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Alameda Creek

Coordinates:37°33′48″N122°7′51″W/ 37.56333°N 122.13083°W/37.56333; -122.13083
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Alameda Creek
Spanish:Arroyo de la Alameda
Alameda Creek at Niles, Fremont
Alameda Creek watershed (Interactive map)
EtymologySpanish
Location
CountryUnited States
StateCalifornia
RegionAlameda County,Santa Clara County
CityUnion City, California
Physical characteristics
SourcePackard Ridge in theDiablo Range
• location12 miles (19 km) east ofSan Jose
• coordinates37°23′16″N121°36′44″W/ 37.38778°N 121.61222°W/37.38778; -121.61222[1]
• elevation2,950 ft (900 m)
MouthSan Francisco Bay
• location
Fremont
• coordinates
37°33′48″N122°7′51″W/ 37.56333°N 122.13083°W/37.56333; -122.13083[a]
• elevation
0 ft (0 m)
Length45 mi (72 km)
Basin features
Tributaries
• leftCalaveras Creek
• rightSan Antonio Creek,Arroyo de la Laguna

Alameda Creek(Spanish:Arroyo de la Alameda) is a large perennialstreamin theSan Francisco Bay Area.The creek runs for 45 miles (72 km) from a lake northeast of Packard Ridge to the eastern shore ofSan Francisco Bayby way ofNiles Canyonand aflood controlchannel.[1][b]Along its course, Alameda Creek provides wildlife habitat, water supply, a conduit for flood waters, opportunities for recreation, and a host of aesthetic and environmental values. The creek and three major reservoirs in the watershed are used as water supply by theSan Francisco Public Utilities Commission,Alameda County Water Districtand Zone 7 Water Agency. Within the watershed can be found some of the highest peaks (Mount Isabel andMount Hamilton) and tallest waterfall (Murietta Falls) in theEast Bay,over a dozen regional parks, and notable natural landmarks such as the cascades atLittle Yosemiteand the wildflower-strewn grasslands and oak savannahs of theSunol Regional Wilderness.

After an absence of half a century, ocean-runsteelhead troutare able to return to Alameda Creek to mingle with remnantrainbow troutpopulations. Completion of a series of dam removal and fish passage projects, along with improved stream flows for cold-water fish and planned habitat restoration, enable steelhead trout andChinook salmonto access up to 20 miles (32 km) of spawning and rearing habitat in Alameda Creek and its tributaries.[3]The first juvenile trout migrating downstream from the upper watershed through lower Alameda Creek toward San Francisco Bay was detected and documented in April 2023.[4]

History

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Whereas other Bay Area streams flow down from, or around, mountain ranges, Alameda Creek is unique in that it cutsacrossthe Diablo Range atNiles Canyon.To geologists this is evidence that it is anantecedent streamthat existed prior to the rise of the East Bay hills about a million years ago. As the mountain range was lifted by tectonic forces, the creek kept pace by eroding the canyon, which continues to this day. The largealluvial fanunderFremont,Newark,andUnion Citywhich juts intoSan Francisco Bayis further evidence that this creek has been in place for a very long time.[5]

Five Spanish expeditions led byPortolà,Ortega,Fages,Anzaand Amador passed over Alameda Creek between 1769 and 1795.El Camino ViejobetweenPleasantonandMission Passcrossed it nearSunol.Mission San José,in Fremont, was dedicated in 1797. The Mission thrived for 49 years until the Mexican government'sSecularization Orderliquidated mission lands in 1834. Alameda Creek was the boundary of the mission lands and the 17,000-acre (69 km2) Rancho Arroyo de la Alameda granted to Jose de Jesus Vallejo, who built aflour millnear the mouth of Niles Canyon. The mill and the importance of the canyon as a passage through the hills led to growth of Niles (which in 1956 became part of Fremont, California) in the 1850s. A favorable climate, excellent soils, and a fast-growing population helped agriculture to boom. Early roads led to landings where small ships would load grain and other foodstuffs for transport to market.

Alameda Creek is the most important stream inAlameda County,which was named after it. It was the boundary between Contra Costa and Santa Clara counties between 1850, when Contra Costa and Santa Clara counties were formed, to 1853, when Alameda County was carved from the two counties. The portion of Alameda County south of Alameda Creek is the only part of Alameda County that is not derived from Contra Costa County.[6]: 17, 26 

Central Pacific Railroad, and Alameda Creek. Stereo photo taken between 1867 and 1869.

Completion of theCentral Pacific Railroadthrough Niles Canyon in 1869 was essential to completion ofFirst transcontinental railroadthat terminated atAlameda TerminalandOakland Long Wharfthat same year. The Western Pacific was also routed through Niles Canyon, connectingSacramento, CaliforniaandSan Jose, Californiain 1906.[7]

The creek bed had once been used as agravel quarry.[8]When the gravel pits were flooded by water purchased by the public forgroundwater rechargeof theNiles Cone,the gravel harvesters began to daily pump out enough water to meet the needs of 30,000 people down the creek into San Francisco Bay.[9]After the pumping was declared to be an illegalwastetheAlameda County Water Districtacquired the quarry in 1975.[10]

In May 2015, vandals damaged aninflatable damacross the creek in Fremont, releasing 50 million gallons (190 million litres) of drinking water into San Francisco Bay.[11]

Alameda Creek watershed

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Alameda Creek at the flats of Niles where it has emerged from the Niles Canyon

Alameda Creek is the largestwatershedwithin the southern San Francisco Bay, draining 700 square miles (1,813 square kilometers), or about 20% of the total drainage area for the South Bay.[12]Two-thirds of the watershed is inAlameda Countyincluding the reach through theSunol Valley,the rest is inSanta Clara County.The tributaries of Alameda creek includeArroyo de la Laguna,Arroyo Valle,San Antonio CreekandCalaveras Creek,whose main tributary isArroyo Hondo.The watershed includes three man-made reservoirs:Lake Del Valle,San Antonio ReservoirandCalaveras Reservoir.[13]

The Alameda Creek Watershed can be divided into six major reaches:

A more comprehensive list inclusive of minor as well as major named tributaries includes (from top of mainstem heading downstream) Valpe Creek (right), Bear Gulch (right), Whitlock Creek (right), Calaveras Creek (left), Leyden Creek (left), Indian Joe Creek (right), Welch Creek (right), Haynes Gulch (left), Pirate Creek (left), San Antonio Creek (right), Arroyo de la Laguna (right), Stonybrook Canyon (right) and Dry Creek (right). Alameda Creek now runs through the man-made Alameda Creek flood channel near the Bay, the latter is parallel to and south of the old Alameda Creek channel. Ward Creek is a tributary to old Alameda Creek.[14]

Ecology, past and present

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Alameda Creek in Niles Canyon.

Alameda Creek historically supported spawning runs of at least three salmonid species:steelhead(theanadromousform of the coastal rainbow troutOncorhynchus mykiss irideus),[15]coho salmon(Oncorhynchus kisutch)[16]andchinook salmon(Oncorhynchus tshawytscha).[17]

Steelhead

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Alameda Creek is considered a potential ‘anchor watershed’ for steelhead, regionally significant for restoration of the threatened trout to the entire Bay Area, although by the late 1950s theCalifornia Department of Fish and Gamedecided the steelhead run was no longer viable due to numerous man-made barriers to fish runs. By the early 1970s theArmy Corps of Engineerschanneled andrip-rappedthe lower 12 miles (19 km) of the creek.[18]The last steelhead and coho salmon runs in the 20th century were seen in the lower creek in 1964, the latter confirmed by photographic records.[16]

Confirmation that adult steelhead captured attempting to migrate into the Alameda Creek watershed, and the rainbow trout sampled in the upper watershed (trapped above complete migration barriers), were native fish associated with the federally threatened steelheadCentral California CoastEvolutionarily Significant Unitspurred a major effort to restore this historically important steelhead stream by removing barriers to migration and improving habitat quality.[13]Since steelhead in the Bay Area and California's Central Coast were listed as threatened under theEndangered Species Actin 1997, numerous organizations, including theAlameda Creek Alliance,and governmental agencies have cooperated on restoration projects to allow migratory fish from the Bay to reach spawning habitat in upper Alameda Creek, beginning in 1999.[19]This coalition of agencies and organizations is called the Alameda Creek Fisheries Restoration Workgroup.[20]

In 2009, theAlameda County Water Districtremoved a rubber dam that blocked trout passage in the lower creek, adjacent toQuarry Lakes Regional Park.In June, 2010 environmentalists and water district officials celebrated the removal of a dam on Alameda Creek in Fremont, and the planned installation of fish ladders to allow salmonids to bypass two other dams on the lower creek.[19]At the same time,PG&Eworked to modify a cement barrier farther upstream inSunolto help steelhead swim farther into the watershed, water officials said. Ground was broken on the first ladder theAlameda County Water Districtwas building in April 2018, just west of the Mission Boulevard overcrossing in the Niles district of Fremont, allowing passage around a rubber dam. The second ladder, which was planned to start construction in 2019, is about a mile downstream at the concrete structure, called aweir.The two ladders were funded by nearly $10 million in grants from several agencies, including $5.36 million from the California Wildlife Conservation Board and $3 million from the California Natural Resources Agency.[21]The goal was that when those projects were completed in 2021, steelhead would be able to migrate upstream to spawning habitats in the Sunol Valley for the first time in a half-century.[19]

In April 2023, one juvenile steelhead was found in the creek.[22]The following year, monitoring by theSan Francisco Public Utilities Commissionrecorded 50 tagged steelhead making the migration up Alameda Creek to the San Francisco Bay.[20]

Other fish

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California's archaeological record has contributed to knowledge of the prehistoric distribution of fishes in Alameda Creek and its tributaries includingSacramento perch(Archoplites interruptus), Sacramento suckers (Catostomusoccidentalis occidentalis),Tule perch(Hysterocarpus traskii),Hitches(Lavinia exilicauda),Hardheads(Mylopharodon conocephalus),Sacramento blackfish,and Sacramento pikeminnow (Ptychocheilusgrandis).[17]Recent physical evidence has proved that the southern limit of coastal Chinook salmon included the southernmost tributaries of South San Francisco Bay.[23]Many of these fishes still occupy the creek, although the number of introduced exotic fishes continues to increase. Exotic fish species such as thelargemouthandSmallmouth basses(Micropterus salmoidesandMicropterus dolomieui) respectively, were introduced to Alameda Creek (and theNapa River) by Livingston Stone in 1874.[24]

Beaver

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A view of the Mission Blvd bridge at Alameda Creek.

There is historical evidence ofbeaverin the Alameda Creek watershed. In 1828 fur trapper Michel La Framboise travelled to "the missions ofSan José,San Francisco SolanoandSan Rafael Arcángel.La Framboise stated that "the Bay of San Francisco abounds in beaver", and that he "made his best hunt in the vicinity of the missions".[25]Alexander Roderick McLeodreported on the progress of the first Hudson's Bay Company fur brigade sent to California in 1829, "Beaver is become an article of traffic on the Coast as at the Mission of St. Joseph alone upwards of Fifteen hundred Beaver Skins were collected from the natives at a trifling value and sold to Ships at 3 Dollars".[26]In the 1840sKit Carsonwas granted rights to trap beaver on Alameda Creek in the East Bay where they "abounded...from the mouth of its canyon to the broad delta on the bay".[27][28]Physical evidence of beaver includefaunal remainsin theArroyo de la Lagunatributary recovered in an archaeological site west ofInterstate 680.[29]Beaver may be beneficial to efforts to restore salmonids in Alameda Creek as beaver ponds benefit oversummering salmonid smolts by raising the water table which then recharges streams in the dry summer season and also by providing perennial deep pools when streams are only seasonal.[30][31]

Conservation

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In January, 2011, theSan Francisco Public Utilities Commissionwon approvals to construct a replacement dam just downstream from the existing earthenCalaveras Dam,which has been maintained at 40% of capacity because of seismic concerns. However, construction of a fish ladder to provide steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) access to the waters above the dam were deemed not feasible because at 290 feet (88 m), it would be the tallest fish ladder in the country, and would cost $40 million. Steelhead have not had access to spawning streams above Calaveras Dam since it was built in 1925.[32]However, environmentalists won concessions from the SFPUC to assure adequate water releases from the new dam to improve summer flows as well as a smaller fish ladder around a diversion dam blocking access to upper Alameda Creek, which is regarded as prime trout habitat.[33]TheSan Francisco Public Utilities Commissionremoved two disused dams in the Niles Canyon reach of Alameda Creek to improve fish passage following assessing impacts in an Environmental Impact Report underCEQA.[34]

Downstream of San Francisco's dams, the Alameda Creek Alliance has helped to initiate the removal of 11 barriers to fish passage since 2001.[32]

Alameda Creek Regional Trail

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The Alameda Creek Regional Trail runs along Alameda Creek for 12 miles (19 km). The trail starts in the Niles neighborhood of Fremont and continues westward to the San Francisco Bay through the cities ofUnion CityandNewark.The trail consists of two parallel paths, one on each side of Alameda Creek. The path on the south side of the creek is paved, and can be used bypedestriansandbicyclists.The path on the north side of the creek is unpaved, and can be used by pedestrians, bicyclists, andequestrians.The trail provides direct access toCoyote Hills Regional ParkandQuarry Lakes Regional Recreation Area.[7]A connection to theBay Area Ridge Trailis planned.[35]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^These are the coordinates of the southern mouth, which as of 2023is the creek's primary outflow. The coordinates listed by USGS are for the northern mouth inHayward.
  2. ^One source describes Packard Ridge as being a few miles north ofMount Hamiltonand a few miles east ofRattlesnake Butte.[2]

References

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  1. ^abU.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Alameda Creek
  2. ^Clark, William Otterbein. "Ground Water in Santa Clara County, California." p. 11. (1924). U.S. Department of the Interior. U.S. Geological Survey. Water Supply Paper 519.Accessed August 1, 2017.
  3. ^"Alameda Creek Watershed Overview".Alameda Creek Coalition.RetrievedJanuary 31,2022.
  4. ^"Steelhead Get Boost in Alameda Creek Thanks to Restoration Efforts".sfpuc.org.April 24, 2023.Retrieved5 May2023.
  5. ^Sloan, Doris (2006).Geology of the San Francisco Bay Region.Berkeley, California: University of California Press. p. 225.ISBN978-0-520-24126-8.
  6. ^Thompson & West (1878).Official and historical atlas map of Alameda County, California(Bicentennial 1976 ed.). Fresno, CA: Valley Publishers.ISBN0913548340.
  7. ^ab"Alameda Creek Regional Trail"(PDF).East Bay Regional Park District. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on August 4, 2009.RetrievedJune 22,2010.
  8. ^Chen, E., McMahon, P., Shorno, A., By, F., Bautista, J., Goza, G.,... & Inn, S. D. (2012). Alameda County Water District, Engineering Department, Groundwater Resources Division.
  9. ^Victor E. Gleason,Water Projects Go Underground,5 Ecology L.Q. (1976)discussingNiles Sand & Gravel v. Alameda County Water Dist.,37 Cal. App. 3d 924, 112 Cal. Rptr. 846 (Ct. App. 1974).
  10. ^"Quarry Lakes Recreation Area".East Bay Regional Park District.
  11. ^"East Bay Loses 50 Million Gallons of Water After Vandals Destroy Dam".23 May 2015.
  12. ^Robert A. Leidy (April 2007).Ecology, Assemblage Structure,Distribution, and Status of Fishes in Streams Tributary to the San Francisco Estuary, California(Report). San Francisco Estuary Institute.RetrievedJune 22,2010.
  13. ^abcAndrew J. Gunther; Jeffrey Hagar; Paul Salop (2000-02-07).An Assessment of the Potential for Restoring a Viable Steelhead Trout Population in the Alameda Creek Watershed(PDF)(Report). Alameda Creek Fisheries Restoration Workgroup. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on July 30, 2009.RetrievedJune 22,2010.
  14. ^"Ward Creek".Oakland Museum.Retrieved2013-01-27.
  15. ^Leidy, R.A.; G.S. Becker; B.N. Harvey (2005)."Historical distribution and current status of steelhead/rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) in streams of the San Francisco Estuary, California"(PDF).Center for Ecosystem Management and Restoration.Oakland, CA.RetrievedJune 22,2010.
  16. ^abRobert A. Leidy; Gordon Becker; Brett N. Harvey (2005)."Historical Status of Coho Salmon in Streams of the Urbanized San Francisco Estuary, California"(PDF).California Fish and Game.91(4): 219–254.RetrievedJune 22,2010.
  17. ^abKenneth W. Gobalet; et al. (2004)."Archaeological Perspectives on Native American Fisheries of California, with Emphasis on Steelhead and Salmon".Transactions of the American Fisheries Society.133(4): 801–833.doi:10.1577/T02-084.1.RetrievedJune 22,2010.
  18. ^Wes Bowers (2010-06-24)."Water district dedicates two projects along Fremont creek".Fremont Bulletin.Retrieved2010-07-01.
  19. ^abcMatthew Artz (2010-06-24)."Steelhead trout, salmon closer to Alameda Creek return".Oakland Tribune.Retrieved2010-07-01.
  20. ^abStein, Carolyn (June 28, 2024)."'Phenomenal': Species rebounds in Bay Area creek ".San Francisco Chronicle.RetrievedJune 28,2024.
  21. ^Joseph Geha (April 26, 2018)."Work begins on $10 million Alameda Creek fish ladders".East Bay Times.RetrievedJanuary 15,2019.
  22. ^Jeanita Lyman (2023-05-04)."Rainbow trout in Alameda Creek signals return of normal migration".Pleasanton Weekly.Retrieved2023-09-26.
  23. ^Richard B. Lanman; Linda Hylkema; Cristie M. Boone; Brian Allee; Roger O. Castillo; Stephanie A. Moreno; Mary Faith Flores; Upuli DeSilva; Brittany Bingham; Brian M. Kemp (2021)."Ancient DNA analysis of archaeological specimens extends Chinook salmon's known historic range to San Francisco Bay's tributaries and southernmost watershed".PLOS ONE.16(4): e0244470.Bibcode:2021PLoSO..1644470L.doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0244470.PMC8049268.PMID33857143.
  24. ^John E. Skinner (1962). Skinner, John E. (ed.)."The Freshwater Fish and Fisheries of the San Francisco Bay Area".An Historical Review of the Fish and Wildlife Resources of the San Francisco Bay Area.Archived fromthe originalon July 26, 2011.RetrievedJune 22,2010.
  25. ^Alice Bay Maloney; John Work (December 1943). "Fur Brigade to the Bonaventura: John Work's California Expedition of 1832-33 for the Hudson's Bay Company (Continued)".California Historical Society Quarterly.22(4): 343.JSTOR25155808.
  26. ^Nunis, Doyce (1968).A. R. McLeod, Esq. to John McLoughlin, Esq.Dated Fort Vancouver 15 Feby. 1830, in The Hudson's Bay Company's First Fur Brigade to the Sacramento Valley: Alexander McLeod's 1829 Hunt.Fair Oaks, California: TheSacramento Book Collectors Club.p. 34.
  27. ^Bruce A. MacGregor (1976).The Centennial History of Newark.Newark Days Bi-Centennial Committee. p. 13.
  28. ^California Coastal Conservancy (1995). Rasa Gustaitis (ed.).San Francisco Bay Shoreline Guide.University of California Press. p. 69.ISBN978-0-520-08878-8.Retrieved2010-07-14.
  29. ^Lanman CW, Lundquist K, Perryman H, Asarian JE, Dolman B, Lanman RB, Pollock MM (Fall 2013)."The historical range of beaver (Castor canadensis) in coastal California: an updated review of the evidence".California Fish and Game.99(4): 199.RetrievedJanuary 12,2019.
  30. ^Pollock, Michael M.; G. R. Pess; T. J. Beechie (2004)."The Importance of Beaver Ponds to Coho Salmon Production in the Stillaguamish River Basin, Washington, USA"(PDF).North American Journal of Fisheries Management.24(3): 749–760.doi:10.1577/M03-156.1.RetrievedFeb 28,2010.
  31. ^Pollock, Michael M.; Morgan Heim; Danielle Werner (2003)."Hydrologic and geomorphic effects of beaver dams and their influence on fishes"(PDF).American Fisheries Society Symposium.37:213–233. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 2011-07-07.RetrievedJan 17,2010.
  32. ^ab"Calaveras Dam Project Revised, Future Operations Could Help Restore Alameda Creek"(PDF).Alameda Creek Alliance. 2011-01-25. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 2011-07-22.Retrieved2011-02-02.
  33. ^Kelly Zito (2011-01-28)."Calaveras Dam rebuilding projected approved".San Francisco Chronicle.Retrieved2011-02-02.
  34. ^SAN FRANCISCO PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION SUNOL/NILES DAM REMOVAL PROJECT, State Clearinghouse No. 2004072049, February 24, 2006. EIR Certification Date: March 16, 2006.http://sfwater.org/Files/Reports/1_53_SunolNilesDamRmvl_RTC201591a.pdfArchived2011-06-29 at theWayback Machine
  35. ^"Bay Area Ridge Trail: Garin Regional Park to Niles Canyon | East Bay Parks".
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