El Corte de Madera Creek (Spanish

Spanish 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...

 for: The Cutting of Wood) is a small river in 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,...

, San Mateo County

San Mateo County, California

San Mateo County is a county located in the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. It covers most of the San Francisco Peninsula just south of San Francisco, and north of Santa Clara County. San Francisco International Airport is located at the northern end of the county, and...

, northern 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...

. It is a tributary of San Gregorio Creek

San Gregorio Creek

San Gregorio Creek is a river in San Mateo County, California. Its tributaries originate on the western ridges of the Santa Cruz Mountains whence it courses southwest through steep forested canyons...

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The creek flows about 7 miles (11 km), from its source in Kings Mountain

Kings Mountain, California

Kings Mountain is an unincorporated community in San Mateo County, California, located along State Route 35 between Skeggs Point and Pise Mountain. This is about seven miles north of Woodside Road . In the U.S...

 (37.4122°N 122.3110 °W) near Skeggs Point

Skeggs Point, California

Skeggs Point is a scenic turnout in San Mateo County along State Route 35 between Kings Mountain and State Route 84. The feature is marked with a guide sign along the road and is listed on the USGS 7.5 minute quadrangle, "Woodside, California" as well as in the National Geographic Names Database...

 on Skyline Boulevard (CA 35), to its confluence with San Gregorio Creek about 2.7 miles east of San Gregorio Creek

San Gregorio Creek

San Gregorio Creek is a river in San Mateo County, California. Its tributaries originate on the western ridges of the Santa Cruz Mountains whence it courses southwest through steep forested canyons...

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The bulk of El Corte de Madera Creek's upper watershed

Drainage basin

A drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...

 is in El Corte de Madera Creek Open Space Preserve of the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District

Midpeninsula 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...

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