Arroyo Hondo (Santa Clara County, California)
Encyclopedia
Arroyo Hondo is a 13 miles (20.9 km) river in Santa Clara County, California
, United States
, that lies east of Milpitas
. The area is privately owned by the San Francisco Water Department
and is closed to public access because of its usage as drinking water. Bounded to the east by Oak Ridge
and to the west by Poverty Ridge
, Arroyo Hondo empties into the Calaveras Reservoir
. Its main source is on Mount Hamilton
.
. Its Isabel Creek tributary is significant in that the Spanish name for Mt. Hamilton was the Sierra de Santa Isabel, and the highest point was then referred to as Mount Isabel instead of Mount Hamilton. When William Henry Brewer
and Charles Hoffman of the Whitney Survey
climbed the peak on August 26, 1861, they did not know it had a name, and christened it Mt. Hamilton, although they did correctly place Isabel Valley on their map to the east. When in 1895, the USGS
realized that the peak two miles southeast of Mt. Hamilton was as tall (4193 feet (1,278 m), they correctly named it Mt. Isabel.
at the northern tip of Joseph D. Grant County Park at an elevation of 1591 feet (484.9 m) above sea level. It flows northerly to its confluence with Calaveras Reservoir
at an elevation of 765 feet. Isabel Creek begins at about 2600 feet (792.5 m) about one mile south of Mt. Helen, then flows north through the Isabel Valley, then east and north of Mt. Isabel and Mt. Hamilton until it is joined by Smith Creek.
, which several conservation organizations have attempted to protect. The California Academy of Sciences
collected a Steelhead trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) specimen in 1898 on Arroyo Hondo's Santa Isabel Creek tributary. Both Smith Creek
and Arroyo Hondo were recorded in 1905 by John Otterbein Snyder
as anadromous Steelhead trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) streams.
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...
, that lies east of Milpitas
Milpitas, California
Milpitas is a city in Santa Clara County, California. It is a suburb of the major city of San Jose, California. It is located with San Jose to its south and Fremont to its north, at the eastern end of State Route 237 and generally between Interstates 680 and 880 which run roughly north/south...
. The area is privately owned by the San Francisco Water Department
San Francisco Water Department
The San Francisco Water Department is an agency in San Francisco that provides water service to residents of the San Francisco Bay Area. The San Francisco Water Department privately holds substantial amounts of undeveloped land in many parts of the San Francisco Bay Area.Since the mid-19th century...
and is closed to public access because of its usage as drinking water. Bounded to the east by Oak Ridge
Oak Ridge (California)
Oak Ridge in Santa Clara County, California, is a ridge forming the east canyon wall of Arroyo Hondo, which drains into Calaveras Reservoir. Black Mountain is its highest point. The first known white settlers on Oak Ridge were the Parks family, who ran cattle on the ridge...
and to the west by Poverty Ridge
Poverty Ridge
Poverty Ridge is a ridge in unincorporated Santa Clara County, California, east of Milpitas. Calaveras Valley lies to its west, while its east side slopes down to meet Arroyo Hondo. Creeks that originate on Poverty Ridge include Calaveras and Penitencia Creeks....
, Arroyo Hondo empties into the Calaveras Reservoir
Calaveras Reservoir
Calaveras Reservoir is a lake located primarily in Santa Clara County, California with a small portion and its dam in Alameda County, California. The reservoir has a capacity of . In Spanish, Calaveras means "skulls."...
. Its main source is on Mount Hamilton
Mount Hamilton (California)
Mount Hamilton is a mountain in California's Diablo Range, in Santa Clara County, California. Mount Hamilton, at is the tallest mountain overlooking Silicon Valley, and is the site of Lick Observatory, the first permanently occupied mountain-top observatory. The various summits along its...
.
History
Arroyo Hondo means "deep creek" in SpanishSpanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
. Its Isabel Creek tributary is significant in that the Spanish name for Mt. Hamilton was the Sierra de Santa Isabel, and the highest point was then referred to as Mount Isabel instead of Mount Hamilton. When William Henry Brewer
William Henry Brewer
William Henry Brewer was an American botanist. He worked on the first California Geological Survey and was the first Chair of Agriculture at Yale University's Sheffield Scientific School....
and Charles Hoffman of the Whitney Survey
California Geological Survey
Although it was not until 1880 that the California State Mining Bureau, predecessor to the California Geological Survey, was established, the "roots" of California's state geological survey date to an earlier time...
climbed the peak on August 26, 1861, they did not know it had a name, and christened it Mt. Hamilton, although they did correctly place Isabel Valley on their map to the east. When in 1895, the USGS
United States Geological Survey
The United States Geological Survey is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, and the natural hazards that threaten it. The organization has four major science disciplines, concerning biology,...
realized that the peak two miles southeast of Mt. Hamilton was as tall (4193 feet (1,278 m), they correctly named it Mt. Isabel.
Watershed
The Arroyo Hondo mainstem is formed by the confluence of Isabel Creek and Smith CreekSmith Creek (Santa Clara County, California)
Smith Creek is the name of two distinct watercourses within Santa Clara County, California.The larger of the two is located in the Diablo Range east of San Jose. The creek begins near the Bollinger Ridge, about 7.7 km SxSW of Mount Hamilton...
at the northern tip of Joseph D. Grant County Park at an elevation of 1591 feet (484.9 m) above sea level. It flows northerly to its confluence with Calaveras Reservoir
Calaveras Reservoir
Calaveras Reservoir is a lake located primarily in Santa Clara County, California with a small portion and its dam in Alameda County, California. The reservoir has a capacity of . In Spanish, Calaveras means "skulls."...
at an elevation of 765 feet. Isabel Creek begins at about 2600 feet (792.5 m) about one mile south of Mt. Helen, then flows north through the Isabel Valley, then east and north of Mt. Isabel and Mt. Hamilton until it is joined by Smith Creek.
Ecology
The arroyo still has remnants of native rainbow 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....
, which several conservation organizations have attempted to protect. The California Academy of Sciences
California Academy of Sciences
The California Academy of Sciences is among the largest museums of natural history in the world. The academy began in 1853 as a learned society and still carries out a large amount of original research, with exhibits and education becoming significant endeavors of the museum during the twentieth...
collected a Steelhead trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) specimen in 1898 on Arroyo Hondo's Santa Isabel Creek tributary. Both Smith Creek
Smith Creek (Santa Clara County, California)
Smith Creek is the name of two distinct watercourses within Santa Clara County, California.The larger of the two is located in the Diablo Range east of San Jose. The creek begins near the Bollinger Ridge, about 7.7 km SxSW of Mount Hamilton...
and Arroyo Hondo were recorded in 1905 by John Otterbein Snyder
John Otterbein Snyder
John Otterbein Snyder was an American zoologist.As a student he met David Starr Jordan who inspired him to enter zoology. He eventually became a zoology instructor at Stanford University and served there from 1899 until 1943. He went on several major collecting expeditions aboard the USS Albatross...
as anadromous Steelhead trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) streams.