Los Gatos Creek (Fresno County, California)
Encyclopedia
Los Gatos Creek formerly known as Arroyo Pasajero or Arroyo Poso de Chane, is a creek in Fresno County, California
. It runs through Los Gatos Canyon, in the western foothills of the Coast Range. It then passes across Pleasant Valley, north of Coalinga
, where Warthan Creek joins it, then flowing eastward until Jacalitos Creek joins it, before it passes north of the Guijarral Hills
, into the San Joaquin Valley
, where it is joined by Zapato Chino Creek. Unless in times of flood, when it can reach the Fresno Slough
, Los Gatos Creek does not flow east of Interstate 5 in California
.
. The Poso de Chane and the settlement was destroyed in the Great Flood of 1862
.
Los Gatos Creek is remembered as the site of a plane crash in 1948 which was the subject of a song by Woody Guthrie
, "Deportee (Plane Wreck at Los Gatos)
".
Fresno County, California
Fresno County is a county located in the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California, south of Stockton and north of Bakersfield. As of the 2010 census, it is the tenth most populous county in California with a population of 930,450, and the sixth largest in size with an area of . The county...
. It runs through Los Gatos Canyon, in the western foothills of the Coast Range. It then passes across Pleasant Valley, north of Coalinga
Coalinga, California
Coalinga is a city in Fresno County, California. The population was 13,380 at the 2010 census, up from 11,668 at the 2000 census. It is the site of both Pleasant Valley State Prison and Coalinga State Hospital. Coalinga is located southwest of Fresno, at an elevation of 673 feet .-Early...
, where Warthan Creek joins it, then flowing eastward until Jacalitos Creek joins it, before it passes north of the Guijarral Hills
Guijarral Hills
The Guijarral Hills are a range of low hills in the inner California Coast Ranges, in Fresno County, California, about seven miles east of the town of Coalinga....
, into the San Joaquin Valley
San Joaquin Valley
The San Joaquin Valley is the area of the Central Valley of California that lies south of the Sacramento – San Joaquin River Delta in Stockton...
, where it is joined by Zapato Chino Creek. Unless in times of flood, when it can reach the Fresno Slough
Fresno Slough
Fresno Slough is a distibutary of the Kings River that connects the North Fork Kings River to the San Joaquin River. Until 1879, when irrigation diversions prevented it, Fresno Slough was also an outlet of the overflow waters of Tulare Lake into the San Joaquin River in flood years, when its...
, Los Gatos Creek does not flow east of Interstate 5 in California
Interstate 5 in California
Interstate 5 is a major north–south route of the Interstate Highway System in the U.S. state of California. It begins at the Mexico – United States border at the San Ysidro crossing, goes north across the length of California and crosses into Oregon south of the Medford-Ashland metropolitan...
.
History
Los Gatos Creek, originally Arroyo Pasajero or Arroyo Poso de Chane, included the Poso de Chane, a pool or waterhole on the creek, northwest of of the Guijarral Hills, 6 miles from Coalinga. This pool was once the site of an village of native Americans called the Chane by the Spanish. This location became a small Spanish and later a Mexican settlement, and a way station on the El Camino ViejoEl Camino Viejo
El Camino Viejo à Los Angeles , also known as the Old Los Angeles Trail, established in 1820's, was the oldest north-south trail in the interior of Alta California...
. The Poso de Chane and the settlement was destroyed in the Great Flood of 1862
Great Flood of 1862
The Great Flood of 1862 or Noachian Deluge was the largest flood in the recorded history of Oregon, Nevada and California, occurring from December 1861 to January 1862. It was preceded by weeks of continuous rains that began in Oregon in November 1861 and continued into January 1862...
.
Los Gatos Creek is remembered as the site of a plane crash in 1948 which was the subject of a song by Woody Guthrie
Woody Guthrie
Woodrow Wilson "Woody" Guthrie is best known as an American singer-songwriter and folk musician, whose musical legacy includes hundreds of political, traditional and children's songs, ballads and improvised works. He frequently performed with the slogan This Machine Kills Fascists displayed on his...
, "Deportee (Plane Wreck at Los Gatos)
Deportee (Plane Wreck at Los Gatos)
"Deportee " is a protest song with lyrics by Woody Guthrie detailing the January 28, 1948 crash of a plane near Los Gatos Canyon, 20 miles west of Coalinga in Fresno County, California, United States. The crash occurred in Los Gatos Canyon and not in the town of Los Gatos itself, which is in Santa...
".