Hale Creek
Encyclopedia
Hale Creek is a short stream
originating in the foothills of Los Altos Hills, California
in Santa Clara County, California
, United States
. Its source is in the Rancho San Antonio Open Space Preserve
upstream and east of Neary Quarry. The creek flows northeasterly 4.6 miles (7.4 km) through the cities of Los Altos Hills
, Los Altos
, and Mountain View
before joining Permanente Creek
.
land grant.
Hale was one of the largest land owners in the west, thanks to marrying the daughter of a large Spanish grant holder. He bought 2,000 acres of Juana Briones
’ original ranch and was one of Los Altos’ earliest large land owners. He and four other families lived on the Hale Ranch.
In the 1930s Neary Rock Quarry was dug on upper Hale Creek. The quarry supplied base rock for the construction of Moffett Field
and crushed rock for Highway 101 and I280
.
After a 12 year long approval process, developer John Vidovich got Los Altos Hills approval in February, 2006 to build the Quarry Hills subdivision, consisting of 22 upscale homes (down from 78) and an eleven acre lake, by damming the outflow from the quarry to Hale Creek.
Below Neary Quarry the Juan Prado Mesa Preserve is a Los Altos Hills
Open Space Preserve that follows Hale Creek and can be accessed at the top from Stonebrook Road and at the bottom from Dawson Drive. Juan Prado Mesa was was born in Santa Clara
in 1806, grandson of Corporal José Valerio Mesa who came to California with the Anza Expedition, and served as a soldier at the San Francisco Presidio becoming Alférez in 1835. Governor Juan Alvarado granted the 7982 acres (32.3 km²) Rancho San Antonio
to Juan Prado Mesa in 1839.
The Geographic Names Information System
show its source at about 950 feet (289.6 m) elevation just north of the Chamise Trail in the Rancho San Antonio Open Space Preserve
in the little valley that flows easterly down to the north side of Neary Quarry. According to the Oakland Museum's map Guide to San Francisco Bay Area Creeks, Hale Creek's tributaries (heading downstream) are Magdalena Creek on the right, then Summerville Creek on the left, then Loyola Creek on the right - all entering Hale Creek upstream of Interstate 280. Hale Creek terminates at its confluence with Permanente Creek
at Mountain View Avenue in Mountain View
just west of St. Joseph School and south of McKelvey Park.
Hale Creek is part of the Santa Clara Valley Water District
's (SCVWD) Permanente Creek Flood Protection Project which aims to install overflow basins along Hale and Permanente Creeks to catch one hundred year flood waters in order to protect 1,664 parcels (1,378 homes, 160 businesses and 4 schools/institutions) downstream of El Camino Real (saving potential damages in excess of $47.9 million) and prevent flooding of Middlefield Road and Central Expressway, by 12/30/2016 and also to identify opportunities for environmental enhancement such as stream restoration, as well as trails, parks, and open space.
From its confluence with Permanente Creek upstream to Rose/Rosita Avenue, the channel has been set in a straight concrete channel to move storm flows - at Marilyn Drive it is dated 1952 and at Arboleda Drive it is dated 1960. The concrete sides transition smoothly from rectangle to trapezoid just over 30 feet north of Arboleda Drive. However the SCVWD has recently proposed widening and/or deepening this concrete channel.
(Oncorhynchus mykiss) at two locations sampled in August 1981. However, the fact that Hale Creek is tributary to a historic trout stream (Permanente Creek) suggests that steelhead may have used the stream.
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 foothills of Los Altos Hills, California
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:...
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...
. Its source is in the Rancho San Antonio Open Space Preserve
Rancho San Antonio Open Space Preserve
Rancho San Antonio County Park is a public recreational area in the Santa Cruz Mountains, Santa Clara County, in northern California. It's approximately in area and contains of hiking trails. It is managed by the Santa Clara County Parks department...
upstream and east of Neary Quarry. The creek flows northeasterly 4.6 miles (7.4 km) through the cities of 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:...
, Los Altos
Los Altos, California
Los Altos is a city at the southern end of the San Francisco Peninsula, in the San Francisco Bay Area. The city is in Santa Clara County, California, United States. The population was 28,976 according to the 2010 census....
, and Mountain View
Mountain View, California
-Downtown:Mountain View has a pedestrian-friendly downtown centered on Castro Street. The downtown area consists of the seven blocks of Castro Street from the Downtown Mountain View Station transit center in the north to the intersection with El Camino Real in the south...
before joining Permanente Creek
Permanente Creek
Permanente Creek is a stream originating on Black Mountain in Santa Clara County, California, United States. It is the namesake for the Kaiser Permanente health maintenance organization...
.
History
Hale Creek is named for Joseph P. Hale, who at one time owned most of the Rancho San AntonioRancho San Antonio (Mesa)
Rancho San Antonio was a Mexican land grant in present day Santa Clara County, California given in 1839 by Governor Juan Alvarado to Juan Prado Mesa...
land grant.
Hale was one of the largest land owners in the west, thanks to marrying the daughter of a large Spanish grant holder. He bought 2,000 acres of Juana Briones
Juana Briones de Miranda
Juana Briones de Miranda was born near the Santa Cruz Mission, in California. Her parents arrived with the earliest explorations of this then remote fringe of the Spanish empire, and her family members had accompanied both the Gaspar de Portolà and the Juan Bautista de Anza Expeditions...
’ original ranch and was one of Los Altos’ earliest large land owners. He and four other families lived on the Hale Ranch.
In the 1930s Neary Rock Quarry was dug on upper Hale Creek. The quarry supplied base rock for the construction of Moffett Field
Moffett Federal Airfield
Moffett Federal Airfield , also known as Moffett Field, is a joint civil-military airport located between northern Mountain View and northern Sunnyvale, California, USA. The airport is near the south end of San Francisco Bay, northwest of San Jose. Formerly a United States Navy facility, the former...
and crushed rock for Highway 101 and I280
Interstate 280 (California)
Interstate 280 is a 57-mile long north–south Interstate Highway in the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It connects San Jose and San Francisco, running along just to the west of the cities of San Francisco Peninsula for most of its route.I-280 from its northern end at King...
.
After a 12 year long approval process, developer John Vidovich got Los Altos Hills approval in February, 2006 to build the Quarry Hills subdivision, consisting of 22 upscale homes (down from 78) and an eleven acre lake, by damming the outflow from the quarry to Hale Creek.
Below Neary Quarry the Juan Prado Mesa Preserve is a 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:...
Open Space Preserve that follows Hale Creek and can be accessed at the top from Stonebrook Road and at the bottom from Dawson Drive. Juan Prado Mesa was was born in Santa Clara
Santa Clara, California
Santa Clara , founded in 1777 and incorporated in 1852, is a city in Santa Clara County, in the U.S. state of California. The city is the site of the eighth of 21 California missions, Mission Santa Clara de Asís, and was named after the mission. The Mission and Mission Gardens are located on the...
in 1806, grandson of Corporal José Valerio Mesa who came to California with the Anza Expedition, and served as a soldier at the San Francisco Presidio becoming Alférez in 1835. Governor Juan Alvarado granted the 7982 acres (32.3 km²) Rancho San Antonio
Rancho San Antonio (Mesa)
Rancho San Antonio was a Mexican land grant in present day Santa Clara County, California given in 1839 by Governor Juan Alvarado to Juan Prado Mesa...
to Juan Prado Mesa in 1839.
Watershed
Hale Creek drains an area of approximately 5 square miles (12.9 km²) and has three minor tributaries.The Geographic Names Information System
Geographic Names Information System
The Geographic Names Information System is a database that contains name and locative information about more than two million physical and cultural features located throughout the United States of America and its territories. It is a type of gazetteer...
show its source at about 950 feet (289.6 m) elevation just north of the Chamise Trail in the Rancho San Antonio Open Space Preserve
Rancho San Antonio Open Space Preserve
Rancho San Antonio County Park is a public recreational area in the Santa Cruz Mountains, Santa Clara County, in northern California. It's approximately in area and contains of hiking trails. It is managed by the Santa Clara County Parks department...
in the little valley that flows easterly down to the north side of Neary Quarry. According to the Oakland Museum's map Guide to San Francisco Bay Area Creeks, Hale Creek's tributaries (heading downstream) are Magdalena Creek on the right, then Summerville Creek on the left, then Loyola Creek on the right - all entering Hale Creek upstream of Interstate 280. Hale Creek terminates at its confluence with Permanente Creek
Permanente Creek
Permanente Creek is a stream originating on Black Mountain in Santa Clara County, California, United States. It is the namesake for the Kaiser Permanente health maintenance organization...
at Mountain View Avenue in Mountain View
Mountain View, California
-Downtown:Mountain View has a pedestrian-friendly downtown centered on Castro Street. The downtown area consists of the seven blocks of Castro Street from the Downtown Mountain View Station transit center in the north to the intersection with El Camino Real in the south...
just west of St. Joseph School and south of McKelvey Park.
Hale Creek is part of the Santa Clara Valley Water District
Santa Clara Valley Water District
The Santa Clara Valley Water District provides stream stewardship, wholesale water supply and flood protection for Santa Clara County, California, in the southern San Francisco Bay Area. The district encompasses all of the county’s and serves the area’s 15 cities, 1.7 million residents and more...
's (SCVWD) Permanente Creek Flood Protection Project which aims to install overflow basins along Hale and Permanente Creeks to catch one hundred year flood waters in order to protect 1,664 parcels (1,378 homes, 160 businesses and 4 schools/institutions) downstream of El Camino Real (saving potential damages in excess of $47.9 million) and prevent flooding of Middlefield Road and Central Expressway, by 12/30/2016 and also to identify opportunities for environmental enhancement such as stream restoration, as well as trails, parks, and open space.
From its confluence with Permanente Creek upstream to Rose/Rosita Avenue, the channel has been set in a straight concrete channel to move storm flows - at Marilyn Drive it is dated 1952 and at Arboleda Drive it is dated 1960. The concrete sides transition smoothly from rectangle to trapezoid just over 30 feet north of Arboleda Drive. However the SCVWD has recently proposed widening and/or deepening this concrete channel.
Ecology
A fish distribution study found no Steelhead TroutRainbow trout
The rainbow trout is a species of salmonid native to tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead is a sea run rainbow trout usually returning to freshwater to spawn after 2 to 3 years at sea. In other words, rainbow trout and steelhead trout are the same species....
(Oncorhynchus mykiss) at two locations sampled in August 1981. However, the fact that Hale Creek is tributary to a historic trout stream (Permanente Creek) suggests that steelhead may have used the stream.