Carbonera Creek
Encyclopedia
Carbonera Creek is a 10.2 miles (16.4 km) watercourse
in Santa Cruz County, California
, that eventually flows to the San Lorenzo River
.
The stream rises in the rugged Santa Cruz Mountains
and flows in a generally southwesterly direction. The city of Scotts Valley
is situated within the watershed
of Carbonera Creek and its main tributary to the north, Bean Creek
. Carbonera Creek joins Branciforte Creek near the 500 block of Market Street in Santa Cruz. Branciforte Creek discharges to the San Lorenzo River, which empties into the Pacific Ocean
at Monterey Bay at Santa Cruz.
The perennial
Carbonera Creek has a watershed of 7.4 square miles (19.2 km²). The West Branch of Carbonera Creek is a total of 1.4 miles (2.3 km) in length and passes under Vine Hill Road. The West Branch continues under Scotts Valley Drive and the State Route 17/Granite Creek Interchange through a series of box culvert
s. The West Branch joins the main branch of Carbonera Creek immediately south of the State Route 17/Granite Creek Interchange. Carbonera Creek is the major surface water hydrological
feature in Scotts Valley, running across the western portion of the Santa's Village site and through the center of town.
floor to 1123 feet (342.3 m) at the highest ridge.
has a high average flow of 3 cuft/s. However, the flow in both creeks greatly depends on the season; in fact, flows in these creeks typically drop dramatically during the dry summer season.
Riparian woodland vegetation is located Carbonera Creek and its tributaries. The 1990 Earth Metrics EIR identifies broadleaf deciduous trees as dominating this habitat and are able to survive because of the year-round presence of fresh water. Examples of such trees present in the riparian zone
include California bay laurel (Umbellularia californica), boxelder (Acer negundo), California Sycamore
(Platanus racemosa), black cottonwood (Populus trichocarpa
), Bigleaf maple
(Acer macrophyllum), white alder
(Alnus rhombifolia), and various willow
s (Salix spp.). Invasive root systems of these trees are important in erosion control and their dense canopy provides food and shelter for a variety of birds and mammal
s, yielding high habitat value. The lush cover afforded by this habitat also provides wildlife
with a suitable environment for breeding. Additional vegetation
found along creek banks includes California blackberry
(Rubus vitifolius), Himalaya blackberry (Rubus procerus), poison oak (Rhus diversiloba), baltic rush (Juncus
balticus), redwood sorrel (Oxalis oregana), snowberry (Symphoricarpos
rivularis), Coastal wood fern (Dryopteris arguta
), and other herbaceous species and decaying vegetation.
The plant community Northern coastal scrub
also exists in the Carbonera Creek catchment basin. This community is scattered throughout the basin, typically situated on windy, exposed sites with shallow, rocky soils. The community is dominated by California sagebrush (Artemisia californica
); toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia); coyote brush (Baccharis pilularis
; California yerba santa (Eriodictyon californicum
); and manzanita (Arctostaphylos
spp.)
Within the Carbonera Creek watershed is one of the three known Maritime Coast Range Ponderosa Pine forests
, a rare assemblage of vegetation
narrowly restricted to sandy, infertile Zayante soils formed over Santa Margarita Sandstone. This habitat
is only found in coast
al Santa Cruz County and is found in a part of the Carbonera Creek catchment in the southwestern part of the City of Scotts Valley on the slopes of Mount Hermon
, extending to the south. The surface soil and subsoil drain very rapidly and do not retain enough water to support local climax species such as Coast redwood or Douglas fir. The Ponderosa Pine
(Pinus ponderosa) withstands the stresses of this xeric habitat and typifies the open plant community, which also supports rare species
of flora
such as the Bonny Doon manzanita (also called the silver-leaved manzanita) (Arctostaphylos silvicola
) and the endangered Ben Lomond wallflower (Erysimum teretifolium
). There are two Federally listed endangered species of insect
s within this sparse forest.
Aquatic species include Steelhead trout (Onchorhynchus gairdneri, formerly Salmo gairdneri) and Chinook salmon
(Onchorhynchus tshawytscha), which migrate up the San Lorenzo River and its tributaries, including Carbonera Creek. For instance, these migratory fish species spawn in Carbonera Creek gravels downstream of the Santa's Village Area.
Watercourse
A watercourse is any flowing body of water. These include rivers, streams, anabranches, and so forth.-See also:* physical geography* Environmental flow* Waterway* Hydrology* Wadi-External links:...
in Santa Cruz County, California
Santa Cruz County, California
Santa Cruz County is a county located on the Pacific coast of the U.S. state of California, on the California Central Coast. The county forms the northern coast of the Monterey Bay. . As of the 2010 U.S. Census, its population was 262,382. The county seat is Santa Cruz...
, that eventually flows to the San Lorenzo River
San Lorenzo River
The San Lorenzo River drains a large watershed in Santa Cruz County, California. The headwaters originate in the Santa Cruz Mountains at an elevation of , and the river flows through the San Lorenzo Valley before emptying into the Pacific Ocean at Monterey Bay...
.
The stream rises in the rugged 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,...
and flows in a generally southwesterly direction. The city of Scotts Valley
Scotts Valley, California
Scotts Valley is a small city in Santa Cruz County, California, United States, about thirty miles south of downtown San Jose and six miles north of Monterey Bay, in the upland slope of the Santa Cruz Mountains. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 11,580...
is situated within the watershed
Drainage basin
A drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...
of Carbonera Creek and its main tributary to the north, Bean Creek
Bean Creek
Bean Creek is a stream that rises on the western slopes of the Santa Cruz Mountains and discharges to Zayante Creek. This stream traverses relatively rugged, forested lands and is the locus of an important fossil bearing formation. These fossils are embedded in the Lower Santa Margarita Formation...
. Carbonera Creek joins Branciforte Creek near the 500 block of Market Street in Santa Cruz. Branciforte Creek discharges to the San Lorenzo River, which empties into the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
at Monterey Bay at Santa Cruz.
The perennial
Perennial stream
A perennial stream or perennial river is a stream or river that has continuous flow in parts of its bed all year round during years of normal rainfall. "Perennial" streams are contrasted with "intermittent" streams which normally cease flowing for weeks or months each year, and with "ephemeral"...
Carbonera Creek has a watershed of 7.4 square miles (19.2 km²). The West Branch of Carbonera Creek is a total of 1.4 miles (2.3 km) in length and passes under Vine Hill Road. The West Branch continues under Scotts Valley Drive and the State Route 17/Granite Creek Interchange through a series of box culvert
Culvert
A culvert is a device used to channel water. It may be used to allow water to pass underneath a road, railway, or embankment. Culverts can be made of many different materials; steel, polyvinyl chloride and concrete are the most common...
s. The West Branch joins the main branch of Carbonera Creek immediately south of the State Route 17/Granite Creek Interchange. Carbonera Creek is the major surface water hydrological
Hydrology
Hydrology is the study of the movement, distribution, and quality of water on Earth and other planets, including the hydrologic cycle, water resources and environmental watershed sustainability...
feature in Scotts Valley, running across the western portion of the Santa's Village site and through the center of town.
Topography and geology
Elevations in the Carbonera Creek watershed vary from about 500 feet (152.4 m) above sea level on the valleyValley
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...
floor to 1123 feet (342.3 m) at the highest ridge.
Precipitation and flow rates
The average annual precipitation in the Carbonera Creek watershed ranges from 85 to 120 centimeters per year, ninety percent of this falling between November and April. Carbonera Creek flows at an average of 0.8 cuft/s. Lower Bean CreekBean Creek
Bean Creek is a stream that rises on the western slopes of the Santa Cruz Mountains and discharges to Zayante Creek. This stream traverses relatively rugged, forested lands and is the locus of an important fossil bearing formation. These fossils are embedded in the Lower Santa Margarita Formation...
has a high average flow of 3 cuft/s. However, the flow in both creeks greatly depends on the season; in fact, flows in these creeks typically drop dramatically during the dry summer season.
Ecology
Riparian zone
A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. Riparian is also the proper nomenclature for one of the fifteen terrestrial biomes of the earth. Plant habitats and communities along the river margins and banks are called riparian vegetation, characterized by...
include California bay laurel (Umbellularia californica), boxelder (Acer negundo), California Sycamore
California Sycamore
Platanus racemosa is a species of sycamore tree known by several common names, including California sycamore, Western sycamore, California plane tree, and in Spanish Aliso...
(Platanus racemosa), black cottonwood (Populus trichocarpa
Populus trichocarpa
Populus trichocarpa is a deciduous broadleaf tree species native to western North America. It is used for timber, and is notable as a model organism in plant biology. Its full genome sequence was published in 2006...
), 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...
(Acer macrophyllum), 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...
(Alnus rhombifolia), and various willow
Willow
Willows, sallows, and osiers form the genus Salix, around 400 species of deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere...
s (Salix spp.). Invasive root systems of these trees are important in erosion control and their dense canopy provides food and shelter for a variety of birds and mammal
Mammal
Mammals are members of a class of air-breathing vertebrate animals characterised by the possession of endothermy, hair, three middle ear bones, and mammary glands functional in mothers with young...
s, yielding high habitat value. The lush cover afforded by this habitat also provides wildlife
Wildlife
Wildlife includes all non-domesticated plants, animals and other organisms. Domesticating wild plant and animal species for human benefit has occurred many times all over the planet, and has a major impact on the environment, both positive and negative....
with a suitable environment for breeding. Additional vegetation
Vegetation
Vegetation is a general term for the plant life of a region; it refers to the ground cover provided by plants. It is a general term, without specific reference to particular taxa, life forms, structure, spatial extent, or any other specific botanical or geographic characteristics. It is broader...
found along creek banks includes California blackberry
Blackberry
The blackberry is an edible fruit produced by any of several species in the Rubus genus of the Rosaceae family. The fruit is not a true berry; botanically it is termed an aggregate fruit, composed of small drupelets. The plants typically have biennial canes and perennial roots. Blackberries and...
(Rubus vitifolius), Himalaya blackberry (Rubus procerus), poison oak (Rhus diversiloba), baltic rush (Juncus
Juncus
Juncus is a genus in the plant family Juncaceae. It consists of some 200 to 300 or more species of grassy plants commonly called rushes...
balticus), redwood sorrel (Oxalis oregana), snowberry (Symphoricarpos
Symphoricarpos
Symphoricarpos, with common names in English of Snowberry, Waxberry or Ghostberry, is a small genus of about 15 species of deciduous shrubs in the honeysuckle family, Caprifoliaceae. All species are natives of North and Central America, except one native to western China...
rivularis), Coastal wood fern (Dryopteris arguta
Dryopteris arguta
Dryopteris arguta, with the common name coastal woodfern, is a species of wood fern. It is native to the west coast of North America, where it grows in oak woodlands and shady low elevation slopes in Southern California and north.-Description:...
), and other herbaceous species and decaying vegetation.
The plant community Northern coastal scrub
Northern coastal scrub
Northern coastal scrub is a scrubland plant community of California and Oregon. It occurs along the Pacific Coast from Point Sur on the Central California coast in Monterey County, California, to southern Oregon...
also exists in the Carbonera Creek catchment basin. This community is scattered throughout the basin, typically situated on windy, exposed sites with shallow, rocky soils. The community is dominated by California sagebrush (Artemisia californica
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...
); toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia); coyote brush (Baccharis pilularis
Baccharis pilularis
Baccharis pilularis, called Coyote Brush , Chaparral Broom, and Bush Baccharis, is a shrub in the Asteraceae that grows in California, Oregon, and Baja California.-Description:...
; California yerba santa (Eriodictyon californicum
Eriodictyon californicum
Eriodictyon californicum is a species of plant within the Hydrophyllaceae family. It is also known as Yerba Santa, Mountain Balm, Consumptive's Weed and Bear Weed.-Distribution:...
); and manzanita (Arctostaphylos
Arctostaphylos
Arctostaphylos is a genus of plants comprised by the manzanitas and bearberries. They are shrubs or small trees.There are about 60 species of Arctostaphylos, ranging from ground-hugging arctic, coastal, and mountain species to small trees up to 6 m tall. Most are evergreen , with small oval...
spp.)
Within the Carbonera Creek watershed is one of the three known Maritime Coast Range Ponderosa Pine forests
Maritime Coast Range Ponderosa Pine forests
Maritime Coast Range Ponderosa Pine forests are rare temperate forest assemblages associated with a limited range portion of the Santa Cruz Mountains of northern California. There are only three known small forests of this type, all situated in Santa Cruz County, California...
, a rare assemblage of vegetation
Vegetation
Vegetation is a general term for the plant life of a region; it refers to the ground cover provided by plants. It is a general term, without specific reference to particular taxa, life forms, structure, spatial extent, or any other specific botanical or geographic characteristics. It is broader...
narrowly restricted to sandy, infertile Zayante soils formed over Santa Margarita Sandstone. This habitat
Habitat
* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...
is only found in coast
Coast
A coastline or seashore is the area where land meets the sea or ocean. A precise line that can be called a coastline cannot be determined due to the dynamic nature of tides. The term "coastal zone" can be used instead, which is a spatial zone where interaction of the sea and land processes occurs...
al Santa Cruz County and is found in a part of the Carbonera Creek catchment in the southwestern part of the City of Scotts Valley on the slopes of Mount Hermon
Mount Hermon, California
Mount Hermon is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Santa Cruz County, California. Mount Hermon is home to extensive conference facilities that include rope courses and rock climbing walls.-History:...
, extending to the south. The surface soil and subsoil drain very rapidly and do not retain enough water to support local climax species such as Coast redwood or Douglas fir. The Ponderosa Pine
Ponderosa Pine
Pinus ponderosa, commonly known as the Ponderosa Pine, Bull Pine, Blackjack Pine, or Western Yellow Pine, is a widespread and variable pine native to western North America. It was first described by David Douglas in 1826, from eastern Washington near present-day Spokane...
(Pinus ponderosa) withstands the stresses of this xeric habitat and typifies the open plant community, which also supports rare species
Rare species
A rare species is a group of organisms that are very uncommon or scarce. This designation may be applied to either a plant or animal taxon, and may be distinct from the term "endangered" or "threatened species" but not "extinct"....
of flora
Flora
Flora is the plant life occurring in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring or indigenous—native plant life. The corresponding term for animals is fauna.-Etymology:...
such as the Bonny Doon manzanita (also called the silver-leaved manzanita) (Arctostaphylos silvicola
Arctostaphylos silvicola
Arctostaphylos silvicola is a species of manzanita known by the common name Bonny Doon manzanita. It is endemic to Santa Cruz County, California, where it is known from only about 20 occurrences in the southern Santa Cruz Mountains.-Description:...
) and the endangered Ben Lomond wallflower (Erysimum teretifolium
Erysimum teretifolium
Erysimum teretifolium is a species of wallflower known by the common names Santa Cruz wallflower and Ben Lomond wallflower. It is a very rare plant endemic to Santa Cruz County, California, where it grows on inland sand spits, chaparral, and sandstone deposits in the southern Santa Cruz Mountains...
). There are two Federally listed endangered species of insect
Endangered arthropod
An endangered arthropod is defined here as any of a number of species within the phylum Arthropoda, whose extinction is likely in the foreseeable future . Estimating the number of arthropod endangered species is extremely difficult, primarily because a vast number of the species themselves are...
s within this sparse forest.
Aquatic species include Steelhead trout (Onchorhynchus gairdneri, formerly Salmo gairdneri) and Chinook salmon
Chinook salmon
The Chinook salmon, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha, is the largest species in the pacific salmon family. Other commonly used names for the species include King salmon, Quinnat salmon, Spring salmon and Tyee salmon...
(Onchorhynchus tshawytscha), which migrate up the San Lorenzo River and its tributaries, including Carbonera Creek. For instance, these migratory fish species spawn in Carbonera Creek gravels downstream of the Santa's Village Area.
See also
- Branciforte CreekBranciforte CreekBranciforte Creek is a long watercourse in Santa Cruz County, California, USA. Branciforte Creek rises on the western slopes of the Santa Cruz Mountains and discharges to the San Lorenzo River, which in turn empties into the Pacific Ocean. Within the State of California Branciforte Creek is...
- Endangered arthropodEndangered arthropodAn endangered arthropod is defined here as any of a number of species within the phylum Arthropoda, whose extinction is likely in the foreseeable future . Estimating the number of arthropod endangered species is extremely difficult, primarily because a vast number of the species themselves are...
- OhloneOhloneThe Ohlone people, also known as the Costanoan, are a Native American people of the central California coast. When Spanish explorers and missionaries arrived in the late 18th century, the Ohlone inhabited the area along the coast from San Francisco Bay through Monterey Bay to the lower Salinas Valley...
- Scotts Valley, CaliforniaScotts Valley, CaliforniaScotts Valley is a small city in Santa Cruz County, California, United States, about thirty miles south of downtown San Jose and six miles north of Monterey Bay, in the upland slope of the Santa Cruz Mountains. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 11,580...
- Zayante CreekZayante CreekZayante Creek is a stream within the San Lorenzo River watershed in Santa Cruz County, California, United States. The U.S. government has designated Zayante Creek as impaired with respect to sediment. Lompico Creek, a tributary of Zayante Creek, is listed for impairment by pathogens...