Vasco Caves Regional Preserve is a natural and cultural protected area located on the eastern slope of

Mount Diablo Mount Diablo is a mountain of the Diablo Range, in Contra Costa County of the eastern San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California. It is south of Clayton and northeast of Danville. It is an isolated upthrust peak of , visible from most ...

, on Vasco Road within eastern

Contra Costa County, California ) of the San Francisco Bay , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1 = State , subdivision_name1 = California , subdivision_type2 ...

. It was created to preserve wildlife habitats,

California chaparral and woodlands The California chaparral and woodlands is a terrestrial ecoregion of southwestern Oregon, northern, central, and southern California (United States) and northwestern Baja California (Mexico), located on the west coast of North America. It is a ...

, native plant communities, and Native American

rock art In archaeology, rock art is human-made markings placed on natural surfaces, typically vertical stone surfaces. A high proportion of surviving historic and prehistoric rock art is found in caves or partly enclosed rock shelters; this type also m ...

History

The property was jointly purchased by the

East Bay Regional Park District The East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD) is a special district operating in Alameda County and Contra Costa County, California, within the East Bay area of the San Francisco Bay Area. It maintains and operates a system of regional parks which ...

(EBRPD) and the

Contra Costa Water District The Contra Costa Water District (CCWD) is an agency that was created in 1936 to supply water for consumers in eastern Contra Costa, California. It is now one of the largest water districts in California, serving about 500,000 people in Central and ...

(CCWD), in the

Diablo Range The Diablo Range is a mountain range in the California Coast Ranges subdivision of the Pacific Coast Ranges in northern California, United States. It stretches from the eastern San Francisco Bay area at its northern end to the Salinas Valley ...

between Brentwood and

Livermore, California Livermore (formerly Livermorès, Livermore Ranch, and Nottingham) is a city in Alameda County, California. With a 2020 population of 87,955, Livermore is the most populous city in the Tri-Valley. It is located on the eastern edge of Californi ...

. The first acquisition of land for Vasco Caves Regional Preserve occurred in 1989. On December 15, 2009, the two agencies agreed to buy of property adjacent to the Vasco Caves. The purchase price was million but excluded mineral, wind rights, and wind turbine revenues. The property was previously owned by Vaquero Farms Conservation LLC and has 190 wind turbines owned by Tres Vaqueros Wind Farms and North Wind Energy. The new Vaquero Farms tract will not be open for public access but will be held in land bank status because of sensitive wildlife habitat and ongoing wind turbine operations.

Features

The preserve contains some spectacular rock outcroppings. On top of the rocks, there are

vernal pool Vernal pools, also called vernal ponds or ephemeral pools, are seasonal pools of water that provide habitat for distinctive plants and animals. They are considered to be a distinctive type of wetland usually devoid of fish, and thus allow the safe ...

s that are habitats for the long-horned fairy shrimp ( Anostraca). Nearby are natural springs which harbor the

red-legged frog Red-legged frog is a common name for several species of frog: * California red-legged frog, ''Rana draytonii'', a frog endemic to California, United States * La Selle red-legged frog, ''Eleutherodactylus furcyensis'', a frog found in the Dominican ...

. Other wildlife is frequently seen, including

kit fox The kit fox (''Vulpes macrotis'') is a fox species that inhabits arid and semi-arid regions of the southwestern United States and northern and central Mexico. These foxes are the smallest of the four species of ''Vulpes'' occurring in North Amer ...

, coyote, and raptors such as eagles and hawks.

Ceremonial site

The area is thought to have been a ceremonial site used by the native peoples of the region. Archaeological explorations have revealed cave art dating back over 10,000 years. The art features images of birds. In the rock are many deeply carved bedrock mortar holes, used for food preparation. Between 700 BC and AD 300, these caves and the nearby area was an

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 ...

village called Chitactac.

Admission

The preserve is not open to casual visits by the public, with access limited to guided tours only via reservation.

External links

* Ziesing, Grace H. (editor
''From Rancho to Reservoir: History and Archaeology of the Los Vaqueros Watershed, California.''
Report for Contra Costa Water District, 1997. Retrieved December 28, 2019.

References

{{East Bay Regional Parks East Bay Regional Park District Parks in Contra Costa County, California Mount Diablo Brentwood, California Protected areas established in 1989 1989 establishments in California Petroglyphs in California History of the San Francisco Bay Area