Barron Creek
Encyclopedia
Barron Creek is a 5.8 miles (9.3 km) northward-flowing stream
originating in the lower foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains
in Los Altos Hills
in Santa Clara County, California
, United States
. It courses northerly through the cities of Los Altos Hills, Los Altos
, and Palo Alto
, before joining Adobe Creek just south of U.S. Highway 101. As Adobe Creek its waters continue northwards to southwest San Francisco Bay
after traversing Highway 101 and the Palo Alto Flood Basin.
was sold to Juana Briones de Miranda
, whose family members had accompanied both the Gaspar de Portolà
and the Juan Bautista de Anza
Expeditions. Her uniquely constructed wood-framed, rammed-earth and adobe brick house, believed to have been built by American desertee sailors, is located at 4155 Old Adobe Road on the border between Palo Alto and Los Altos Hills, and is marked by a historical marker at the corner of Old Adobe Road and Old Trace Lane. Designated a California State Historical Landmark in 1954, the 160 year old Juana Briones home was scheduled for demolition in 2007 because of damage to it by the Loma Prieta earthquake
in 1989. In 2009, it still stands and has been recently documented with a Historic American Buildings Survey
(HABS).
After 1831, Mexican rancho owners would logically erect their dwellings on or very near creeks. Locally, Juanita Briones’ adobe was near Barron Creek.
In 1853, Elisha Crosby bought a 250-acre parcel of Rancho Santa Rita, really Rancho Rincon de San Francisquito
, from the Robles family in 1853 and named it Mayfield Farm. This would later become Barron Park after Edward Barron.
. It is the most modified creek in the Lower Peninsula Watershed, with 67% of its course classified as "hardened", meaning that most (but not all) of its course north of Foothill Expressway is in a concrete channel to its confluence with Adobe Creek. When there are heavy storm flows, the Barron Creek Diversion Channel, originating just north of Foothill Expressway, is used to divert heavy storm flows from the creek to Matadero Creek
.
Barron Creek appears to historically have been a tributary of Matadero Creek
, and was alternatively known as Dry Creek, but was later diverted to Adobe Creek. Barron Creek is 5.8 miles (9.3 km) long, originating in the Los Altos Hills foothills at elevation 350 feet (106.7 m) along La Paloma Road (just north of Alta Tierra Road), then flowing north along La Paloma Road, where it is joined by a Concepcion Road fork at Fremont Road and proceeds along Fremont Road behind Pinewood School, before turning northeasterly along Arastradero Road where it is joined by another minor fork originating in Esther Clark Park. After crossing Foothill Expressway
it is buried in an underground pipe just west of Gunn High School
but sees daylight where the creek crosses Bol Park Bike Path in a small, man-made flood control basin, then at Laguna Avenue again enters an underground pipe running beneath Los Robles Avenue to El Camino Real. Barron Creek has been greatly modified for flood control purposes; the creek bed downstream from El Camino Real is a concrete trapezoidal channel.
In the 1800s the Baylands marshes ended between Alma and El Camino Real in Palo Alto, which explains why historical maps show area creeks appearing to terminate before they reach the Bay. Duck-hunting blinds were common in the nineteenth century along what is now Middlefield Road.
(Oncorhynchus mykiss) streams.
and the Regional Bikepath, which crosses the creek on a bridge across the middle of the basin.
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 lower 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 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:...
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 courses northerly through the cities of Los Altos Hills, 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 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...
, before joining Adobe Creek just south of U.S. Highway 101. As Adobe Creek its waters continue northwards to southwest 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...
after traversing Highway 101 and the Palo Alto Flood Basin.
History
In 1844 Rancho La Purisima ConcepcionRancho La Purísima Concepción
Rancho La Purísima Concepción was a Mexican land grant in present day Santa Clara County, California given in 1840 by Governor Juan Alvarado to José Gorgonio and his son José Ramon, Ohlone Indians...
was sold to Juana Briones de Miranda
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...
, whose family members had accompanied both the Gaspar de Portolà
Gaspar de Portolà
Gaspar de Portolà i Rovira was a soldier, governor of Baja and Alta California , explorer and founder of San Diego and Monterey. He was born in Os de Balaguer, province of Lleida, in Catalonia, Spain, of Catalan nobility. Don Gaspar served as a soldier in the Spanish army in Italy and Portugal...
and the Juan Bautista de Anza
Juan Bautista de Anza
Juan Bautista de Anza Bezerra Nieto was a Novo-Spanish explorer and Governor of New Mexico for the Spanish Empire.-Early life:...
Expeditions. Her uniquely constructed wood-framed, rammed-earth and adobe brick house, believed to have been built by American desertee sailors, is located at 4155 Old Adobe Road on the border between Palo Alto and Los Altos Hills, and is marked by a historical marker at the corner of Old Adobe Road and Old Trace Lane. Designated a California State Historical Landmark in 1954, the 160 year old Juana Briones home was scheduled for demolition in 2007 because of damage to it by the Loma Prieta earthquake
Loma Prieta earthquake
The Loma Prieta earthquake, also known as the Quake of '89 and the World Series Earthquake, was a major earthquake that struck the San Francisco Bay Area of California on October 17, 1989, at 5:04 p.m. local time...
in 1989. In 2009, it still stands and has been recently documented with a Historic American Buildings Survey
Historic American Buildings Survey
The Historic American Buildings Survey , Historic American Engineering Record , and Historic American Landscapes Survey are programs of the National Park Service established for the purpose of documenting historic places. Records consists of measured drawings, archival photographs, and written...
(HABS).
After 1831, Mexican rancho owners would logically erect their dwellings on or very near creeks. Locally, Juanita Briones’ adobe was near Barron Creek.
In 1853, Elisha Crosby bought a 250-acre parcel of Rancho Santa Rita, really Rancho Rincon de San Francisquito
Rancho Rincon de San Francisquito
Rancho Rincon de San Francisquito was a Mexican land grant in present day Santa Clara County, California given in 1841 by Governor Juan Alvarado to José Peña. The name means "corner or bend of the San Francisquito" referring to San Francisquito Creek...
, from the Robles family in 1853 and named it Mayfield Farm. This would later become Barron Park after Edward Barron.
Watershed and Course
Barron Creek drains about 3 square miles (7.8 km²), arising at 350 feet (106.7 m) in Los Altos Hills, CaliforniaLos 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:...
. It is the most modified creek in the Lower Peninsula Watershed, with 67% of its course classified as "hardened", meaning that most (but not all) of its course north of Foothill Expressway is in a concrete channel to its confluence with Adobe Creek. When there are heavy storm flows, the Barron Creek Diversion Channel, originating just north of Foothill Expressway, is used to divert heavy storm flows from the creek to 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...
.
Barron Creek appears to historically have been a tributary of 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...
, and was alternatively known as Dry Creek, but was later diverted to Adobe Creek. Barron Creek is 5.8 miles (9.3 km) long, originating in the Los Altos Hills foothills at elevation 350 feet (106.7 m) along La Paloma Road (just north of Alta Tierra Road), then flowing north along La Paloma Road, where it is joined by a Concepcion Road fork at Fremont Road and proceeds along Fremont Road behind Pinewood School, before turning northeasterly along Arastradero Road where it is joined by another minor fork originating in Esther Clark Park. After crossing Foothill Expressway
California County Routes in zone G
There are 21 routes assigned to the "G" zone of the California Route Marker Program, which designates county routes in California. The "G" zone includes county highways lying in the counties of Monterey, San Benito, San Luis Obispo, Santa Clara, and Santa Cruz.-G1:...
it is buried in an underground pipe just west of Gunn High School
Gunn High School
Henry M. Gunn High School is one of two public high schools in Palo Alto, California. Gunn High School is a four-year high school with a current enrollment of just over 1,900 students. The Class of 1966 was the first class to graduate from Gunn High School. The academic year has two semesters with...
but sees daylight where the creek crosses Bol Park Bike Path in a small, man-made flood control basin, then at Laguna Avenue again enters an underground pipe running beneath Los Robles Avenue to El Camino Real. Barron Creek has been greatly modified for flood control purposes; the creek bed downstream from El Camino Real is a concrete trapezoidal channel.
In the 1800s the Baylands marshes ended between Alma and El Camino Real in Palo Alto, which explains why historical maps show area creeks appearing to terminate before they reach the Bay. Duck-hunting blinds were common in the nineteenth century along what is now Middlefield Road.
Habitat and wildlife
No native fishes have been reported in the creek, save in its tidal reaches. Leidy reported no fish in a 1981 sampling, although both Adobe Creek and Matadero Creek are historic 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) streams.
Trails and Recreation
Barron Creek is best seen at the Sedimentation Basin between Gunn High SchoolGunn High School
Henry M. Gunn High School is one of two public high schools in Palo Alto, California. Gunn High School is a four-year high school with a current enrollment of just over 1,900 students. The Class of 1966 was the first class to graduate from Gunn High School. The academic year has two semesters with...
and the Regional Bikepath, which crosses the creek on a bridge across the middle of the basin.
See also
- List of watercourses in the San Francisco Bay Area
- Adobe Creek (near Los Altos, California)
- Matadero CreekMatadero CreekMatadero 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...