Strawberry Creek is the principal

watercourse 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 a ...

running through the city of

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and E ...

. Two forks rise in the

Berkeley Hills The Berkeley Hills are a range of the Pacific Coast Ranges that overlook the northeast side of the valley that encompasses San Francisco Bay. They were previously called the "Contra Costa Range/Hills" (from the original Spanish ''Sierra de l ...

of the

California Coast Ranges The Coast Ranges of California span from Del Norte or Humboldt County, California, south to Santa Barbara County. The other three coastal California mountain ranges are the Transverse Ranges, Peninsular Ranges and the Klamath Mountains. ...

, and form a

confluence In geography, a confluence (also: ''conflux'') occurs where two or more flowing bodies of water join to form a single channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main stem); o ...

at the campus of the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant un ...

. The creek then flows westward across the city to discharge into

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 ...

. The north fork has also been called "Blackberry Creek", a name which has also been applied to another small creek in Berkeley, a portion of which has been daylighted through Thousand Oaks School Park. The canyon in which the north fork of Strawberry Creek runs is called "Blackberry Canyon". Strawberry Creek serves as a significant marker for the movement of the

Hayward Fault The Hayward Fault Zone is a right-lateral strike-slip geologic fault zone capable of generating destructive earthquakes. This fault is about long, situated mainly along the western base of the hills on the east side of San Francisco Bay. It run ...

. The creek is offset at the mouth of Strawberry Canyon, precisely at the locus of

California Memorial Stadium California Memorial Stadium also known simply and commonly as Memorial Stadium is an outdoor college football stadium on the west coast of the United States, located on the campus of the University of California in Berkeley, California. It&nbs ...

. The filled-in middle forks located in the middle of the UC campus are thought to represent remnants of the former course of the south (main) fork of the creek, which have moved northward by fault action.

History

Strawberry Creek was the first surface water source for the University and parts of the city of Berkeley. A reservoir was constructed in the late 19th century in Strawberry Canyon, above the site of

. The reservoir was replaced in the early 20th century by the system of the East Bay Municipal Utility District whose source

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contr ...

is located in the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primar ...

. Construction of the stadium removed a waterfall and culverted the creek in that area. In the latter half of the 19th century, a road bridge and a railroad trestle both spanned Strawberry Creek in the

downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ...

section at what is now the intersection of

Shattuck Avenue Shattuck Avenue is a major city street running north–south through Berkeley, California, and Oakland, California. At its southern end, the street branches from Telegraph Avenue in Oakland's Temescal district, then ends at Indian Rock Park ...

and Allston Way. These were torn down and replaced by culverts in April–May 1893. In the process, a small grove of large and ancient oaks in the same locale was cut down. Skeletons of Native Americans have been un-earthed along the banks of Strawberry Creek. The creek has been

culvert A culvert is a structure that channels water past an obstacle or to a subterranean waterway. Typically embedded so as to be surrounded by soil, a culvert may be made from a pipe, reinforced concrete or other material. In the United Kingdo ...

ed over the years in several other locations, notably in public-works projects during the Great Depression of the 1930s, but has remained open through most of the UC campus, except in the central glade where the two small middle forks were long ago filled in. The south fork of Strawberry Creek has some

riparian A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. Riparian is also the proper nomenclature for one of the terrestrial biomes of the Earth. Plant habitats and communities along the river margins and banks a ...

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 ...

groves on the university campus and is also suitable habitat for the

California slender salamander The California slender salamander (''Batrachoseps attenuatus'') is a lungless salamander Stebbins, Robert C. (2003). ''A Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians'', 3rd Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, that is found primarily in coastal ...

and

arboreal salamander The arboreal salamander (''Aneides lugubris'') is a species of climbing salamander. An insectivore, it is native to California and Baja California, where it is primarily associated with oak and sycamore woodlands, and thick chaparral. Descrip ...

. Strawberry Creek used to be the greatest source on the Berkeley campus to serve an educational, environmental, and recreational purpose. However, the water pollution due to urbanization in the beginning of the twentieth century has degraded the environmental quality of the creek. In 1987, a program dedicated to improving water quality and reintroducing native species was a success. The condition of Strawberry Creek was restored to satisfaction in 1991. Since then, environmental education and restoration programs continues to monitor the quality of the creek.

Reintroduction of native organisms

Fish

Strawberry Creek used to have around 13 native fish species, including coldwater salmonids, anadromous steelhead and coho salmon. However, observing fish was difficult due to pollution, a decrease in fish population, and poor water quality. Therefore, historical trend data was not available, so the reintroduction data was majorly based on recent studies. Since then, five species have been reintroduced to the creek: three spined stickleback (''Gasterosteus aculeatus''), California roach (''Lavinias symmetricus''), California Hitch (''Lavinia exilicauda''), Sacramento sucker (''Catostomus occidentalis''), and the prickly sculpin (''Cottus asper''). The attempts to reintroduce native fish were not successful. First, the water quality of the creek was good enough for fish to inhabit. Water quality tests confirmed the water contained a disturbing amount of mercury and coliform, which was dangerous for not only humans, but also animals that contact with the water. The sanity issues were partly caused by improper disposal of garbage and poorly engineered drain system. Secondly, high flow rates, and more importantly, great difference in flow rates is a great concern for the reintroduction of fish. High flow rates can be up to 118 times faster than the regular flow rates at the same location. High flow rates were caused by the construction of dams along the creek. Reintroduced fish were not able to inhabit under such circumstances. Finally, the introduction of a non-native fish, ''Pacifastacus leniusculus'', or Crayfish has a negative impact on the native fish population. Crayfish is more aggressive than the native fish species in predation, therefore, has a potential to threaten local fish abundance.

Plants

Since urbanization, new species were introduced to Strawberry creek. The invasion of exotic plants has endangered the existence of local seedlings. Low biomass of native seedlings is caused by the competition of water in the soil. Exotic species have different rates of growth and evapotranspiration, which changes the soil moisture of the creek. For example, Algerian ivy and English Ivy have taken over the native habitat. They required minimum management and were capable of absorbing pollution, therefore, they were able to spread quickly and dominate the creek area. Ivy has decreased the soil moisture, which even harder for native species to survive.

Daylighting proposals

Efforts to re-open or

daylight Daylight is the combination of all direct and indirect sunlight during the daytime. This includes direct sunlight, diffuse sky radiation, and (often) both of these reflected by Earth and terrestrial objects, like landforms and buildings. Sunligh ...

the creek throughout its natural course through Berkeley continue, and have so far resulted in the establishment of "Strawberry Creek Park" in

West Berkeley West Berkeley is generally the area of Berkeley, California, that lies west of San Pablo Avenue (though sometimes it may also refer to the larger area west of Sacramento Street though this includes Westbrae), abutting San Francisco Bay. It incl ...

on the site of what used to be a small freight yard of the Santa Fe Railway. The creek is also open through several private yards in the blocks east of the park, starting just below (west of) Sacramento Street. In 2010, momentum grew behind a plan to divert water from Strawberry Creek to the surface alongside Center Street. This proposal, backed largely by

Ecocity Builders Ecocity Builders is a 501(c) non profit located in Oakland, California, that provides advocacy, consulting, and education in sustainable city planning with a focus on access by proximity and pedestrian-oriented development. Ecocity Builders also ...

Richard Register Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'str ...

, would not restore the creek's original riparian habitat or path (which lies one block south along Allston Way). Instead, it would incorporate representational elements of the stream into a pedestrian plaza.

Mouth

At the mouth of Strawberry Creek where it enters San Francisco Bay, the local indigenous people built up a

shellmound A midden (also kitchen midden or shell heap) is an old dump for domestic waste which may consist of animal bone, human excrement, botanical material, mollusc shells, potsherds, lithics (especially debitage), and other artifacts and eco ...

. Until the end of the 1700s, the Ohlone indigenous people would eat shellfish provided by the creek and pile the empty shells into a mound, signifying a sacred burial site. There was also a small wood of native

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 here which was used in the late 19th century as a park. Jacobs' Landing, established early during the

California Gold Rush The California Gold Rush (1848–1855) was a gold rush that began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California f ...

, was the nucleus around which the Ocean View settlement that predated Berkeley was founded. The creek now enters

from a rectangular concrete culvert mouth, south of University Avenue and west of the I-80/580 freeway, behind Sea Breeze Market and Deli. This area is now part of

Eastshore State Park McLaughlin Eastshore State Park is a state park and wildlife refuge along the San Francisco Bay shoreline of the East Bay between the cities of Richmond, Albany, Berkeley, Emeryville, and Oakland. It encompasses remnant natural wetlands, rest ...

, managed by the East Bay Regional Park District. The tide flats at the creek mouth are important shorebird habitats, popular with bird watchers. Friends of Five Creeks, a volunteer group, has worked since 2000 to control invasives and re-establish some native vegetation here.

Land use

UC Berkeley has developed the upper Strawberry Creek watershed. The university's central campus, including parking lots, green spaces, roadways, and Lawrence Berkeley Labs were built in this area. In addition, recreational structures such as Kleeberger Field, Memorial Stadium, and the Hats Recreation Area were constructed in the area. The total urbanized areas in the watershed comprised about 37% of the total area. Strawberry Creek, Berkeley

References

External links

Strawberry Creek
– Friends of Five Creeks information about Strawberry Creek mouth restoration and access
Map and photos of Strawberry Creek
– UC Berkeley Office of Environmental Health and Safety

– Oakland Museum of California Guide to San Francisco Bay Area Creeks {{San Francisco Bay watershed Rivers of Alameda County, California Berkeley Hills Geography of Berkeley, California Subterranean rivers of the United States Tributaries of San Francisco Bay Rivers of Northern California