Corte Madera Creek (Marin County, California)
Encyclopedia
Corte Madera Creek is a short stream which flows southeast for 4.5 miles (7.2 km) in Marin County, California
. Corte Madera Creek is formed by the confluence of San Anselmo Creek
and Ross Creek in Ross
and entering a tidal marsh at Kentfield
before connecting to San Francisco Bay
near Corte Madera
.
lived for thousands of years in the Corte Madera watershed, gathering pinole
and acorns, hunting, and salmon-fishing. Traces of the Miwok include seven mound
s in what is now the Town of Ross.
The Mexican government divided the northwest and southeast portions of the Corte Madera watershed into two separate land grants. The Rancho Cañada de Herrera
, a 6658 acres (26.9 km²) rancho that includes the areas that are now Fairfax, Sleepy Hollow, and part of San Anselmo, was granted to Domingo Sais in 1839. His family used the land for crops, sheep, horses, and cattle and fished San Anselmo Creek for salmon. The Rancho Punta de Quentin
, an 8877 acres (35.9 km²) rancho established in 1840, was granted to Captain John B. R. Cooper, a sea captain from Boston, by Mexican Governor Juan Bautista Alvarado
to repay a $5,250 debt. Cooper harvested timber and was also granted a license to hunt Southern Sea otter
(Enhydra lutris nereis), then prevalent at the mouth of Corte Madera Creek. Rancho Punta de Quentin is now the towns of San Anselmo, Ross, Kentfield, and Larkspur.
Corte Madera Creek is named for the Spanish corte de madera meaning "a place where wood is cut".
A Tasmanian immigrant, James Ross, who had made a fortune selling liquor to gold panners in San Francisco, bought much of the Rancho Punta de Quentin in 1840 for $50,000. Ross continued logging and also started a regular schooner route to San Francisco to transport the wood. His family established an estate at the site that is now the Marin Art and Garden Center.
is rumored to have had steelhead long ago, and the occasional steelhead is still seen in Tamalpais Creek. Chinook salmon
(Oncorhyncus tshawytscha) currently utilize the watershed.
Historically, Corte Madera Creek watershed supported Coho salmon
(Oncorhyncus kisutch) with recorded observations dating from 1926-1927, the 1960s, 1981, and the last sighting in 1984.
The main non-salmonid fish species in the Corte Madera Creek Watershed include the Three-spined stickleback
(Gasterosteus aculeatus), California roach
(Lavinia symmetricus), several species of sculpin
(Cottus ssp.), and Sacramento sucker
(Catostomus occidentalis occidentalis).
The creek hosts many protected species in addition to steelhead trout, including at least 17 plants, Northern Spotted Owl
s (Strix occidentalis caurina), San Pablo Song Sparrow
(Melospiza melodia samuelis), California clapper
(Rallus longirostris) and black
(Laterallus jamaicensis) rails, and the Salt Marsh Harvest Mouse
(Reithrodontomys raviventris). The 1000 acres (4 km²) Corte Madera Marsh Ecological Reserve is recognized as an Important Bird Area by the Audubon Society. Just south of the marsh, there is a tidal channel named San Clement Creek where Harbor seal
s (Phoca vitulina) haul out.
. The watershed covers 28 square miles (72.5 km²) in the southeastern quarter of Marin County and encompasses the towns of Larkspur, Corte Madera, Kentfield, Ross, San Anselmo, and Fairfax. The watershed includes Corte Madera, Ross, San Anselmo, Tamalpais, Sleepy Hollow, Fairfax, and Cascade creeks and Phoenix Lake. Larkspur
and Tamalpais creeks drain directly into the estuary/tidal portion. The watershed includes 44 miles (70.8 km) of stream channels. Ross Creek drains the northern slope of Mt. Tamalpais; San Anselmo Creek and its tributaries drain the northwestern portion of the watershed. The two channels join to form Corte Madera Creek, which continues through more than a mile of concrete-lined channel past the confluences of Larkspur and Tamalpais Creeks and into the salt marsh at the mouth.
Marin County, California
Marin County is a county located in the North San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco. As of 2010, the population was 252,409. The county seat is San Rafael and the largest employer is the county government. Marin County is well...
. Corte Madera Creek is formed by the confluence of San Anselmo Creek
San Anselmo Creek
San Anselmo Creek is an eastward flowing stream that begins on the eastern flank of Pine Mountain in the Marin Hills of Marin County, California...
and Ross Creek in Ross
Ross, California
Ross is a small incorporated town in Marin County, California, United States, just north of San Francisco. Ross is located west-southwest of San Rafael, at an elevation of 36 feet . The population was 2,415 at the 2010 census...
and entering a tidal marsh at Kentfield
Kentfield, California
Kentfield is a census-designated place in Marin County, California, United States, just north of San Francisco. Kentfield is located on the Northwestern Pacific Railroad southwest of downtown San Rafael, at an elevation of 115 feet . The population was 6,485 at the 2010 census...
before connecting to 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...
near Corte Madera
Corte Madera, California
Corte Madera is an incorporated town in Marin County, California, United States. Corte Madera is located south of San Rafael, at an elevation of 39 feet . The population was 9,253 at the 2010 census...
.
History
The Coast MiwokCoast Miwok
The Coast Miwok were the second largest group of Miwok Native American people. The Coast Miwok inhabited the general area of modern Marin County and southern Sonoma County in Northern California, from the Golden Gate north to Duncans Point and eastward to Sonoma Creek...
lived for thousands of years in the Corte Madera watershed, gathering pinole
Pinole (staple)
Pinole is a Spanish translation of an Aztec word for a coarse flour made from ground toasted maize kernels, often in a mixture with a variety of herbs and ground seeds, which can be eaten by itself or be used as the base for a beverage...
and acorns, hunting, and salmon-fishing. Traces of the Miwok include seven mound
Mound
A mound is a general term for an artificial heaped pile of earth, gravel, sand, rocks, or debris. The most common use is in reference to natural earthen formation such as hills and mountains, particularly if they appear artificial. The term may also be applied to any rounded area of topographically...
s in what is now the Town of Ross.
The Mexican government divided the northwest and southeast portions of the Corte Madera watershed into two separate land grants. The Rancho Cañada de Herrera
Rancho Cañada de Herrera
Rancho Cañada de Herrera was a Mexican land grant in present day Marin County, California given in 1839 by Governor Protem Manuel Jimeno to Domingo Sais...
, a 6658 acres (26.9 km²) rancho that includes the areas that are now Fairfax, Sleepy Hollow, and part of San Anselmo, was granted to Domingo Sais in 1839. His family used the land for crops, sheep, horses, and cattle and fished San Anselmo Creek for salmon. The Rancho Punta de Quentin
Rancho Punta de Quentin
Rancho Punta de Quentin was a Mexican land grant in present day Marin County, California given in 1840 by Governor Juan B. Alvarado to John B.R. Cooper...
, an 8877 acres (35.9 km²) rancho established in 1840, was granted to Captain John B. R. Cooper, a sea captain from Boston, by Mexican Governor Juan Bautista Alvarado
Juan Bautista Alvarado
Juan Bautista Valentín Alvarado y Vallejo was a Californio and twice Governor of Alta California from 1836 to 1837, and 1838 to 1842.-Early years:...
to repay a $5,250 debt. Cooper harvested timber and was also granted a license to hunt Southern Sea otter
Sea Otter
The sea otter is a marine mammal native to the coasts of the northern and eastern North Pacific Ocean. Adult sea otters typically weigh between 14 and 45 kg , making them the heaviest members of the weasel family, but among the smallest marine mammals...
(Enhydra lutris nereis), then prevalent at the mouth of Corte Madera Creek. Rancho Punta de Quentin is now the towns of San Anselmo, Ross, Kentfield, and Larkspur.
Corte Madera Creek is named for the Spanish corte de madera meaning "a place where wood is cut".
A Tasmanian immigrant, James Ross, who had made a fortune selling liquor to gold panners in San Francisco, bought much of the Rancho Punta de Quentin in 1840 for $50,000. Ross continued logging and also started a regular schooner route to San Francisco to transport the wood. His family established an estate at the site that is now the Marin Art and Garden Center.
Ecology
Corte Madera Creek is one of few streams flowing into San Francisco Bay with a Steelhead trout (Oncorhyncus mykiss) population. The best spawning gravels are in Upper San Anselmo Creek, Ross Creek, and Sleepy Hollow Creek. Fairfax Creek has a total barrier to fish passage at its confluence with San Anselmo Creek. Larkspur CreekLarkspur Creek
Larkspur Creek is a short stream which flows 3.5 miles east to meet Corte Madera Creek in Larkspur, California just before reaching Richardson's Bay. The creek was named for the town of Larkspur, which was named by Georgiana Wright, a Briton and spouse of the 1887 developer of the area...
is rumored to have had steelhead long ago, and the occasional steelhead is still seen in Tamalpais Creek. 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...
(Oncorhyncus tshawytscha) currently utilize the watershed.
Historically, Corte Madera Creek watershed supported Coho salmon
Coho salmon
The Coho salmon, Oncorhynchus kisutch, is a species of anadromous fish in the salmon family. Coho salmon are also known as silver salmon or "silvers". It is the state animal of Chiba, Japan.-Description:...
(Oncorhyncus kisutch) with recorded observations dating from 1926-1927, the 1960s, 1981, and the last sighting in 1984.
The main non-salmonid fish species in the Corte Madera Creek Watershed include the Three-spined stickleback
Three-spined stickleback
The three-spined stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus, is a fish native to much of northern Europe, northern Asia and North America. It has been introduced into parts of southern and central Europe.-Distribution and morphological variation:...
(Gasterosteus aculeatus), California roach
California roach
The California roach, Hesperoleucus symmetricus, is a cyprinid fish native to western North America and abundant in the intermittent streams throughout central California. It is the sole member of its genus....
(Lavinia symmetricus), several species of sculpin
Cottus (genus)
Cottus is a genus of the sculpin family Cottidae. It is often referred to as the "freshwater sculpins", as the principal genus of sculpins to be found in fresh water.They are mostly small fish, rarely reaching more than 15 cm in length.-Species:...
(Cottus ssp.), and Sacramento sucker
Catostomus
Catostomus is a genus of fish belonging to the family Catostomidae, commonly known as suckers.- Species :FishBase lists 27 species:* Catostomus ardens D. S. Jordan & C. H. Gilbert, 1881...
(Catostomus occidentalis occidentalis).
The creek hosts many protected species in addition to steelhead trout, including at least 17 plants, Northern Spotted Owl
Northern Spotted Owl
The Northern Spotted Owl, Strix occidentalis caurina, is one of three Spotted Owl subspecies. A Western North American bird in the family Strigidae, genus Strix, it is a medium-sized dark brown owl sixteen to nineteen inches in length and one to one and one sixth pounds. Females are larger than males...
s (Strix occidentalis caurina), San Pablo Song Sparrow
Song Sparrow
The Song Sparrow is a medium-sized American sparrow.Adults have brown upperparts with dark streaks on the back and are white underneath with dark streaking and a dark brown spot in the middle of the breast. They have a brown cap and a long brown rounded tail. Their face is grey with a streak...
(Melospiza melodia samuelis), California clapper
Clapper Rail
The Clapper Rail is a member of the rail family, Rallidae. Some researchers believe that this bird and the similar King Rail are a single species; the two birds are known to interbreed.-Distribution and habitat:...
(Rallus longirostris) and black
Black Rail
The Black Rail is a mouse-sized member of the Rallidae family of birds. It is found in scattered parts of North America and the Pacific region of South America, usually in coastal salt marshes but also in some freshwater marshes. It is extinct or threatened in many locations due to habitat loss...
(Laterallus jamaicensis) rails, and the Salt Marsh Harvest Mouse
Salt Marsh Harvest Mouse
The Salt Marsh Harvest Mouse , also known as the Red-bellied Harvest Mouse and some times called by Saltmarsh Harvest Mouse, is an endangered rodent endemic to the San Francisco Bay Area salt marshes in California. There are two distinct subspecies, both endangered and listed together on federal...
(Reithrodontomys raviventris). The 1000 acres (4 km²) Corte Madera Marsh Ecological Reserve is recognized as an Important Bird Area by the Audubon Society. Just south of the marsh, there is a tidal channel named San Clement Creek where Harbor seal
Harbor Seal
The harbor seal , also known as the common seal, is a true seal found along temperate and Arctic marine coastlines of the Northern Hemisphere...
s (Phoca vitulina) haul out.
Watershed
The Corte Madera (aka Ross Valley) Watershed ranges in elevation from sea level to 2571 feet (783.6 m) at the East Peak of Mount TamalpaisMount Tamalpais
Mount Tamalpais is a peak in Marin County, California, United States, often considered symbolic of Marin County. Much of Mount Tamalpais is protected within public lands such as Mount Tamalpais State Park and the Mount Tamalpais Watershed.-Geography:...
. The watershed covers 28 square miles (72.5 km²) in the southeastern quarter of Marin County and encompasses the towns of Larkspur, Corte Madera, Kentfield, Ross, San Anselmo, and Fairfax. The watershed includes Corte Madera, Ross, San Anselmo, Tamalpais, Sleepy Hollow, Fairfax, and Cascade creeks and Phoenix Lake. Larkspur
Larkspur Creek
Larkspur Creek is a short stream which flows 3.5 miles east to meet Corte Madera Creek in Larkspur, California just before reaching Richardson's Bay. The creek was named for the town of Larkspur, which was named by Georgiana Wright, a Briton and spouse of the 1887 developer of the area...
and Tamalpais creeks drain directly into the estuary/tidal portion. The watershed includes 44 miles (70.8 km) of stream channels. Ross Creek drains the northern slope of Mt. Tamalpais; San Anselmo Creek and its tributaries drain the northwestern portion of the watershed. The two channels join to form Corte Madera Creek, which continues through more than a mile of concrete-lined channel past the confluences of Larkspur and Tamalpais Creeks and into the salt marsh at the mouth.