Berryessa Creek
Encyclopedia
Berryessa Creek is a seasonal creek in northeastern San Jose
and Milpitas
. Its main source is located in the Los Buellis Hills
slightly west of Felter Road. Berryessa Creek has many tributaries, including Piedmont Creek, Calera Creek, and Penitencia Creek. In the summer, Berryessa Creek is mostly dry except in Milpitas, where much of its water comes from urban runoff and tributaries. In winter, however, the creek can flood very high and pose a hazard for surrounding residences. The creek was named after a member of the prominent Basque–Spanish Berreyesa family
: Nicolas Berreyesa, a Californio
settler granted the Rancho Milpitas
in 1834.
neighborhood. At Morill Avenue, Berryessa Creek becomes a straightened ditch. It then winds its way north into Milpitas. In Milpitas, Piedmont Creek, Arroyo de los Coches, Calera Creek, and Penitencia Creek, respectively, dump into Berryessa Creek. The large creek then merges with Coyote Creek and passes by the Newby Island Landfill. As Coyote Slough, it then meanders its way into the San Francisco Bay
.
. The north fork also originates in the eastern hills but instead begins at the Silvas' private ranch. At Piedmont Road, the two forks of Piedmont Creek becomes an underground stream that winds under residences and dumps into the Berryessa Creek in an industrial zone. The entire length of the creek is only about three miles long.
, the creek keeps going west and then winds downhills with Calaveras Road by its side. After crossing Piedmont Road, which marks the boundary between the urban and rural sections of Milpitas, the creek turns into a straightened ditch and continues to travel parallel to Calaveras Road. After going under Interstate 680
, it merges with Berryessa Creek.
. Calera Creek then merges with Berryessa Creek.
Calera Creek used to be a prime spot for native rainbow trout
fishing. When it was converted into a ditch in the 1960s to prevent flooding the newly constructed housing developments, the creek lost almost all of its fish . The Santa Clara Valley Water District now places several plaques at the banks of Berryessa Creek informing passers-by about the ecology and environment of the creek.
37.4357722°N 121.9066239°W
San Jose, California
San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
and Milpitas
Milpitas, California
Milpitas is a city in Santa Clara County, California. It is a suburb of the major city of San Jose, California. It is located with San Jose to its south and Fremont to its north, at the eastern end of State Route 237 and generally between Interstates 680 and 880 which run roughly north/south...
. Its main source is located in the Los Buellis Hills
Los Buellis Hills
Los Buellis Hills is a short series of hills east of Berryessa, San Jose, California. It is located slightly west of Felter Road and is used primarily for grazing cattle. High-voltage transmission lines also pass through the hills. The Los Buellis Hills average about 2000 ft in elevation....
slightly west of Felter Road. Berryessa Creek has many tributaries, including Piedmont Creek, Calera Creek, and Penitencia Creek. In the summer, Berryessa Creek is mostly dry except in Milpitas, where much of its water comes from urban runoff and tributaries. In winter, however, the creek can flood very high and pose a hazard for surrounding residences. The creek was named after a member of the prominent Basque–Spanish Berreyesa family
Berreyesa family
The Berreyesa family was a substantial clan of Basque-heritage Spanish-speaking settlers in early Northern California who held extensive land in the greater San Francisco Bay Area...
: Nicolas Berreyesa, a Californio
Californio
Californio is a term used to identify a Spanish-speaking Catholic people, regardless of race, born in California before 1848...
settler granted the Rancho Milpitas
Rancho Milpitas
Rancho Milpitas was a Mexican land grant in Santa Clara County, California. The name comes from the Nahuatl word for maize and could be translated "little cornfields". The grant included what is now the city of Milpitas.-History:...
in 1834.
Physical description
Berryessa Creek begins in the Los Buellis Hills near Felter Road. Several different forks of the creek gradually merge together until Berryessa Creek becomes a single stream at Piedmont Road. The various forks are located mostly in undeveloped hills owned by a local water department and are used for cattle grazing. After crossing under Piedmont Road, Berryessa Creek forms the northern boundary of Berryessa Creek Park in the BerryessaBerryessa
Berryessa may refer to some places in the United States:*Berryessa, San Jose, California*Berryessa Creek in San Jose, California*Berryessa light rail station in San Jose, California*Lake Berryessa, Napa County, California...
neighborhood. At Morill Avenue, Berryessa Creek becomes a straightened ditch. It then winds its way north into Milpitas. In Milpitas, Piedmont Creek, Arroyo de los Coches, Calera Creek, and Penitencia Creek, respectively, dump into Berryessa Creek. The large creek then merges with Coyote Creek and passes by the Newby Island Landfill. As Coyote Slough, it then meanders its way into the San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay is a shallow, productive estuary through which water draining from approximately forty percent of California, flowing in the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers from the Sierra Nevada mountains, enters the Pacific Ocean...
.
Tributaries
Berryessa Creek has several tributaries that are primarily from Milpitas. Some of the tributaries are described below.Piedmont Creek
Piedmont Creek has three or four forks beginning at private ranch properties in the eastern foothills in Milpitas. The south fork is from government property leased to cattle ranching companies and is used to graze cattleCattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
. The north fork also originates in the eastern hills but instead begins at the Silvas' private ranch. At Piedmont Road, the two forks of Piedmont Creek becomes an underground stream that winds under residences and dumps into the Berryessa Creek in an industrial zone. The entire length of the creek is only about three miles long.
Arroyo de los Coches
Arroyo de los Coches, alternatively called Los Coches Creek, is a seasonal stream from the Milpitas hills. Named in the 1800s by the Spanish, its name means "Creek of the Wild Pigs." (Los Coches Creek still has many wild pigs.) The creek begins at the former JMP Ranch that is now about to be developed into 17 single-family homes. It passes by Spring Valley Homes and travels parallel to Vista Ridge Road. Now in Ed R. Levin County ParkEd R. Levin County Park
Ed R. Levin County Park is the largest park in Milpitas, California. It is run by the County of Santa Clara and is located in the chaparral foothills east of the Santa Clara Valley. Monument Peak can be accessed through trails in the park...
, the creek keeps going west and then winds downhills with Calaveras Road by its side. After crossing Piedmont Road, which marks the boundary between the urban and rural sections of Milpitas, the creek turns into a straightened ditch and continues to travel parallel to Calaveras Road. After going under Interstate 680
Interstate 680 (California)
Interstate 680 is a north–south Interstate Highway in Northern California. It curves around the eastern cities of the San Francisco Bay Area from San Jose to Interstate 80 at Cordelia, bypassing cities along the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay such as Oakland and Richmond while serving...
, it merges with Berryessa Creek.
Calera Creek
Calera Creek begins at north Ed R. Levin County Park from a number of springs from the west side of the Monument Peak ridge. It rushes down steep hillsides at about 45 degrees. The creek then reaches the urban parts of Milpitas as it passes by the historic Higuera Adobe. As an artificially created ditch, it then traverses through a number of housing developments and passes Milpitas High SchoolMilpitas High School
Milpitas High School is a public four-year comprehensive high school in Milpitas, California, a suburban community adjacent to San Jose. It is one of two high schools within the Milpitas Unified School District....
. Calera Creek then merges with Berryessa Creek.
Calera Creek used to be a prime spot for native rainbow trout
Rainbow trout
The rainbow trout is a species of salmonid native to tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead is a sea run rainbow trout usually returning to freshwater to spawn after 2 to 3 years at sea. In other words, rainbow trout and steelhead trout are the same species....
fishing. When it was converted into a ditch in the 1960s to prevent flooding the newly constructed housing developments, the creek lost almost all of its fish . The Santa Clara Valley Water District now places several plaques at the banks of Berryessa Creek informing passers-by about the ecology and environment of the creek.
37.4357722°N 121.9066239°W
See also
- Berryessa, San Jose, CaliforniaBerryessa, San Jose, CaliforniaThe Berryessa District or North Valley in San Jose, California is located in the northeast portion of the city, between Coyote Creek and the Diablo Range foothills. The neighborhood borders Milpitas along Landess Avenue to the north and the Alum Rock neighborhood of East San Jose along Mabury Road...
- List of watercourses in the San Francisco Bay Area