Alum Rock Park
Encyclopedia
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of 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...
. Located in a valley
Valley
In geology, a valley or dale is a depression with predominant extent in one direction. A very deep river valley may be called a canyon or gorge.The terms U-shaped and V-shaped are descriptive terms of geography to characterize the form of valleys...
in the Diablo Range
Diablo Range
The Diablo Range is a mountain range in the California Coast Ranges subdivision of the Pacific Coast Ranges. It is located in the eastern San Francisco Bay area south to the Salinas Valley area of northern California, the United States.-Geography:...
foothills on the east side of San Jose
San Jose, California
San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
, the 720 acre (2.9 km²) park offers 13 miles (21 km) of trails, varying from fairly level along Penitencia Creek
Penitencia Creek
Upper Penitencia Creek is actually one of two creeks by the name Penitencia Creek in northeastern Santa Clara Valley of California. They are both tributaries of Coyote Creek....
to sharp switchbacks climbing to the ridges to the South Rim Trail and the North Rim Trail. The narrow floor of the valley includes a visitor center, a small museum/animal rehab facility, picnic
Picnic
In contemporary usage, a picnic can be defined simply as a pleasure excursion at which a meal is eaten outdoors , ideally taking place in a beautiful landscape such as a park, beside a lake or with an interesting view and possibly at a public event such as before an open air theatre performance,...
areas, playground
Playground
A playground or play area is a place with a specific design for children be able to play there. It may be indoors but is typically outdoors...
s, lawns, sand volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
pits, mineral springs, lush plantlife, woodlands, creek play opportunities, and occasional group camping.
The ridge trails offer views of Santa Clara Valley
Santa Clara Valley
The Santa Clara Valley is a valley just south of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California in the United States. Much of Santa Clara County and its county seat, San José, are in the Santa Clara Valley. The valley was originally known as the Valley of Heart’s Delight for its high concentration...
and of the valley in which the park is located. Some trails in the park are a part of the Bay Area Ridge Trail
Bay Area Ridge Trail
The Bay Area Ridge Trail is a planned 550+-mile multi-use trail along the hill and mountain ridgelines ringing the San Francisco Bay Area, in Northern California. When complete, the trail will connect over 75 parks and open spaces. The trail is being designed to provide access for hikers,...
; the Todd Quick trail connects with the Santa Clara County Open Space Authority
Santa Clara County Open Space Authority
The Santa Clara County Open Space Authority is a special district in Santa Clara County, California.-External links:*...
's 1,600-acre Sierra Vista Open Space Preserve.
Equestrian
Equestrianism
Equestrianism more often known as riding, horseback riding or horse riding refers to the skill of riding, driving, or vaulting with horses...
s and mountain bike
Mountain bike
A mountain bike or mountain bicycle is a bicycle created for off-road cycling. This activity includes traversing of rocks and washouts, and steep declines,...
rs have access to some of the park's trails, while others are reserved for hikers only. Cross-country meets from schools around the area are held at the park often.
Naming
Alum Rock Park was originally known simply as "the reservation"; it received its current name around the turn of the 20th century when people mistook the white powdery appearance of a large rock near its entrance to mean that it contained alumAlum
Alum is both a specific chemical compound and a class of chemical compounds. The specific compound is the hydrated potassium aluminium sulfate with the formula KAl2.12H2O. The wider class of compounds known as alums have the related empirical formula, AB2.12H2O.-Chemical properties:Alums are...
.
Penitencia Creek is properly called Upper Penitencia Creek because it no longer connects with Lower Penitencia Creek, which is in Milpitas. The creek also had a different name until the early 20th century; somehow it began to be called by the name of a different creek located to the north, which was so-named because monks (possibly from Mission San Jose
Mission San José
Mission San José was founded on June 11, 1797 on a site located in the "Mission San Jose District" of Fremont, California in the "Valley of San José." The settlement was the site of the first Ceasarian section childbirth in Alta California...
) would meditate by its waters.
Renovation
From 1921 until unknown, the Santa Clara County CouncilSanta Clara County Council
Santa Clara County Council, Inc. is a Boy Scouts of America council headquartered in San Jose, California. As of 2004, the council serves over 11,000 youth in over 400 Boy Scout troops, Cub Scout packs, Venturing crews, and Explorer posts.-History:...
of the Boy Scouts of America
Boy Scouts of America
The Boy Scouts of America is one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with over 4.5 million youth members in its age-related divisions...
was given exclusive access to 15 acres (61,000 m²) in the park. By the 1960s, the park attracted so many visitors from the rapidly growing Santa Clara Valley that its facilities became overburdened and the natural scenery was damaged. In the 1970s, the park removed most of the buildings, closed off parts of the park, and began emphasizing the park's natural attractions rather than its man-made ones. Much of the stonework remains, however, as do old support structures for a once-existing railroad.
Natural disasters
El Niño winter storms caused a landslide that resulted in the closure of the original Alum Rock Avenue entrance in the autumn of 2000; access is currently available only from Penitencia Creek Road.On October 30, 2007, the 2007 Alum Rock earthquake
2007 Alum Rock earthquake
The 2007 Alum Rock earthquake occurred on October 30, 2007 at approximately 8:04 p.m. PDT in Alum Rock Park in San Jose, California...
, a 5.6 earthquake, hit the Bay Area at 8:04 pm Pacific time. It was centered 5 miles (8 km) NNE of Alum Rock
Alum Rock, California
Alum Rock is a census-designated place in Santa Clara County, California, United States and a community of San Jose. The CDP, which excludes all annexed areas, had a population of 15,536 at the 2010 census. Alum Rock was named after a rock formerly thought to be composed of alum in nearby Alum...
and at a depth of 5.7 miles (9.2 km). The Hayward Fault and Calaveras Fault
Calaveras Fault
The Calaveras Fault is a major branch of the San Andreas Fault located in northern California in the San Francisco Bay Area. To the east of the Hayward-Rodgers Creek fault, the Calaveras fault extends 123 km, splaying from the San Andreas fault near Hollister and terminating at Danville at its...
converge close to Alum Rock Park. One effect of the earthquake was to cause a previously dried spring to begin flowing again.
Current updates
The city closes the park every Monday due to budgetary constraints. It is open on some Monday holidays.
Springs
Spring (hydrosphere)
A spring—also known as a rising or resurgence—is a component of the hydrosphere. Specifically, it is any natural situation where water flows to the surface of the earth from underground...
s, which were touted as beneficial to people's health. In the late 19th century and through the 1930s, the park was famed throughout the country as a health resort. Through those years and as late as the 1970s, the park featured a natatorium
Natatorium
A natatorium is a term given for a building containing a swimming pool. In Latin, a cella natatoria was a swimming pool in its own building, although it is sometimes also used to refer to any indoor pool even if not housed in a dedicated building...
(a huge, heated indoor swimming pool
Swimming pool
A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, or simply a pool, is a container filled with water intended for swimming or water-based recreation. There are many standard sizes; the largest is the Olympic-size swimming pool...
), dozens of private heated mineral baths that visitors could rent, a restaurant
Restaurant
A restaurant is an establishment which prepares and serves food and drink to customers in return for money. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...
, and various other buildings. Many of the springs were enclosed in stonework grottos, and stone bridges were built across the creek. Due to overuse, some of the springs became extinct, and surviving ones became very weak, producing very little output.
Road
The road is maintained jointly by the city and county. Thus, it is a private road maintained at public expense. However, private residents have access to the road. They enter the park and continue on to the rear parking lot. At the end of the parking lot is a metal gate which requires a security code number to enter. Visitors can also walk up the road, but there are various signs which indicate no trespassing.Fork in the creek
Youth Science Institute
Opened in 1953, the Youth Science Institute - Alum Rock Science and Nature Center, operated by the Youth Science Institute, features natural historyNatural history
Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...
exhibits and a collection of live teaching animals, including several injured and non-releasable hawks and owls that are found in the region. The center offers nature and science school and group programs, after-school science and summer camp programs.
Environment
Vegetation
The steep sides of the valley are home to many diverse plants native to California. The south-facing slopes primarily consist of grasses, Poison OakPoison oak
Poison oak may refer to* Toxicodendron diversilobum, grows on West Coast of North America* Toxicodendron pubescens, grows in the Eastern United Statesdamnnnnn tissss is terribleee...
, sagebrush
Artemisia californica
Artemisia californica, also known as California sagebrush, of the Asteraceae family, is a shrub that grows in coastal sage scrub, coastal strand, chaparral, and dry foothill communities, from sea level to 800 m...
, and occasional live oak
Live oak
Live oak , also known as the southern live oak, is a normally evergreen oak tree native to the southeastern United States...
trees. The warm sun on the sagebrush lends a unique smell to the air.
The north-facing slopes are dominated by trees, including Coast live oak
Coast Live Oak
Quercus agrifolia, the Coast Live Oak, is an evergreen oak , native to the California Floristic Province. It grows west of the Sierra Nevada from Mendocino County, California, south to northern Baja California in Mexico. It is classified in the red oak section Quercus agrifolia, the Coast Live Oak,...
, California bay laurel, madrone
Pacific Madrone
Arbutus menziesii, commonly known as the Pacific Madrone, is a species of Arbutus found on the west coast of North America, from British Columbia to California...
, and California buckeye. On the valley floor, in the moist areas along Penitencia Creek, bigleaf maple
Bigleaf Maple
Acer macrophyllum is a large deciduous tree in the genus Acer.It can grow to be up to 35 m tall, but more commonly grows 15 m to 20 m tall. It is native to western North America, mostly near the Pacific coast, from southernmost Alaska to southern California...
, white alder
White Alder
White Alder may refer to:* USCGC White Alder , a United States Coast Guard ship* White Alder , a North American flowering plant...
, and Western sycamore provide shade for the abundant fern
Fern
A fern is any one of a group of about 12,000 species of plants belonging to the botanical group known as Pteridophyta. Unlike mosses, they have xylem and phloem . They have stems, leaves, and roots like other vascular plants...
s.
Animals
Several larger varieties of birdBird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
s frequent the park, including the Red-tailed Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
The Red-tailed Hawk is a bird of prey, one of three species colloquially known in the United States as the "chickenhawk," though it rarely preys on standard sized chickens. It breeds throughout most of North America, from western Alaska and northern Canada to as far south as Panama and the West...
, Turkey Vulture
Turkey Vulture
The Turkey Vulture is a bird found throughout most of the Americas. It is also known in some North American regions as the Turkey Buzzard , and in some areas of the Caribbean as the John Crow or Carrion Crow...
, Wild Turkey
Wild Turkey
The Wild Turkey is native to North America and is the heaviest member of the Galliformes. It is the same species as the domestic turkey, which derives from the South Mexican subspecies of wild turkey .Adult wild turkeys have long reddish-yellow to grayish-green...
, Great Egret
Great Egret
The Great Egret , also known as the Great White Egret or Common Egret, White Heron, or Great White Heron, is a large, widely-distributed egret. Distributed across most of the tropical and warmer temperate regions of the world, in southern Europe it is rather localized...
, and California Quail
California Quail
The California Quail, Callipepla californica, also known as the California Valley Quail or Valley Quail, is a small ground-dwelling bird in the New World quail family...
. Larger wildlife includes Black-tailed Deer
Black-tailed Deer
Two forms of black-tailed deer or blacktail deer occupying coastal temperate rainforest on North America's Pacific coast are subspecies of the mule deer. They have sometimes been treated as a species, but virtually all recent authorities maintain they are subspecies...
, bobcat
Bobcat
The bobcat is a North American mammal of the cat family Felidae, appearing during the Irvingtonian stage of around 1.8 million years ago . With twelve recognized subspecies, it ranges from southern Canada to northern Mexico, including most of the continental United States...
s, and occasional mountain lions. There has been an increase in the mountain lion population in the San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
.
Rattlesnakes (specifically, the Northern Pacific Rattlesnake: Crotalus oreganus
Crotalus oreganus
Crotalus oreganus is a venomous pitviper species found in North America in the western United States, parts of British Columbia and northwestern Mexico. Seven subspecies are currently recognized, including the nominate subspecies described here....
) are known to be active during the summer months. They can occasionally be seen shading themselves in the foliage along the trails.