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, image = SanPabloCreek4.JPG
, image_caption = San Pablo Creek just behind the El Sobrante Library
, image_size = 300
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, pushpin_map = USA California
, pushpin_map_size = 300
, pushpin_map_caption= Location of the mouth of San Pablo Creek in California
, subdivision_type1 = Country
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United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
, subdivision_type2 = State
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California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
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Contra Costa County
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, source1 = Mulholland Hill
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Orinda, California
Orinda is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States. The city's population as of the 2020 census is estimated at 19,514 residents.
History
Orinda is located within four Mexican land grants: Rancho Laguna de los Palos Colorados ...
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, mouth =
San Pablo Bay
San Pablo Bay is a tidal estuary that forms the northern extension of San Francisco Bay in the East Bay and North Bay regions of the San Francisco Bay Area in northern California.
Most of the Bay is shallow; however, there is a deep water c ...
, mouth_location = west of
San Pablo, California
San Pablo (Spanish for "St. Paul") is an enclave city in Contra Costa County, California, United States. The city of Richmond surrounds nearly the whole city. The population was 29,139 at the 2010 census. The current Mayor is Rita Xavier. C ...
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San Pablo Creek is an
[U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data]
The National Map
accessed March 15, 2011 creek in
Contra Costa County, California
) of the San Francisco Bay
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = United States
, subdivision_type1 = State
, subdivision_name1 = California
, subdivision_type2 ...
, United States, which drains the canyon or valley between the San Pablo Ridge and the Sobrante Ridge, parts of the
Pacific Coast Ranges
The Pacific Coast Ranges (officially gazetted as the Pacific Mountain System in the United States) are the series of mountain ranges that stretch along the West Coast of North America from Alaska south to Northern and Central Mexico. Although the ...
east of
San Francisco Bay.
The creek runs from the southeast to the northwest, originating near
Orinda and flowing into
San Pablo Bay
San Pablo Bay is a tidal estuary that forms the northern extension of San Francisco Bay in the East Bay and North Bay regions of the San Francisco Bay Area in northern California.
Most of the Bay is shallow; however, there is a deep water c ...
. It drains one of the largest watersheds in the East Bay, comprising some .
[Our Watershed](_blank)
, Spawners, retrieved August 1, 2007 The creek has 34 named tributaries.
Museum of California The creek was dammed in 1919,
[An assessment of stream flow and habitat quality for steelhead trout in San Pablo Creek, Contra Costa County ](_blank)
Water Resources Collections and Archives, University of California Water Resources Center, May 1, 2004, retrieved August 1, 2007 forming the
San Pablo Reservoir.
Briones Reservoir
Briones Reservoir is an open cut terminal water storage reservoir located in western Contra Costa County, in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, California.
It is owned and operated by the East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMU ...
, constructed in 1964, dams the Bear Creek tributary.
San Pablo Reservoir essentially splits the creek in two, with about half of the creek and its related feeder creeks on either side of the artificial lake; for much of its course, it runs parallel to
Wildcat Creek, which drains from Wildcat Canyon, the next valley to the west.
The
East Bay Municipal Utility District
East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD), colloquially referred to as "East Bay Mud", is a public utility district which provides water and sewage treatment services for an area of approximately in the eastern side of the San Francisco Bay. ...
(EBMUD) gets less than 10% of its water from the creek.
Overview
The tributaries are as follows: Appian Creek, Baden Creek, Barn Creek, Bear Creek, Big Oak Creek,
Briones Reservoir
Briones Reservoir is an open cut terminal water storage reservoir located in western Contra Costa County, in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, California.
It is owned and operated by the East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMU ...
, Cascade Creek,
Castro Creek, Coal Mine Creek, Clark Creek, Dutra Creek, El Toyonal Creek, Greenridge Creek, Inspiration Creek, Kennedy Creek, La Colina Creek, Lauterwasser Creek, Leastrot Creek, Lila Creek, Miner Creek, Newell Creek, Oak Creek, Oursan Creek, Overhill Creek, Rose Creek, Russel Creek,
San Pablo Reservoir, Sather Creek, Schoolhouse Creek, Siesta Valley Creek, Tarry Creek, Tin House Creek, Wagner Creek, Wilkie Creek and Wire Ranch Creek.
The creek is helped by many community organizations. The city of
San Pablo has organized cleanups, as has the Friends of Orinda Creeks.
The San Pablo Watershed Neighbors Education and Resources Society (SPAWNERS) goes further than just garbage and weed cleanups and includes restoration efforts and watershed studies. SPAWNERS has built and maintained a creek bank restoration site and California native plant demonstration gardens at the El Sobrante Library adjacent to downtown El Sobrante since 2000. SPAWNERS also maintains a creek re-vegetation site at the El Sobrante Boys and Girls Club as well as an outdoor classroom project along Wilkie Creek (a tributary of San Pablo) behind De Anza High School.
SPAWNERS The damming of the creek has limited threatened steelhead
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 ...
spawning sites but has allowed it to continue to survive there. Native Ohlone shell mounds were once found along the creek, especially near San Pablo Bay.
San Pablo Creek's delta, located within the city limits of Richmond, is known as , and its are filled with an abundance of wildlife, including endangered species such as the California clapper rail
Ridgway's rail (''Rallus obsoletus'') is a near-threatened species of bird. It is found principally in California's San Francisco Bay to southern Baja California. A member of the rail family, Rallidae, it is a chicken-sized bird that rarely fli ...
, the salt marsh harvest mouse
The salt marsh harvest mouse (''Reithrodontomys raviventris''), also known as the red-bellied harvest mouse, is an endangered rodent endemic to the San Francisco Bay Area salt marshes in California. The two distinct subspecies are both endangere ...
, the threatened black rail, the salt marsh wandering shrew, and the San Pablo vole. Other animals present are the shy salt marsh harvest sparrows which live in the sloughs, while salt marsh yellow throats live among the willows that grow along the transition between fresh creek water and salty bay water.
History
The San Pablo Canyon through which the creek flows was in the early 19th century an open grazing area shared by adjoining Mexican ranch owners. In the latter years of the 19th century, a narrow gauge railroad
A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and .
Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structur ...
, the California and Nevada, ran down the canyon as far as Orinda. The company intended to construct their line past Orinda all the way to the mining districts of Nevada, but the railroad was plagued by washouts in the canyon every winter, and was relegated to serving weekend picnickers traveling from the cities on San Francisco Bay. The line through the canyon was abandoned upon the acquisition of the California and Nevada by the Santa Fe Railroad
The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The railroad was chartered in February 1859 to serve the cities of Atchison and Topeka, Kansas, and ...
.
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 ...
Notes
External links
San Pablo Creek -- ''Guide to San Francisco Bay Area Creeks''
San Pablo Watershed Neighbors Education and Resources Society.
with many images
{{San Francisco Bay watershed
Bodies of water of Richmond, California
San Pablo, California
Rivers of Contra Costa County, California
Rivers of Northern California
Tributaries of San Pablo Bay