Crystal Springs Park, California
Encyclopedia
County park
A county park is a park managed by a county. In the United States, county parks are lower in hierarchy than state parks. In the United Kingdom, similar parks for recreation are named country parks....
located between San Bruno
San Bruno, California
San Bruno is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States. The population was 41,114 at the 2010 census.The city is adjacent to San Francisco International Airport and Golden Gate National Cemetery.-Geography:San Bruno is located at...
to the north and Woodside
Woodside, California
Woodside is a small incorporated town in San Mateo County, California, United States, on the San Francisco Peninsula. It uses a council-manager system of government. The U.S. Census estimated the population of the town to be 5,287 in 2010....
to the south. The park comprises two main trails, Sawyer Camp Trail
Sawyer Camp Trail
Sawyer Camp Trail is a popular six mile trail located in the San Andreas Fault rift valley in San Mateo County, California near Hillsborough and the San Mateo Highlands. Approximately 300,000 people use the trail every year. It provides excellent views of San Francisco Peninsula's Crystal...
in the southern end and San Andreas trail in the northern section, which run along the eastern shore of San Andreas Lake
San Andreas Lake
San Andreas Lake is a reservoir adjacent to the San Francisco Peninsula cities of Millbrae and San Bruno in San Mateo County, California. It is situated directly on the San Andreas Fault, which is named after the lake.- History :...
in San Mateo County.
Settled thousands of years ago by the Shalshone Indians, the Crystal Springs Reservoir
Crystal Springs Reservoir
Crystal Springs Reservoir is a pair of artificial lakes located in the northern Santa Cruz Mountains of San Mateo County, California situated in the rift valley created by the San Andreas Fault just to the west of the cities of San Mateo and Hillsborough, and I-280...
(separate from San Andreas Lake
San Andreas Lake
San Andreas Lake is a reservoir adjacent to the San Francisco Peninsula cities of Millbrae and San Bruno in San Mateo County, California. It is situated directly on the San Andreas Fault, which is named after the lake.- History :...
to the north) is currently part of the City of San Francisco's Hetch Hetchy Reservoir
Hetch Hetchy Reservoir
Hetch Hetchy Reservoir is a reservoir in Yosemite National Park, about northeast from the city of Merced, California. The reservoir has a capacity of and is formed by the concrete gravity O'Shaughnessy Dam in Hetch Hetchy Valley on the Tuolumne River...
water system.
Crystal Springs is most well known for containing a grueling Cross Country
Cross country running
Cross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...
course for High School and Collegiate athletes. The 2.95-mile course, considered nationwide to be one of the most difficult Cross Country championship tracks, contains the aptly named "Cardiac Hill" and often is subject to fatigue-inducing weather due to its location and lack of shade. It is also a popular area for recreational activities such as hikes and picnics.
Crystal Springs reservoir is long and narrow because it lies atop the San Andreas Fault. The famous fault
San Andreas Fault
The San Andreas Fault is a continental strike-slip fault that runs a length of roughly through California in the United States. The fault's motion is right-lateral strike-slip...
runs right through the Crystal Springs Reservoir. Satellite images and maps show the long narrow San Andreas rift continuing north of San Francisco in Tomales Bay, in Point Reyes National Seashore
Point Reyes National Seashore
Point Reyes National Seashore is a park preserve located on the Point Reyes Peninsula in Marin County, California, USA. As a national seashore, it is maintained by the US National Park Service as a nationally important nature preserve within which existing agricultural uses are allowed to continue...
in a straight line. The Crystal Springs Dam
Crystal Springs Dam
Crystal Springs Dam is a gravity dam constructed across the San Mateo Creek, impounding water to form the Lower Crystal Springs Reservoir in San Mateo County, California....
survived both the 1906 earthquake
1906 San Francisco earthquake
The San Francisco earthquake of 1906 was a major earthquake that struck San Francisco, California, and the coast of Northern California at 5:12 a.m. on Wednesday, April 18, 1906. The most widely accepted estimate for the magnitude of the earthquake is a moment magnitude of 7.9; however, other...
and the 1989 Loma Prieta quake
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...
with no damage whatsoever, according to the U.S. Geological Survey
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,...
.