lowering the basin, what was once tidal saltwater marsh is now predominantly freshwater marsh. Adobe Creek is joined by
Matadero Creek Matadero Creek is a stream originating in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains in Santa Clara County, California, United States. The creek flows in a northeasterly direction for until it enters the Palo Alto Flood Basin, where it joins Ado ...
at the north end of Mayfield Slough, where it historically joined with
San Francisquito Creek San Francisquito Creek (Spanish for "Little San Francisco" - the "little" referring to size of the settlement compared to Mission San Francisco de Asís) is a creek that flows into southwest San Francisco Bay in California, United States. Histo ...
before the latter was diverted north. Mayfield Slough has a tidal gate through which fresh water passes to San Francisco Bay, and some salt water is permitted to return to Mayfield Slough when the tides are higher. In the 1800s the Baylands marshes ended between Alma and El Camino Real in Palo Alto, which explains why historical maps show area creeks appearing to terminate before they reach the Bay. Duck-hunting blinds were common in the nineteenth century along what is now Middlefield Road. The 1862 Allardt map shows Adobe Creek, then Yeguas Creek, having dual termini – one in the Baylands Marsh and the other to
San Francisquito Creek San Francisquito Creek (Spanish for "Little San Francisco" - the "little" referring to size of the settlement compared to Mission San Francisco de Asís) is a creek that flows into southwest San Francisco Bay in California, United States. Histo ...
just before entering San Francisco Bay.


Habitat and wildlife

The creek flows through Redwood Grove, a nature preserve off University Avenue in Los Altos purchased by the city in 1974. In October, 2009 Los Altos contracted with Acterra to remove non-native plants and revitalize the redwood, oak woodland, riparian and grassland ecosystems by installing native plants, improving soil conditions, and creating habitat for wildlife such as bird houses and native bee boxes. The
coast redwood ''Sequoia sempervirens'' ()''Sunset Western Garden Book,'' 1995:606–607 is the sole living species of the genus '' Sequoia'' in the cypress family Cupressaceae (formerly treated in Taxodiaceae). Common names include coast redwood, coastal ...
s (''Sequoia sempervirens'') were transplanted by the Halsey family from a location on Summit Road in the
Santa Cruz Mountains The Santa Cruz Mountains, part of the Pacific Coast Ranges, are a mountain range in central and Northern California, United States. They form a ridge down the San Francisco Peninsula, south of San Francisco. They separate the Pacific Ocean from ...
and replaced the native willows. At Manresa Bridge at the east edge of Redwood Grove one can see the native red willow (''Salix laevigata'') and arroyo willow (''Salix lasiolepis'') trees. The historic Halsey House, built in the late 1920s by Theodore and Emma Halsey, is a good example of Spanish Revival architecture. The city designated Halsey House a local landmark in 1981 and until recently it housed the Florence Fava collection of Coastanoan or Ohlone Indian artifacts from a creekside archeological excavation in Los Altos Hills (now moved to the Los Altos History House). On June 16, 2010, the Los Altos City Council finalized the purchase of of creekside property from Delbert and Marlene Beumer, who wanted to provide a safe pathway connecting Shoup Park and Redwood Grove. Riparian vegetation was described in the 1989 ''Adobe Creek Restoration Plan''. Existing native riparian trees include
willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist so ...
s (''Salix'' species), California sycamore (''Platanus racemosa'') in Redwood Grove and near the ranch manager's house at Hidden Villa, white alder (''Alnus rhombifolia'') (one large specimen in Redwood Grove – see photo), cottonwood (''Populus'') at the top of the Moody Creek tributary,
bigleaf maple ''Acer macrophyllum'', the bigleaf maple or Oregon maple, is a large deciduous tree in the genus '' Acer''. It is native to western North America, mostly near the Pacific coast, from southernmost Alaska to southern California. Some stands are al ...
(''Acer macrophyllum''), California buckeye (''Aesculus californica''),
California bay laurel ''Umbellularia californica'' is a large hardwood tree native to coastal forests and the Sierra foothills of California, and to coastal forests extending into Oregon. It is endemic to the California Floristic Province. It is the sole species in th ...
(''Umbellularia californica'') and
California walnut ''Juglans californica'', the California black walnut, also called the California walnut, or the Southern California black walnut, is a large shrub or small tree (about 20-49 feet tall) of the walnut family, Juglandaceae, endemic to Southern Calif ...
(''Juglans californica'').
Steelhead trout Steelhead, or occasionally steelhead trout, is the common name of the anadromous form of the coastal rainbow trout or redband trout (O. m. gairdneri). Steelhead are native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific basin in Northeast Asia and ...
(''Oncorhynchus mykiss'') occurred historically in Adobe Creek. The earliest report touted the trout in the Sportsman's Gazetteer in 1877. This very early report makes rumors that Adobe Creek's trout were introduced extremely unlikely since the first trout hatcheries in California did not propagate any trout until the 1870s, and much of their production was shipped to hatcheries out of state. A physical specimen was collected in 1893 by Wilbur Wilson Thoburn,
Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is conside ...
Professor of
Bionomics Bionomics (Greek: bio = life; nomos = law) has two different meanings: * the first is the comprehensive study of an organism and its relation to its environment. As translated from the French word ''Bionomie'', its first use in English was in the p ...
, and is preserved in the California Academy of Sciences collection. In 1898
John Otterbein Snyder John Otterbein Snyder (August 14, 1867 – August 19, 1943) was an American ichthyologist and professor of zoology at Stanford University. History As a student he met David Starr Jordan who inspired him to enter zoology. He eventually became a zoo ...
,
ichthyologist Ichthyology is the branch of zoology devoted to the study of fish, including bony fish ( Osteichthyes), cartilaginous fish ( Chondrichthyes), and jawless fish ( Agnatha). According to FishBase, 33,400 species of fish had been described as of O ...
and Stanford Professor of Zoology, also collected steelhead trout specimens in San Antonio Creek (now Adobe Creek). A 1909 land office brochure promoted Los Altos for its "never-failing mountain trout stream, trout caught a few feet from kitchen doors". The reaches upstream from Hidden Villa have been judged excellent trout spawning habitat. Josephine Duveneck wrote, "Before the era of concrete, fish used to swim up to spawn and native trout lured many a small boy to seek out the deeper pools carrying his home-made fishing pole and can of worms." Local historian Florence Fava also reported that "the creeks which lace the (Hidden Villa) property and join Adobe Creek were originally full of fish". According to old-timer accounts, locations below Hidden Villa that held spawning steelhead included the large cement pieces downstream from the Foothill Junior College paint shop outflow and cut banks below Interstate 280, in the perennial reaches of Adobe Creek stretching downstream to just above Redwood Grove. A 27-inch steelhead trout (see main photo) caught by boys in June, 1956 about two blocks from Van Buren Avenue (now Van Buren Street) is the last historical record of this salmonid ascending Adobe Creek to spawn upstream of El Camino Real. Steelhead spawning runs were partially blocked by construction of the tidal gate in the Palo Alto Flood Basin at the mouth of Adobe Creek in 1957. This barrier was only partial, as according to the
California Department of Fish and Game The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), formerly known as the California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG), is a state agency under the California Natural Resources Agency. The Department of Fish and Wildlife manages and protec ...
(CDFG), steelhead were caught by local fishermen during 1985, 1986 and 1987 in Mayfield Slough at the confluence of
Matadero ''Matadero'' (English: ''Slaughterhouse'') is a Spanish black comedy–crime drama limited television series created by Daniel Martín Sáez de Parayuelo and produced by Diagonal TV for Atresmedia. It premiered on Antena 3 on January 9, 2019 and ...
and Adobe Creeks; and at least six steelhead were noted passing the tidal gates at Mayfield Slough in the Palo Alto Flood Basin in April 1987. In 1959, steelhead trout spawning runs were completely blocked by another flood control project on Adobe Creek, when the Santa Clara Valley Water District transformed the natural stream channel into a concrete trapezoidal chute with eight foot drop and dysfunctional fish ladder below El Camino Real. The long concrete trapezoidal channel structure from El Camino Real northward to Highway 101 stops fish with thin sheets of rapid horizontal flow during winter. Today there are additional upstream barriers to fish passage, including drop structures below the culverts under Interstate 280 and Foothill Expressway. Additional barriers occur at the O'Keefe Lane and Hidden Villa bridges, and the creek suffers from significant bank erosion, failing channel stabilization structures, and sedimentation. Finally, the trash rack at the tidal gate at the mouth of Mayfield Slough in the Palo Alto Flood Basin continues as an intermittent complete barrier to fish passage when it is closed. Four species of native fishes have been collected from Adobe Creek in 2011:
California roach The California roach (''Hesperoleucus symmetricus'') is a cyprinid fish native to western North America and abundant in the intermittent streams throughout central California. Once considered the sole member of its genus, it has recently been sp ...
(''Lavinia symmetricus''),
Sacramento sucker The Sacramento sucker (''Catostomus occidentalis'') is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Catostomidae. It is primarily found in California with some populations extending into Oregon and Nevada. They inhabit a diverse range of habitats ...
(''Catostomus occidentalis occidentalis''),
three-spined stickleback The three-spined stickleback (''Gasterosteus aculeatus'') is a fish native to most inland and coastal waters north of 30°N. It has long been a subject of scientific study for many reasons. It shows great morphological variation throughout its ra ...
(''Gasterosteus aculeatus''), and
prickly sculpin ''Cottus asper'' is a species of fish in the sculpin family known by the common name prickly sculpin. It is native to the river drainages of the Pacific Slope of North America from Seward, Alaska south to the Ventura River of Southern California ...
(''Cottus asper''). Leidy reported the fish still inhabiting the Adobe Creek's lowest reach in 2007 – native California roach, Sacramento sucker, three-spined stickleback, and non-native
common carp The Eurasian carp or European carp (''Cyprinus carpio''), widely known as the common carp, is a widespread freshwater fish of eutrophic waters in lakes and large rivers in Europe and Asia.Fishbase''Cyprinus carpio'' Linnaeus, 1758/ref>Arkive The ...
(''Cyprinus carpio''),
rainwater killifish The rainwater killifish (''Lucania parva'') is a small silvery fish with yellow flashes and diamond shaped scales that is widespread from Cape Cod, Massachusetts, through to Tampico, Mexico. It is commonly found in large numbers in fresh to brac ...
(''Lucania parva''), and
western mosquitofish The western Mosquitofish (''Gambusia affinis'') is a North American freshwater fish, also known commonly, if ambiguously, as simply Mosquitofish or by its generic name, ''Gambusia'', or by the common name gambezi. Its sister species, the easte ...
(''Gambusia affinis''). A 2011 fish survey utilizing electrofishing showed only native fish above El Camino Real: the reach above Redwood Grove and the Manresa Lane bridge in Los Altos included California roach, Sacramento sucker and three-spined stickleback – an assemblage that generally includes steelhead trout in other Bay Area streams. Further upstream, the diversity of the fish assemblage steadily diminishes due to passage barriers and reduced stream flows from diversions and wells: at Moody Road just above Foothill College, only California roach and three-spined stickleback were collected, at Rhus Ridge bridge in Los Altos Hills only three-spined stickleback were collected, and at the Francemont Avenue bridge and along the Adobe Creek Trail at Hidden Villa no fish were found.


Palo Alto Flood Basin

The Palo Alto Flood Basin was constructed in 1956 in order to prevent a repeat of the floods of 1955, when a high tide prevented the escape of heavy runoff from Matadero, Adobe, and Barron Creeks into the San Francisco Bay. The trapped runoff waters overflowed upstream creek banks and caused severe flooding in Palo Alto. In order to control the flow of water into the flood basin, a tidegate was placed at the confluence of Adobe Creek, Matadero Creek, and the San Francisco Bay, so that the flood basin could be maintained at approximately 2 feet below sea level, creating room to absorb floodwaters. The tidegate consists of several
weir A weir or low head dam is a barrier across the width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the river level. Weirs are also used to control the flow of water for outlets of l ...
s and one operator-controlled
sluice Sluice ( ) is a word for a channel controlled at its head by a movable gate which is called a sluice gate. A sluice gate is traditionally a wood or metal barrier sliding in grooves that are set in the sides of the waterway and can be considered ...
gate that enables tidal flows into the basin in order to improve water quality and for mosquito control. Three agencies oversee the tidegates:
Santa Clara Valley Water District The Santa Clara Valley Water District (also known as Valley Water) provides stream stewardship, wholesale water supply and flood protection for Santa Clara County, California, in the southern San Francisco Bay Area. The district encompasses all of ...
,
City of Palo Alto Palo Alto (; Spanish for "tall stick") is a charter city in the northwestern corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto. The city was esta ...
, and Santa Clara County Vector Control. Because the trash grate and weirs separate the mouth of the flood basin from the San Francisco Bay estuary, large fish cannot swim freely between the Bay and the basin, unless the sluice gate is open. In addition, the tidegates are set to reduce tidal inflows into the basin, so that the basin is mostly freshwater. After a rainstorm the tidegate is kept closed, however this is precisely when steelhead trout in-migrations should occur. In 2002 a small opening was cut in the trash grate on the tidal gate to permit fish passage but local fisherman in the Flood Basin no longer report catching steelhead trout in recent years. From November 16 to 20, 2002, approximately 100
striped bass The striped bass (''Morone saxatilis''), also called the Atlantic striped bass, striper, linesider, rock, or rockfish, is an anadromous perciform fish of the family Moronidae found primarily along the Atlantic coast of North America. It has ...
(''Morone saxatilis''), 5
bat ray The bat ray (''Myliobatis californica'')Gill, T.N. (1865). "Note on the family of myliobatoids, and on a new species of ''Aetobatis''". ''Ann. Lyc. Nat. Hist. N. Y.'' 8, 135–138. is an eagle ray found in muddy or sandy sloughs, estuaries an ...
s (''Myliobatis californica'') and 2
leopard shark The leopard shark (''Triakis semifasciata'') is a species of houndshark, in the family Triakidae. It is found along the Pacific coast of North America, from the U.S. state of Oregon to Mazatlán in Mexico. Typically measuring 1.2–1.5 m (3.9� ...
s (''Triakis semifasciata'') were found dead in the Flood Control Basin in both Adobe and Matadero Creeks within one mile of the tidegate. The fishkill was attributed to the first large rainstorm washing a large amount of leaf litter into the basin, leading to
eutrophication Eutrophication is the process by which an entire body of water, or parts of it, becomes progressively enriched with minerals and nutrients, particularly nitrogen and phosphorus. It has also been defined as "nutrient-induced increase in phyt ...
and low dissolved oxygen. This is supported by the fact that the dead fish were all large (requiring more oxygen) at 2 to 4 feet long and the mouths and gills of the bass were fully extended open.


Trails and recreation


Loop trail

The
San Francisco Bay Trail The San Francisco Bay Trail is a bicycle and pedestrian trail that when finished will allow continuous travel around the shoreline of San Francisco Bay. As of 2020, of the trail have been completed. When finished, the trail will be over of p ...
, which passes in a loop around both sides of the Palo Alto Flood Basin is known as the Adobe Creek Loop Trail and is easily accessed from a parking lot at the northern terminus of San Antonio Road, just north of U.S. Highway 101. A scenic, easy walking or mountain biking trail, it also provides outstanding birdwatching and in winter is known for its flock of
American white pelican The American white pelican (''Pelecanus erythrorhynchos'') is a large Aquatic animal, aquatic soaring bird from the order (biology), order Pelecaniformes. It breeds in interior North America, moving south and to the coasts, as far as Central Amer ...
s (''Pelecanus erythrorhynchos''). The Adobe Creek Loop Trail begins by heading north along the levee between Adobe Creek and the Charleston Slough out to the confluence of Adobe Creek and Matadero Creek. As one heads north on the levee, Charleston Slough is on the right and Adobe Creek is on the left. The Charleston Slough is a rich
salt marsh A salt marsh or saltmarsh, also known as a coastal salt marsh or a tidal marsh, is a coastal ecosystem in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and open saltwater or brackish water that is regularly flooded by the tides. It is domin ...
and
littoral zone The littoral zone or nearshore is the part of a sea, lake, or river that is close to the shore. In coastal ecology, the littoral zone includes the intertidal zone extending from the high water mark (which is rarely inundated), to coastal ...
, providing feeding areas for a variety of shorebirds and other estuarine wildlife. At low tide Charleston Slough looks like a salt pond, like the Cargill salt ponds to the east of it, but it is open to tidal flow. Pumps and gates regulate the flow through the slough. Water from the slough gets pumped into Shoreline Lake, which then drains into
Permanente Creek Permanente Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed February 3, 2013 stream originating on Black Mountain in Santa Clara County, California, United States. It is the na ...
. The slough was named after George Charleston, who came from Scotland in 1852 and purchased of marshland in this area. Charleston Road and Charleston Court also bear his name. Continuing north, the wide, curving Loop Trail eventually touches San Francisco Bay itself and curves to the west, crossing over the tidal gate of Mayfield Slough and enters the
Palo Alto Baylands Nature Preserve The Palo Alto Baylands Nature Preserve, known officially as the Baylands Nature Preserve, is the largest tract of undisturbed marshland remaining in the San Francisco Bay. Fifteen miles of multi-use trails provide access to a unique mixture of t ...
. The sailing station boat launching dock is visible on the opposite shore of the channel at the mouth of the former Palo Alto Yacht Harbor. Baylands Nature Preserve surrounds what used to be the Palo Alto Yacht Harbor, now a silted-in mud flat and marsh which provides excellent birding. The Adobe Creek Loop Trail then heads back southwest with Matadero Creek on the left and Byxbee Park (former landfill) on the right, eventually connecting to the Bay Trail at East Bayshore Road. Heading east along East Bayshore Road, turn immediately left after crossing over Adobe Creek to return on the Bay Trail to the San Antonio Road parking lot.


Other trails

Many locals enjoy the natural setting of a short walk through Redwood Grove, of which portions are on an elevated wooden boardwalk. In 1986 the city of Los Altos was granted an open space easement on the south bank of Adobe Creek and developed a trail from the south end of Redwood Grove to the Manresa Lane Bridge. Hidden Villa is the starting point for the relatively gentle Adobe Creek Trail, an easy two mile hike upstream along a cool, wooded canyon. Two routes connect Hidden Villa to the Black Mountain Trail at Ewing Hill at of elevation, the Hostel Trail (1.3 miles) or the Creek Trail (1 mile) connecting to the Ewing Trail (0.3 miles). The Black Mountain Trail then continues up a strenuous to the summit of Black Mountain. Another "Adobe Creek Trail" is found in the
Monte Bello Open Space Preserve Monte Bello Open Space Preserve is a open space preserve, located near Palo Alto in the Santa Cruz Mountains, in San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties, California, United States. The preserve encompasses the upper Stevens Creek watershed in the ...
, which is an easy to moderate 1.4 mile hike that begins on Montebello Road about 0.1 miles east of Page Mill Road and rejoins Montebello Road after traversing the headwaters of the West Fork Adobe Creek as well as a large meadow with views of the South Bay.


Watercourse gallery


See also

*
List of watercourses in the San Francisco Bay Area These watercourses (rivers, creeks, sloughs, etc.) in the San Francisco Bay Area are grouped according to the bodies of water they flow into. Tributaries are listed under the watercourses they feed, sorted by the elevation of the confluence so tha ...
*
Black Mountain (near Los Altos, California) Black Mountain is a summit on Monte Bello Ridge in the Santa Cruz Mountains of west Santa Clara County, California, south of Los Altos and Los Altos Hills, and west of Cupertino; it is within the Palo Alto city limits though not near the develo ...


References


External links


Creation of living willow retaining wall/sculpture at Redwood Grove by Daniel McCormick and Mary O'Brien.

Seeds of Change video documentary of Acterra restoration of Redwood Grove on Adobe Creek, by Blake Bowers
*

* ttp://www.lahopenspace.com/Adobe5/index.htm Adobe Creek Upper Reach 5 Collaborative Effort (stream restoration)
GreenTown Los Altos

Hidden Villa home page

Santa Clara County Creeks Coalition

Santa Clara Basin Watershed Management Initiative (SCBWMI)

Lower Peninsula Watershed Stewardship Plans



Santa Clara Valley Water District reports about Adobe Creek (Environmental reports, engineering reports, plans, studies, etc.)
{{Los Altos, California Rivers of Santa Clara County, California Santa Cruz Mountains Los Altos, California Palo Alto, California Rivers of Northern California Tributaries of San Francisco Bay