Calabazas Creek (Santa Clara County)
Encyclopedia
Calabazas Creek is a 13.3 miles (21.4 km) northeast by northward-flowing stream
originating on Table Mountain in Saratoga, California
in Santa Clara County, California
, United States
. It courses through the cities of Saratoga
, San Jose
, Cupertino
, Santa Clara
and Sunnyvale
, culminating in the Guadalupe Slough in south San Francisco Bay
.
, calabazas means squash, pumpkins or gourds. The name was especially popular to the south of San Francisco Bay.
joining it just downstream of San Francisco Road (probably El Camino Real
) on the Thompson and West 1876 map, and thence to the Guadalupe River
. When the Guadalupe River was redirected from Guadalupe Slough to Alviso Slough (formerly Steamboat Slough), Calabazas Creek was extended directly to Guadalupe Slough at Sunnyvale Baylands Park in Sunnyvale
.
Thirty-two percent of its length, approximately 4.2 miles, is classified as “hard bottom” and the reach between Highway 101 and Lawrence Expressway is a trapezoidal, concrete-lined channel. From Guadalupe Slough to Highway 101, Calabazas Creek is an enlarged earthen channel with levees. In 2010, the Calabazas Creek Flood Control Project was started by the Santa Clara Valley Water District
(SCVWD) to enlarge the culvert undercrossing at Saratoga-Sunnyvale Road, widen the Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR) bridge, and construct a detention area adjacent to the creek north of Saratoga-Sunnyvale Road, with bank erosion repair at dozens of locations along 3.7 miles of the creek from Miller Avenue to Wardell Road (and was extended to include the Comer Debris Basin and Comer Drive. The culvert at Saratoga-Sunnyvale Road was widened and the upstream detention basin completed in September, 2011.
(Oncorhynchus mykiss) occurred historically in Calabazas Creek but have not been seen since the 1970's. Leidy (2005) identified at least several impassable barriers to migration upstream from the Bay including a 13 foot inclined dam at Comer Drive, and drop structures at Bollinger Road and Rainbow Drive. The latter two have now been removed, and the Comer Dam, which was constructed in 1973 to trap gravel and cement debris from the upstream Cocciardi Quarry (closed for several years now), has raised the creek to within four feet of the underside of Comer Drive bridge posing a flooding threat to the bridge. It is scheduled to be removed by the SCVWD.
Leidy (2007) identified three species of native fishes in Calabazas Creek: California roach
, Sacramento sucker
, Three-spined stickleback
(Gasterosteus aculeatus), and Rainbow trout
(Oncohrynchus mykiss). The latter are the landlocked form of steelhead trout but are now extinct in the creek. Non-native fishes include Goldfish
(Carassius auratus auratus) and Western mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis).
Stream
A stream is a body of water with a current, confined within a bed and stream banks. Depending on its locale or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to as a branch, brook, beck, burn, creek, "crick", gill , kill, lick, rill, river, syke, bayou, rivulet, streamage, wash, run or...
originating on Table Mountain in Saratoga, California
Saratoga, California
Saratoga is a city in Santa Clara County, California, USA. It is located on the west side of the Santa Clara Valley, directly west of San Jose, in the San Francisco Bay area. The population was 29,926 at the 2010 census....
in Santa Clara County, California
Santa Clara County, California
Santa Clara County is a county located at the southern end of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. As of 2010 it had a population of 1,781,642. The county seat is San Jose. The highly urbanized Santa Clara Valley within Santa Clara County is also known as Silicon Valley...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It courses through the cities of Saratoga
Saratoga, California
Saratoga is a city in Santa Clara County, California, USA. It is located on the west side of the Santa Clara Valley, directly west of San Jose, in the San Francisco Bay area. The population was 29,926 at the 2010 census....
, San Jose
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...
, Cupertino
Cupertino, California
Cupertino is an affluent suburban city in Santa Clara County, California in the U.S., directly west of San Jose on the western edge of the Santa Clara Valley with portions extending into the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains. The population was 58,302 at the time of the 2010 census. Forbes...
, Santa Clara
Santa Clara, California
Santa Clara , founded in 1777 and incorporated in 1852, is a city in Santa Clara County, in the U.S. state of California. The city is the site of the eighth of 21 California missions, Mission Santa Clara de Asís, and was named after the mission. The Mission and Mission Gardens are located on the...
and Sunnyvale
Sunnyvale, California
Sunnyvale is a city in Santa Clara County, California, United States. It is one of the major cities that make up the Silicon Valley located in the San Francisco Bay Area...
, culminating in the Guadalupe Slough in south 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...
.
History
In the Spanish languageSpanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
, calabazas means squash, pumpkins or gourds. The name was especially popular to the south of San Francisco Bay.
Watershed and Course
An unnamed tributary of Calabazas Creek starts at 1,714 feet on Table Mountain, whose summit is at 2,037 feet and located at 37°15'30" N and 122°04' 55" W, although the creek's official USGS source is at 794 feet and located at 37°16'29" N and 122°04'07" W. The Calabazas Creek watershed drains 20.3 square miles. Named tributaries of Calabazas Creek include Prospect, Rodeo and Regnart Creeks. Prospect Creek flows 1.4 miles before entering Calabazas Creek from the left (heading downstream) at elevation 325 feet, then Rodeo Creek from the right, and finally, Regnart Creek joins at elevation 226 feet. Historically Calabazas Creek was a tributary of Saratoga CreekSaratoga Creek
Saratoga Creek is a north-northeast flowing creek in Santa Clara County, California.-History:Saratoga Creek was originally called Arroyo Quito and then Campbell Creek after immigrant William Campbell, who operated a sawmill in 1848 in "Campbell's Redwoods" about three miles west of Saratoga,...
joining it just downstream of San Francisco Road (probably El Camino Real
California State Route 82
State Route 82 is a state highway in the U.S. state of California that runs from U.S. Route 101 at Blossom Hill Road in San Jose to Interstate 280 in San Francisco following the San Francisco Peninsula...
) on the Thompson and West 1876 map, and thence to the Guadalupe River
Guadalupe River
Guadalupe River may refer to:*Guadalupe River *Guadalupe River *Guadalupe River *Guadalupe River , in southern Spain*Guadalope, a river in northern Spain...
. When the Guadalupe River was redirected from Guadalupe Slough to Alviso Slough (formerly Steamboat Slough), Calabazas Creek was extended directly to Guadalupe Slough at Sunnyvale Baylands Park in Sunnyvale
Sunnyvale, California
Sunnyvale is a city in Santa Clara County, California, United States. It is one of the major cities that make up the Silicon Valley located in the San Francisco Bay Area...
.
Thirty-two percent of its length, approximately 4.2 miles, is classified as “hard bottom” and the reach between Highway 101 and Lawrence Expressway is a trapezoidal, concrete-lined channel. From Guadalupe Slough to Highway 101, Calabazas Creek is an enlarged earthen channel with levees. In 2010, the Calabazas Creek Flood Control Project was started by the Santa Clara Valley Water District
Santa Clara Valley Water District
The Santa Clara Valley Water District provides stream stewardship, wholesale water supply and flood protection for Santa Clara County, California, in the southern San Francisco Bay Area. The district encompasses all of the county’s and serves the area’s 15 cities, 1.7 million residents and more...
(SCVWD) to enlarge the culvert undercrossing at Saratoga-Sunnyvale Road, widen the Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR) bridge, and construct a detention area adjacent to the creek north of Saratoga-Sunnyvale Road, with bank erosion repair at dozens of locations along 3.7 miles of the creek from Miller Avenue to Wardell Road (and was extended to include the Comer Debris Basin and Comer Drive. The culvert at Saratoga-Sunnyvale Road was widened and the upstream detention basin completed in September, 2011.
Habitat and wildlife
Steelhead troutRainbow 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....
(Oncorhynchus mykiss) occurred historically in Calabazas Creek but have not been seen since the 1970's. Leidy (2005) identified at least several impassable barriers to migration upstream from the Bay including a 13 foot inclined dam at Comer Drive, and drop structures at Bollinger Road and Rainbow Drive. The latter two have now been removed, and the Comer Dam, which was constructed in 1973 to trap gravel and cement debris from the upstream Cocciardi Quarry (closed for several years now), has raised the creek to within four feet of the underside of Comer Drive bridge posing a flooding threat to the bridge. It is scheduled to be removed by the SCVWD.
Leidy (2007) identified three species of native fishes in Calabazas Creek: California roach
California roach
The California roach, Hesperoleucus symmetricus, is a cyprinid fish native to western North America and abundant in the intermittent streams throughout central California. It is the sole member of its genus....
, Sacramento sucker
Catostomidae
Catostomidae is the sucker family of the order Cypriniformes. There are 80 species in this family of freshwater fishes. Catostomidae are found in North America, east central China, and eastern Siberia...
, Three-spined stickleback
Three-spined stickleback
The three-spined stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus, is a fish native to much of northern Europe, northern Asia and North America. It has been introduced into parts of southern and central Europe.-Distribution and morphological variation:...
(Gasterosteus aculeatus), and 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....
(Oncohrynchus mykiss). The latter are the landlocked form of steelhead trout but are now extinct in the creek. Non-native fishes include Goldfish
Goldfish
The goldfish is a freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae of order Cypriniformes. It was one of the earliest fish to be domesticated, and is one of the most commonly kept aquarium fish....
(Carassius auratus auratus) and Western mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis).