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Smith Creek (Santa Clara County, California)
Smith Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed February 27, 2016 perennial stream which flows along the western flank of Mount Hamilton in Santa Clara County. The creek begins near Bollinger Ridge, about 7.7 km south-southwest of Mount Hamilton. History Some of the early recorded history of the Smith Creek watershed is associated with the pioneer family of the Winsors. Where Mt. Hamilton Road crosses Smith Creek, there used to be the Hotel Santa Ysabel. Watershed and course Smith Creek arises at then flows westerly through Horse Valley, then turns northwest. It receives Sulphur Creek before crossing Mount Hamilton Road about 12.7 km west of Mount Hamilton (the Smith Creek Ranger Station/CAL FIRE is located at this crossing at 22805 Mt. Hamilton Road). The creek continues northwest along the eastern boundary of Joseph D. Grant County Park and joins Isabel Creek about 15.3 km WN ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 the sole species in the genus ''Umbellularia''. The tree's pungent leaves have a similar flavor to bay leaves, though stronger, and it may be mistaken for bay laurel. The tree is endemic to the California Floristic Province. It is a host of the pathogen that causes sudden oak death. The dry wood has a color range from blonde (like maple) to brown (like walnut). It is considered an excellent tonewood and is sought after by luthiers and woodworkers. Description It is an evergreen tree growing to tall with a trunk up to in diameter. The largest recorded tree is in Mendocino County, California, and measured (as of 1997) in height with a spread. The thin bark is smooth and gray-brown when young, later turning reddish brown and scaly. The fragrant leaves are smooth-edged and lance-shaped, long and around a thir ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay (Chochenyo language, Chochenyo: 'ommu) is a large tidal estuary in the United States, U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the cities of San Francisco, California, San Francisco, San Jose, California, San Jose, and Oakland, California, Oakland. The San Francisco Bay drains water from approximately 40 percent of California. Water from the Sacramento River, Sacramento and San Joaquin River, San Joaquin rivers, and from the Sierra Nevada mountains, flow into Suisun Bay, which then travels through the Carquinez Strait to meet with the Napa River at the entrance to San Pablo Bay, which connects at its south end to San Francisco Bay. It then connects to the Pacific Ocean via the Golden Gate strait. However, this entire group of interconnected bays is often called the ''San Francisco Bay''. The bay was designated a Ramsar Convention, Ramsar Wetland of International Importance on February 2, 2013, and the Port ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blue Oak Ranch Reserve
The Blue Oak Ranch Reserve, a unit of the University of California Natural Reserve System, is an ecological reserve and biological field station in Santa Clara County, California. It is located on in the Diablo Range, northwest of Mount Hamilton, at elevation. The land, part of the 19th century Mexican land grant of Rancho Cañada de Pala, was donated to the University of California on December 1, 2007 by the Blue Oak Ranch Trust, an anonymous benefactor. Overnight accommodations for academic researchers and educational groups may be made by permission only. Flora Flora of Blue Oak Ranch Reserve includes: * purple needle grass ('' Nassella pulchra'') *barley (''Hordeum'') * bluegrass (''Poa'' spp.) * three-awn (''Aristida'' spp.) * melic (''Melica'' sspspp * wildrye ('' Elymus'' and ''Leymus'' spp.) ;Invasive introduced species * yellow starthistle ('' Centaurea solstitialis'') * medusahead grass ('' Taeniatherum caput-medusae'') * Italian thistle ('' Carduus pycnocephalus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
University Of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after the Anglo-Irish philosopher George Berkeley, it is the state's first land-grant university and is the founding campus of the University of California system. Berkeley has an enrollment of more than 45,000 students. The university is organized around fifteen schools of study on the same campus, including the UC Berkeley College of Chemistry, College of Chemistry, the UC Berkeley College of Engineering, College of Engineering, UC Berkeley College of Letters and Science, College of Letters and Science, and the Haas School of Business. It is Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity". Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory was originally founded as par ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
North American River Otter
The North American river otter (''Lontra canadensis''), also known as the northern river otter and river otter, is a semiaquatic mammal that endemism, lives only on the North American continent throughout most of Canada, along the coasts of the United States and its inland waterways. An adult North American river otter can weigh between . The river otter is protected and insulated by a thick, water-repellent coat of fur. The North American river otter, a member of the subfamily Lutrinae in the weasel family (Mustelidae), is equally versatile in the water and on land. It establishes a burrow close to the water's edge in river, lake, swamp, coastal shoreline, tidal flat, or estuary ecosystems. The den typically has many tunnel openings, one of which generally allows the otter to enter and exit the body of water. Female North American river otters give birth in these burrows, producing litters of one to six young. North American river otters, like most predators, prey upon the most ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
California Red-legged Frog
The California red-legged frog (''Rana draytonii'') is a species of frog found in California (USA) and northern Baja California (Mexico). It was formerly considered a subspecies of the northern red-legged frog (''Rana aurora''). The frog is an IUCN near-threatened species as of 2021, has a NatureServe conservation status of ''Imperiled'' as of 2015, and is a federally listed threatened species of the United States that is protected by law. Distribution The California red-legged frog is found in California and extreme northern Baja California, northwestern Mexico. This species now occurs most commonly along the northern and southern Coast Ranges, and in isolated areas in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains. The current southernmost California populations are on the Santa Rosa Plateau in Riverside County, and within the Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve in the Simi Hills in eastern Ventura County, near the community of West Hills. In 2015, egg masses from ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Foothill Yellow-legged Frog
The foothill yellow-legged frog (''Rana boylii'') is a small-sized () frog from the genus ''Rana'' in the family Ranidae. This species was historically found in the Coast Ranges from northern Oregon, through California, and into Baja California, Mexico as well as in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada and southern Cascade Range in California. The foothill yellow-legged frog is a Federal Species of Concern and California State Endangered. A federal rule to list four out of six extant distinct population segments (DPS) under the Endangered Species Act was proposed in December 2021. Appearance The foothill yellow-legged frog has a grey, brown, or reddish dorsum, or the back of the frog. It is commonly spotted or mottled, but occasionally is plainly colored. Adults have yellow coloration under their legs, which may extend to their abdomens, but this characteristic is faint or absent in young frogs. A triangular, buff-colored patch occurs on the snout, and, unlike other frogs i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Signal Crayfish
The signal crayfish (''Pacifastacus leniusculus'') is a species of crayfish indigenous to North America. Introduced to Europe in the 1960s to supplement the North European ''Astacus astacus'' fisheries, which were being damaged by crayfish plague, it was subsequently discovered that the signal was itself a carrier of that disease. Consequently, the signal crayfish is now considered an invasive species across Europe, Japan, and California, having displaced the native species in these regions. Description and ecology Members of this species are typically long, although sizes up to are possible. A distinctive white to pale blue-green patch is present near the claw hinge, reminiscent of the white flags that signalmen used for directing trains—hence the species' common name. The Biological life cycle, lifecycle of the signal crayfish is typical for the family Astacidae. The mating season occurs in the autumn, during which time the female produces around 200 to 400 egg (biolog ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Speckled Dace
The speckled dace (''Rhinichthys osculus''), also known as the spotted dace and the carpita pinta, is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Leuciscidae, the shiners, daces and minnows. It is found in temperate freshwater in North America, from Sonora, Mexico, to British Columbia, Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun .... Description The speckled dace is normally small, usually less than 8 centimeters. They are recognized for having a thick caudal peduncle, bluntly pointed snout, small scales, and small eyes. They have inferior mouths and pharyngeal teeth that are strongly hooked and have a slight grinding surface. Typically, the teeth are seen to have a barbel at the end of each maxilla. The dorsal fin is located behind the pelvic fin a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Catostomus
''Catostomus'' is a genus of fish belonging to the family Catostomidae, commonly known as suckers. This genus of fish usually lives in freshwater basins. Most members of the genus are native to North America, but '' C. catostomus'' is also found in Russia. A majority of species inhabit western North America, with only ''C. catostomus'', ''C. commersonii'', and ''C. utawana'' being found in eastern North America. Characteristics The members of this genus have nearly cylindrical bodies. They have large, horizontal mouths, and their lips are very much papillose. They have complete lateral lines. They have from 54 to 124 scales, seven to 17 dorsal rays, usually seven anal rays, and 20 to 44 thin, unbranched rakers on their first gill arches. Their gas bladders have two chambers. The young of many of the species in the genus have three dark grey blotches along their sides. Hybridization Catostomus from different species of the genus are known to readily hybridize with each other ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
California Roach
The California roach (previously ''Lavinia/Hesperoleucus symmetricus'') is a species of freshwater Actinopterygii, ray-finned fish belonging to the Family (biology), family Leuciscidae, which includes the daces, chubs, Phoxinus, Eurasian minnows and related species. This species is native to western North America and abundant in the intermittent streams throughout central California. Once considered a single species, it has recently been split into a number of closely related species and subspecies. It is closely related to the Hitch, and together they form a species complex.Baumsteiger J, Moyle PB 2019A reappraisal of the California Roach/Hitch (Cypriniformes, Cyprinidae, Hesperoleucus/Lavinia) species complexZootaxa 4543 (2): 221–240 The California roach derives its common name from its visual similarities to the roach of Europe, however they are not closely taxonomically related.Moyle, P.B. (2002) Inland Fishes of California. University of California Press, Berkeley, Californ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anadromous
Fish migration is mass relocation by fish from one area or body of water to another. Many types of fish migrate on a regular basis, on time scales ranging from daily to annually or longer, and over distances ranging from a few metres to thousands of kilometres. Such migrations are usually done for better feeding or to reproduce, but in other cases the reasons are unclear. Fish migrations involve movements of schools of fish on a scale and duration larger than those arising during normal daily activities. Some particular types of migration are ''anadromous'', in which adult fish live in the sea and migrate into fresh water to spawn; and ''catadromous'', in which adult fish live in fresh water and migrate into salt water to spawn. Marine forage fish often make large migrations between their spawning, feeding and nursery grounds. Their movements are associated with ocean currents and with the availability of food in different areas at different times of the year. The migratory ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
