San Pablo Creek
Encyclopedia
San Pablo Creek is an 18.7 miles (30.1 km) creek in Contra Costa County, California
, United States
, which drains the canyon or valley between the San Pablo Ridge and the Sobrante Ridge, parts of the Pacific Coast Ranges
east of San Francisco Bay
.
The creek runs from the southeast to the northwest, originating near Orinda
and flowing into San Pablo Bay
. It drains one of the largest watersheds in the East Bay, comprising some 41 square miles (106.2 km²). The creek has 34 named tributaries. The creek was dammed in 1919, forming the San Pablo Reservoir
. Briones Reservoir
, constructed in 1964, dams the Bear Creek tributary. San Pablo Reservoir essentially splits the creek in two, with about half of the creek and its related feeder creeks on either side of the artificial lake; for much of its course, it runs parallel to Wildcat Creek
, which drains from Wildcat Canyon, the next valley to the west. The East Bay Municipal Utility District
(EBMUD) gets less than 10% of its water from the creek.
, Cascade Creek, Castro Creek
, Coal Mine Creek, Clark Creek, Dutra Creek, El Toyonal Creek, Greenridge Creek, Inspiration Creek, Kennedy Creek, La Colina Creek, Lauterwasser Creek, Leastrot Creek, Lila Creek, Miner Creek, Newell Creek, Oak Creek, Oursan Creek, Overhill Creek, Rose Creek, Russel Creek, San Pablo Reservoir
, Sather Creek, Schoolhouse Creek, Siesta Valley Creek, Tarry Creek, Tin House Creek, Wagner Creek, Wilkie Creek and Wire Ranch Creek.
The creek is helped by many community organizations. The city of San Pablo
has organized cleanups, as has the Friends of Orinda Creeks. The San Pablo Watershed Neighbors Education and Resources Society (SPAWNERS) goes further than just garbage and weed cleanups and includes restoration efforts and watershed studies. Spawners will begin restoration of the creek's banks at the El Sobrante Library adjacent to downtown El Sobrante in August 2007. The damming of the creek has limited the endangered steelhead trout's spawning sites but has allowed it to continue to survive there. Native Ohlone
shell mounds were once found along the creek, especially near San Pablo Bay.
San Pablo Creek's delta, located within the city limits of Richmond, is known as San Pablo Creek Marsh
, and its 300 acres (1.2 km²) are filled with an abundance of wildlife, including endangered species such as the California Clapper Rail, the Salt Marsh Harvest Mouse, the threatened Black Rail, the Salt Marsh Wandering Shrew, and the San Pablo vole. Other animals present are the shy Salt Marsh Harvest Sparrows which live in the sloughs, while Salt Marsh Yellow Throats live among the willows that grow along the transition between fresh creek water and salty bay water.
Contra Costa County, California
Contra Costa County is a primarily suburban county in the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 1,049,025...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, which drains the canyon or valley between the San Pablo Ridge and the Sobrante Ridge, parts of the Pacific Coast Ranges
Pacific Coast Ranges
The Pacific Coast Ranges and the Pacific Mountain System are the series of mountain ranges that stretch along the West Coast of North America from Alaska south to Northern and Central Mexico...
east of 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...
.
The creek runs from the southeast to the northwest, originating near Orinda
Orinda, California
-2010:The 2010 United States Census reported that Orinda had a population of 17,643. The population density was 1,389.5 people per square mile . The racial makeup of Orinda was 14,533 White, 149 African American, 22 Native American, 2,016 Asian, 24 Pacific Islander, 122 from other races, and...
and flowing into San Pablo Bay
San Pablo Bay
San Pablo Bay is a tidal estuary that forms the northern extension of San Francisco Bay in northern California in the United States. Most of the Bay is shallow; however, there is a deep water channel approximately in mid bay, which allows access to Sacramento, Stockton, Benicia, Martinez, and...
. It drains one of the largest watersheds in the East Bay, comprising some 41 square miles (106.2 km²). The creek has 34 named tributaries. The creek was dammed in 1919, forming the San Pablo Reservoir
San Pablo Reservoir
The San Pablo Reservoir is an open cut terminal water storage reservoir owned and operated by the East Bay Municipal Utility District . It is located in the valley of San Pablo Creek, north of Orinda, California and south of El Sobrante and Richmond, east of the Berkeley Hills between the Sobrante...
. Briones Reservoir
Briones Reservoir
Briones Reservoir is an open cut terminal water storage reservoir owned and operated by the East Bay Municipal Utility District . It is located in the hills northeast of Orinda, California. The earthen dam was completed in 1964...
, constructed in 1964, dams the Bear Creek tributary. San Pablo Reservoir essentially splits the creek in two, with about half of the creek and its related feeder creeks on either side of the artificial lake; for much of its course, it runs parallel to Wildcat Creek
Wildcat Creek (California)
Wildcat Creek is a creek which flows through Wildcat Canyon situated between the Berkeley Hills and the San Pablo Ridge, emptying into San Pablo Bay in northern California. The creek originates in Tilden Regional Park just east of the city of Berkeley. It feeds the artificial Lake Anza as well as...
, which drains from Wildcat Canyon, the next valley to the west. The East Bay Municipal Utility District
East Bay Municipal Utility District
East Bay Municipal Utility District , colloquially referred to as "East Bay Mud", provides water and sewage treatment for customers in portions of Alameda County and Contra Costa County in California, on the eastern side of San Francisco Bay, including the cities of Richmond, El Cerrito, Hercules,...
(EBMUD) gets less than 10% of its water from the creek.
Overview
The tributaries are as follows: Appian Creek, Baden Creek, Barn Creek, Bear Creek, Big Oak Creek, Briones ReservoirBriones Reservoir
Briones Reservoir is an open cut terminal water storage reservoir owned and operated by the East Bay Municipal Utility District . It is located in the hills northeast of Orinda, California. The earthen dam was completed in 1964...
, Cascade Creek, Castro Creek
Castro Creek
Castro Creek is a creek in Richmond, California in the western part of the city adjacent to the Chevron Oil Refinery. Wildcat Creek drains into it directly and though other Wildcat Marsh tributaries into Castro Cove of San Pablo Bay...
, Coal Mine Creek, Clark Creek, Dutra Creek, El Toyonal Creek, Greenridge Creek, Inspiration Creek, Kennedy Creek, La Colina Creek, Lauterwasser Creek, Leastrot Creek, Lila Creek, Miner Creek, Newell Creek, Oak Creek, Oursan Creek, Overhill Creek, Rose Creek, Russel Creek, San Pablo Reservoir
San Pablo Reservoir
The San Pablo Reservoir is an open cut terminal water storage reservoir owned and operated by the East Bay Municipal Utility District . It is located in the valley of San Pablo Creek, north of Orinda, California and south of El Sobrante and Richmond, east of the Berkeley Hills between the Sobrante...
, Sather Creek, Schoolhouse Creek, Siesta Valley Creek, Tarry Creek, Tin House Creek, Wagner Creek, Wilkie Creek and Wire Ranch Creek.
The creek is helped by many community organizations. The city of San Pablo
San Pablo, California
San Pablo is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States. The city of Richmond surrounds nearly the whole city. The population was 29,139 at the 2010 census. The current Mayor is Paul V. Morris, and the current Vice Mayor is Cecilia Valdez. Current Councilmembers include Arturo M....
has organized cleanups, as has the Friends of Orinda Creeks. The San Pablo Watershed Neighbors Education and Resources Society (SPAWNERS) goes further than just garbage and weed cleanups and includes restoration efforts and watershed studies. Spawners will begin restoration of the creek's banks at the El Sobrante Library adjacent to downtown El Sobrante in August 2007. The damming of the creek has limited the endangered steelhead trout's spawning sites but has allowed it to continue to survive there. Native Ohlone
Ohlone
The Ohlone people, also known as the Costanoan, are a Native American people of the central California coast. When Spanish explorers and missionaries arrived in the late 18th century, the Ohlone inhabited the area along the coast from San Francisco Bay through Monterey Bay to the lower Salinas Valley...
shell mounds were once found along the creek, especially near San Pablo Bay.
San Pablo Creek's delta, located within the city limits of Richmond, is known as San Pablo Creek Marsh
San Pablo Creek Marsh
San Pablo Creek Marsh is a wetlands in Richmond, California on the city's western shoreline with San Pablo Bay and the Castro Cove estuary. The marsh is the delta of a small river San Pablo Creek which is the largest in western Contra Costa County, and is dammed at the midway point forming the San...
, and its 300 acres (1.2 km²) are filled with an abundance of wildlife, including endangered species such as the California Clapper Rail, the Salt Marsh Harvest Mouse, the threatened Black Rail, the Salt Marsh Wandering Shrew, and the San Pablo vole. Other animals present are the shy Salt Marsh Harvest Sparrows which live in the sloughs, while Salt Marsh Yellow Throats live among the willows that grow along the transition between fresh creek water and salty bay water.
History
The San Pablo Canyon through which the creek flows was in the early 19th century an open grazing area shared by adjoining Mexican ranch owners. In the latter years of the 19th century, a narrow gauge railroad, the California and Nevada, ran down the canyon as far as Orinda. The company intended to construct their line past Orinda all the way to the mining districts of Nevada, but the railroad was plagued by washouts in the canyon every winter, and was relegated to serving weekend picnickers traveling from the cities on San Francisco Bay. The line through the canyon was abandoned upon the acquisition of the California and Nevada by the Santa Fe Railroad.External links
- San Pablo Creek -- Guide to San Francisco Bay Area Creeks
- SPAWNERS, San Pablo Watershed Neighbors Education and Resources Society.
- Creek Walkthorugh with many images