Arastradero Creek
Encyclopedia
Arastradero Creek is a mainly seasonal 2.4 miles (3.9 km) generally north by northeastward-flowing stream
originating in the Palo Alto
foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains
in Santa Clara County, California
, United States
. It is almost wholly protected by the Pearson-Arastradero Open Space Preserve
, before joining Matadero Creek
where its waters descend to San Francisco Bay
.
.
, which is accessed from the Preserve's excellent Interpretive Center at 1530 Arastradero Road, 1/4 mile west of Page Mill Road. The willow-lined creek reaches Arastradero Lake, an artificial lake formed by an earthen dam that served as a former ranch stock pond. After Arastradero Lake, the Arastradero Creek Trail ascends along the creek to Sobey Pond and then continues upwards almost to the creek's source on the northern edge of Palo Alto's Foothills Park.
When the creek reaches Arastradero Road it is joined from the left by an ephemeral creek (locally named Mayfly Creek), and then turns abruptly east and flows along the road into Los Altos Hills
to its confluence with Matadero Creek
, at the intersection of Arastradero Road with Page Mill Road.
, a Palo Alto-based environmental group, acts as a steward for the preserve and engages community volunteers in programs that combine habitat restoration with environmental education and accommodate a wide range of volunteers from high schools to local corporations. Their projects focus primarily on removing Yellow star thistle (Centaurea solstitialis), Medusahead grass
(Taeniatherum caput-medusae), Poison Hemlock (Conium maculatum), Italian Thistle
(Carduus pycnocephalus), Wild mustard and Teasel and replacing these invasives with native species. In 2006, Acterra conducted a large-scale creek daylighting project and continues to work on creek stabilization, sediment harvesting and planting riparian species. Reforestation projects focus on native oaks, including planting and caging young native oaks, and removal of high fire-danger Eucalyptus
. To encourage and support a greater diversity of fauna, Acterra volunteers install nesting boxes, bird perches, raptor poles, bat houses, bee blocks and brush piles. The Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society maintains and places bird houses and co-leads bird hikes with Acterra. Currently Acterra is conducting a Preserve-wide weed and biodiversity hotspot map to guide future management strategies. There is an installation of native flora at the preserve's Interpretive Center.
In 2006, Acterra received a grant from the California Coastal Conservancy
to daylight
Mayfly Creek and restore the surrounding habitat. A sinuous, ephemeral stream was re-established and planted with thousands of native plant species along the banks. Acterra continues to restore the area by creating check dam
s to slow water flow, while removing invasive flora and replacing them with natives. Thanks to hundreds of volunteers, the once degraded habitat now reflects a more sustainable, native ecosystem.
provides cautions when hiking in Mountain lion (Puma concolor) territories.
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 in the Palo Alto
Palo Alto, California
Palo Alto is a California charter city located in the northwest corner of Santa Clara County, in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, United States. The city shares its borders with East Palo Alto, Mountain View, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Stanford, Portola Valley, and Menlo Park. It is...
foothills 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,...
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 is almost wholly protected by the Pearson-Arastradero Open Space Preserve
Arastradero Preserve
Arastradero Preserve, officially known as Enid W. Pearson-Arastradero Open Space Preserve, is a nature preserve that protects most of the Arastradero Creek watershed. The preserve is owned and operated by the City of Palo Alto, in the city of Palo Alto, California, USA...
, before joining Matadero Creek
Matadero Creek
Matadero Creek is a stream originating in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains in Santa Clara County, California, United States. The creek flows in a northeasterly direction for until it enters the Palo Alto Flood Basin, then the Mayfield Slough and then southwest San Francisco Bay...
where its waters descend to 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
"Arrastre" is Spanish for the act of dragging, used for an ore mill, where heavy weights were dragged over ore, and "Arrastradero" means a place where dragging is done. In Spanish times, timber was dragged along Arastradero Road to help in the building of the Santa Clara MissionMission Santa Clara de Asís
Mission Santa Clara de Asís was founded on January 12, 1777 and named for Santa Clara de Asis , the foundress of the order of the Poor Clares. Although ruined and rebuilt six times, the settlement was never abandoned.-History:...
.
Watershed and Course
The Juan Bautista de Anza Trail ascends along the creek from Gate A of the Pearson-Arastradero PreserveArastradero Preserve
Arastradero Preserve, officially known as Enid W. Pearson-Arastradero Open Space Preserve, is a nature preserve that protects most of the Arastradero Creek watershed. The preserve is owned and operated by the City of Palo Alto, in the city of Palo Alto, California, USA...
, which is accessed from the Preserve's excellent Interpretive Center at 1530 Arastradero Road, 1/4 mile west of Page Mill Road. The willow-lined creek reaches Arastradero Lake, an artificial lake formed by an earthen dam that served as a former ranch stock pond. After Arastradero Lake, the Arastradero Creek Trail ascends along the creek to Sobey Pond and then continues upwards almost to the creek's source on the northern edge of Palo Alto's Foothills Park.
When the creek reaches Arastradero Road it is joined from the left by an ephemeral creek (locally named Mayfly Creek), and then turns abruptly east and flows along the road into Los Altos Hills
Los Altos Hills, California
Los Altos Hills is an incorporated town in Santa Clara County, California, United States. The population was 7,922 at the 2010 census. Located in Silicon Valley, Los Altos Hills is one of the wealthiest cities in the nation.-Strictly residential:...
to its confluence with Matadero Creek
Matadero Creek
Matadero Creek is a stream originating in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains in Santa Clara County, California, United States. The creek flows in a northeasterly direction for until it enters the Palo Alto Flood Basin, then the Mayfield Slough and then southwest San Francisco Bay...
, at the intersection of Arastradero Road with Page Mill Road.
Habitat and Conservation
The Pearson-Arastradero Preserve is unusual in its intensive ecological restoration program where ActerraActerra
Acterra: Action for a Sustainable Earth is a nonprofit environmental education and action organization based in Palo Alto, California.Acterra's annual budget for FY 2007-08 was $918,604. The organization has approximately 1,000 paid members and donors....
, a Palo Alto-based environmental group, acts as a steward for the preserve and engages community volunteers in programs that combine habitat restoration with environmental education and accommodate a wide range of volunteers from high schools to local corporations. Their projects focus primarily on removing Yellow star thistle (Centaurea solstitialis), Medusahead grass
Taeniatherum caput-medusae
Taeniatherum caput-medusae is a species of grass known by the common name medusahead. This aggressive winter annual grass is changing the ecology of western rangelands in North America. Forty-eight percent of the total land area of the United States is rangeland, pastureland, national parks, nature...
(Taeniatherum caput-medusae), Poison Hemlock (Conium maculatum), Italian Thistle
Carduus pycnocephalus
Carduus pycnocephalus is a species of thistle native to the Mediterranean region of Europe and Asia which has become a noxious weed in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, South America, and North America, especially in California, where it is a C-listed weed by...
(Carduus pycnocephalus), Wild mustard and Teasel and replacing these invasives with native species. In 2006, Acterra conducted a large-scale creek daylighting project and continues to work on creek stabilization, sediment harvesting and planting riparian species. Reforestation projects focus on native oaks, including planting and caging young native oaks, and removal of high fire-danger Eucalyptus
Eucalyptus
Eucalyptus is a diverse genus of flowering trees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Members of the genus dominate the tree flora of Australia...
. To encourage and support a greater diversity of fauna, Acterra volunteers install nesting boxes, bird perches, raptor poles, bat houses, bee blocks and brush piles. The Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society maintains and places bird houses and co-leads bird hikes with Acterra. Currently Acterra is conducting a Preserve-wide weed and biodiversity hotspot map to guide future management strategies. There is an installation of native flora at the preserve's Interpretive Center.
In 2006, Acterra received a grant from the California Coastal Conservancy
California Coastal Conservancy
The California Coastal Conservancy is a state agency in California established in 1976 to enhance coastal resources and access.-Goals:The agency's official goals are to:*Protect and improve coastal wetlands, streams and watersheds...
to daylight
Daylighting (streams)
In urban design and urban planning, daylighting is the redirection of a stream into an above-ground channel. Typically, the goal is to restore a stream of water to a more natural state...
Mayfly Creek and restore the surrounding habitat. A sinuous, ephemeral stream was re-established and planted with thousands of native plant species along the banks. Acterra continues to restore the area by creating check dam
Check dam
A check dam is a small dam, which can be either temporary or permanent, built across a minor channel, swale, bioswale, or drainage ditch. Similar to drop structures in purpose, they reduce erosion and gullying in the channel and allow sediments and pollutants to settle. They also lower the speed of...
s to slow water flow, while removing invasive flora and replacing them with natives. Thanks to hundreds of volunteers, the once degraded habitat now reflects a more sustainable, native ecosystem.
Recreation
The Pearson-Arastradero Preserve has 10.3 miles (17 km) miles of trails for hiking, biking and horseback riding, but some trails are designated as "seasonal" and are closed because of vulnerability to erosion in heavy rain. Arastradero Lake is a twenty minute hike from the parking lot and is open all year to fishing, although boats, flotation devices, and swimming are not permitted. The California Department of Fish and GameCalifornia Department of Fish and Game
The California Department of Fish and Game is a department within the government of California, falling under its parent California Natural Resources Agency. The Department of Fish and Game manages and protects the state's diverse fish, wildlife, plant resources, and native habitats...
provides cautions when hiking in Mountain lion (Puma concolor) territories.