Corte Madera Creek (San Mateo County, California)
Encyclopedia
Corte Madera Creek (Spanish for "a place where wood is cut") is a 7.3 miles (11.7 km) creek
that flows north-northwest to Searsville Dam
and then joins with Bear Creek
to form San Francisquito Creek
in California
. Historically it was called the Corte de Madera Creek and ran through Rancho Cañada del Corte de Madera
and Rancho Corte de Madera
land grants (the latter surrounding the former).
. In the spring of 1991, an adult steelhead (0.74m) was observed jumping at the base of Searsville Dam. In May 2002, the San Francisquito Watershed Council released a barrier survey including Corte Madera Creek. A private bridge apron adjacent to Willowbrook Drive and another downstream of the confluence with Damiani Creek were described as impassable barriers to upstream migrating Steelhead. The rainbow form of Steelhead trout is considered Critically Endangered in all Corte Madera Creek tributaries.
Illegal fishing of rainbow trout (rainbows are the landlocked descendants of steelhead trout) has occurred in several places along Corte Madera Creek with significant damage to the surviving populations of native landlocked rainbows. In addition, there are also several private ponds stocked with warm weather non-native species, such as Smallmouth Bass, Redear Sunfish and Bluegill that threaten the surviving native trout population fry and eggs. The most notable pond is on Iroquois Trail and empties into Corte Madera Creek through a single outlet which floods during El Niño, or a wet winter.
, and follows Alpine Road northwesterly along the San Andreas Fault
to pick up Coal Creek, Rengstorff Gulch, Damiani Creek, Jones Gulch, Hamms Gulch - all draining the northeastern slope of the Santa Cruz Mountains
. It levels out upon reaching Portola Valley
and crosses under Portola Road at Brookside Drive. Before reaching Searsville Reservoir it arrives in a large laguna or freshwater marsh formed by the nexus of several creeks, including Westbridge Creek, Sausal Creek, Dennis Martin Creek, and Alambique Creek. Old maps suggest that Dennis Martin Creek and Alambique Creek were tributary to Sausal Creek. Below Searsville Dam
it joins with Bear Creek
to form San Francisquito Creek
.
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...
that flows north-northwest to Searsville Dam
Searsville Dam
Searsville Dam is a masonry dam that was completed in 1892, one year after the founding of Stanford University, and impounds Corte Madera Creek to form a reservoir known as Searsville Lake. Searsville Dam is located in the Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve and is owned and operated by Stanford...
and then joins with Bear Creek
Bear Creek (San Francisquito Creek)
Bear Creek is a southeastward-flowing stream originating north of the summit of Sierra Morena in the Santa Cruz Mountains, near the community of Kings Mountain in San Mateo County, California, United States...
to form San Francisquito Creek
San Francisquito Creek
San Francisquito Creek is a creek that flows into southwest San Francisco Bay in California, United States of America. Historically it was called the Arroyo de San Francisco by Juan Bautista de Anza in 1776...
in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. Historically it was called the Corte de Madera Creek and ran through Rancho Cañada del Corte de Madera
Rancho Cañada del Corte de Madera
Rancho Cañada del Corte de Madera was a Mexican land grant in present day Santa Clara County, California given in 1833 by Governor José Figueroa to José Domingo Peralta and Máximo Martínez. The name translates as "the valley where lumber is cut"...
and Rancho Corte de Madera
Rancho Corte de Madera
Rancho Corte de Madera was a Mexican land grant in present day Santa Clara County, California given in 1844 by Governor Manuel Micheltorena to Máximo Martínez. The name translates as "the place where lumber is cut"...
land grants (the latter surrounding the former).
Ecology
Corte Madera Creek was historically a Steelhead trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) stream; however, access to the creek has been blocked since 1890 by Searsville DamSearsville Dam
Searsville Dam is a masonry dam that was completed in 1892, one year after the founding of Stanford University, and impounds Corte Madera Creek to form a reservoir known as Searsville Lake. Searsville Dam is located in the Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve and is owned and operated by Stanford...
. In the spring of 1991, an adult steelhead (0.74m) was observed jumping at the base of Searsville Dam. In May 2002, the San Francisquito Watershed Council released a barrier survey including Corte Madera Creek. A private bridge apron adjacent to Willowbrook Drive and another downstream of the confluence with Damiani Creek were described as impassable barriers to upstream migrating Steelhead. The rainbow form of Steelhead trout is considered Critically Endangered in all Corte Madera Creek tributaries.
Illegal fishing of rainbow trout (rainbows are the landlocked descendants of steelhead trout) has occurred in several places along Corte Madera Creek with significant damage to the surviving populations of native landlocked rainbows. In addition, there are also several private ponds stocked with warm weather non-native species, such as Smallmouth Bass, Redear Sunfish and Bluegill that threaten the surviving native trout population fry and eggs. The most notable pond is on Iroquois Trail and empties into Corte Madera Creek through a single outlet which floods during El Niño, or a wet winter.
Watershed
Corte Madera Creek has its origin just northeast of Borel Hill in the Coal Creek Open Space Preserve (part of the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space DistrictMidpeninsula Regional Open Space District
The Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District is a special-purpose district that manages over of open space in 25 preserves in the San Francisco Bay Area. It includes parts of Santa Clara, San Mateo and Santa Cruz Counties. The District was created by voter initiative in 1972...
, and follows Alpine Road northwesterly along the San Andreas Fault
San Andreas Fault
The San Andreas Fault is a continental strike-slip fault that runs a length of roughly through California in the United States. The fault's motion is right-lateral strike-slip...
to pick up Coal Creek, Rengstorff Gulch, Damiani Creek, Jones Gulch, Hamms Gulch - all draining the northeastern slope of the Santa Cruz Mountains
Santa Cruz Mountains
The Santa Cruz Mountains, part of the Pacific Coast Ranges, are a mountain range in central California, United States. They form a ridge along the San Francisco Peninsula, south of San Francisco, separating the Pacific Ocean from San Francisco Bay and the Santa Clara Valley, and continuing south,...
. It levels out upon reaching Portola Valley
Portola Valley, California
Portola Valley is an incorporated town in San Mateo County, California, United States. The population was 4,353 at the 2010 census. It was named for Spanish explorer Gaspar de Portola, who led the first party of Europeans to explore the San Francisco Peninsula, in 1769.Portola Valley is one of the...
and crosses under Portola Road at Brookside Drive. Before reaching Searsville Reservoir it arrives in a large laguna or freshwater marsh formed by the nexus of several creeks, including Westbridge Creek, Sausal Creek, Dennis Martin Creek, and Alambique Creek. Old maps suggest that Dennis Martin Creek and Alambique Creek were tributary to Sausal Creek. Below Searsville Dam
Searsville Dam
Searsville Dam is a masonry dam that was completed in 1892, one year after the founding of Stanford University, and impounds Corte Madera Creek to form a reservoir known as Searsville Lake. Searsville Dam is located in the Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve and is owned and operated by Stanford...
it joins with Bear Creek
Bear Creek (San Francisquito Creek)
Bear Creek is a southeastward-flowing stream originating north of the summit of Sierra Morena in the Santa Cruz Mountains, near the community of Kings Mountain in San Mateo County, California, United States...
to form San Francisquito Creek
San Francisquito Creek
San Francisquito Creek is a creek that flows into southwest San Francisco Bay in California, United States of America. Historically it was called the Arroyo de San Francisco by Juan Bautista de Anza in 1776...
.
External links
- http://museumca.org/creeks/1460-SFrancisquitoWS-Big.htmlSan Francisquito Watershed & Alluvial Fan at Oakland Museum of CaliforniaOakland Museum of CaliforniaOakland Museum of California or Oakland Museum is a museum dedicated to the art, history, and natural science of California located in Oakland, California....
website] - Oakland Museum Map of San Francisquito Creek Watershed
- Beyond Searsville Dam
- San Francisquito Watershed Council