Pescadero Creek
Encyclopedia
Pescadero Creek is a major stream in Santa Cruz
and San Mateo
counties in California
. At 26.6 miles (42.8 km), it is the longest stream in San Mateo County and flows all year from springs in the Santa Cruz Mountains
. Its source is at 1880 feet (573 m) above sea level on the western edge of Castle Rock State Park
, with additional headwaters in Portola Redwoods State Park
, and its course traverses Pescadero Creek County Park and San Mateo County Memorial Park
before entering Pescadero Marsh Natural Preserve at Pescadero State Beach
and thence to the Pacific Ocean 14.4 miles (23 km) south of Half Moon Bay
.
Arroyo del Pescadero appears on the disueños of the 1830s. The 1860s' Coast Survey called it the Pescador River. Spanish-speaking people founded the town of Pescadero, California
in 1856.
The pre-European Pescadero watershed was occupied by the Ohlone
. The Quirostes controlled the area from Bean Hollow Creek southward to Año Nuevo Creek and inland to Butano Ridge. The Oljon controlled from the lower San Gregorio Creek
drainage southward to Bean Hollow Creek, including the lower Pescadero and Butano drainages. The Cotogen held the land in and around Purisima Creek. When the Portolà Expedition
traveled on horseback along the immediate coast on October 24, 1769, Padre Juan Crespí
wrote, "Only in the watercourses are any trees to be seen; elsewhere we saw nothing but grass, and that was burned." The Ohlone managed the land with the most effective tool they had, fire.
Farmers began building levees and drained small areas of the marsh by the late 1920s. Substantial levee building and conversion of marshlands to agriculture occurred during the 1930s, and continued through the early 1960s. The State began acquiring land in the 1960s. In the early 1960s local farmers used a dragline to remove sediment from Butano Creek
channel below Pescadero Bridge for several thousand feet down stream. The sediment removed was used to build a 6,000 foot levee on the west side of Butano Creek
. Other levees were built to keep salt water out of agricultural fields. California Department of Fish and Game
(DFG) required the dragline practice to stop following the introduction of new fish protection laws in 1963.
The Highway One
bridge was rebuilt (1989-90) with fewer supports and closer to the ocean to minimize effects on the stream and lagoon; the original bridge had been built in the early 1940s.
as impaired water bodies for sediment. Concerns about agricultural pesticide runoff into the marsh prompted a report prepared by DFG. Jong confirmed eutrophic (high nutrient) conditions in the marsh and found that algae blooms raise DO levels to saturation during the day and deplete levels during night respiration. Jong speculated that the low night DO could result in fish kills. The DFG study found levels of pesticides potentially toxic to fish in the sediment. In the mid-1980s the west bank levee of Butano Creek was breached about 50 feet downstream of Pescadero Road Bridge in order to reduce flood flows down the Butano Creek channel in the marsh. Breeches in other levees of the North Butano Marsh were also made to improve circulation.
Historically, both Pescadero Creek and Butano Creek, as well as several tributary streams, supported runs of Steelhead trout (Oncorhyncus mykiss) and Coho salmon
(Oncorhynchus kisutch). Steelhead are still present, but there have been only sparse reports of Coho salmon in the watershed in recent years. Before logging removed much of the dense forest cover of this area in the middle of the 20th century, these streams were shaded, with frequent, stable pools created by fallen trees, bedrock outcrops, and boulders, and an abundant, if not steady, supply of gravel. With cool stream temperatures and reliable flows through the summer, they provided excellent habitat for salmon and trout, and both Pescadero Creek and Butano Creek were renowned sports fishing streams for vacationing San Franciscans in the late 19th century. According to a study by Professor Jerry Smith San Jose State University
, estimates in 1985 showed that 10,000 steelhead trout were rearing in the lagoon. As of 2008, 750 steelhead were counted in the same area. With the exception of a few juvenile coho observed in Peters Creek in 1999, salmon have been absent from the watershed until a 2003 release of 17,000 hatchery-raised coho smolts in Pescadero Creek. Very few of these coho have returned to the creek.
California Golden Beaver (Castor canadensis subauratus) were re-introduced to Pescadero Creek around 1937-1938 by the DFG after near extinction in California in the early twentieth century. The beavers continue to thrive and although concerns about flooding related to beaver dams occurs, there is evidence that beaver in the lower channel in the 1950s reduced sediment movement through the system, especially since the late 1980’s. Beaver improve salmonid abundance and size as their beaver ponds recharge the water table which, in turn, replenishes stream flows in the dry season and by providing ideal over-summering habitat. Contrary to popular myth, most beaver dams do not pose barriers to trout and salmon migration, although they may be restricted seasonally during periods of low stream flows. Physical evidence suggesting that beaver were once native to the area prior to extensive early nineteenth century fur trapping
is a Castor canadensis subauratus skull in the Smithsonian Institution
National Museum of Natural History
collected by zoologist James Graham Cooper
in Santa Clara, California
on Dec. 31, 1855.
. The watershed’s two principal streams, Pescadero Creek and Butano Creek, which have their confluence in Pescadero Marsh, drain 81 square miles (209.8 km²) of the Santa Cruz Mountains. Peters Creek in Portola Redwoods State Park, Oil Creek
, Slate Creek and Butano Creek
are the largest of many tributaries of Pescadero Creek.
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...
and San Mateo
San Mateo County, California
San Mateo County is a county located in the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. It covers most of the San Francisco Peninsula just south of San Francisco, and north of Santa Clara County. San Francisco International Airport is located at the northern end of the county, and...
counties in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. At 26.6 miles (42.8 km), it is the longest stream in San Mateo County and flows all year from springs in 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,...
. Its source is at 1880 feet (573 m) above sea level on the western edge of Castle Rock State Park
Castle Rock State Park (California)
Castle Rock State Park is a state park of California, USA, located along the crest of the Santa Cruz Mountains. It embraces coast redwood, Douglas fir, and madrone forest, most of which has been left in its wild, natural state. Steep canyons are sprinkled with unusual rock formations that is a...
, with additional headwaters in Portola Redwoods State Park
Portola Redwoods State Park
Portola Redwoods State Park is a California state park, located in San Mateo County. Peters Creek and Pescadero Creek meet in Portola, and are the park's primary watercourses, and feature numerous tributaries. Tip Toe Falls is a small waterfall along Fall Creek, a tributary of Pescadero Creek...
, and its course traverses Pescadero Creek County Park and San Mateo County Memorial Park
San Mateo County Memorial Park
San Mateo County Memorial Park is a county park in San Mateo County, California, USA, near the town of Loma Mar, California. It is connected by a small green belt to Pescadero Creek County Park. Pescadero Creek runs through the park....
before entering Pescadero Marsh Natural Preserve at Pescadero State Beach
Pescadero State Beach
Pescadero State Beach is alongside State Route 1, located 14.5 miles south of Half Moon Bay and 1.5 miles west of the city of Pescadero in San Mateo County, California....
and thence to the Pacific Ocean 14.4 miles (23 km) south of Half Moon Bay
Half Moon Bay
Half Moon Bay is a city in San Mateo County, CaliforniaHalf Moon Bay may also refer to:- Geographic features :* Half Moon Bay , a bay on the San Mateo County Coast of California...
.
History
Pescadero is Spanish for "fishing place". In early Mexican land grants or disueños, John Gilroy stated "The Castros, I and an Indian gave it that name in 1814, being a place where we used to catch salmon."Arroyo del Pescadero appears on the disueños of the 1830s. The 1860s' Coast Survey called it the Pescador River. Spanish-speaking people founded the town of Pescadero, California
Pescadero, California
Pescadero is a census-designated place in San Mateo County, California two miles east of State Route 1 and Pescadero State Beach. The center of town, on Pescadero Creek Road, is located at latitude 37.255 and longitude 122.38028. The town is south of Half Moon Bay. The ZIP Code is 94060 and...
in 1856.
The pre-European Pescadero watershed was occupied by the Ohlone
Ohlone
The 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...
. The Quirostes controlled the area from Bean Hollow Creek southward to Año Nuevo Creek and inland to Butano Ridge. The Oljon controlled from the lower San Gregorio Creek
San Gregorio Creek
San Gregorio Creek is a river in San Mateo County, California. Its tributaries originate on the western ridges of the Santa Cruz Mountains whence it courses southwest through steep forested canyons...
drainage southward to Bean Hollow Creek, including the lower Pescadero and Butano drainages. The Cotogen held the land in and around Purisima Creek. When the Portolà Expedition
Portola expedition
250px|right|Point of San Francisco Bay DiscoveryThe Portolá Expedition was led by Gaspar de Portolá from July 14, 1769 to January 24, 1770. It was the first recorded Spanish land entry and exploration of present day California, United States...
traveled on horseback along the immediate coast on October 24, 1769, Padre Juan Crespí
Juan Crespi
Father Juan Crespí was a Majorcan missionary and explorer of Las Californias. He entered the Franciscan order at the age of seventeen. He came to America in 1749, and accompanied explorers Francisco Palóu and Junípero Serra. In 1767 he went to the Baja Peninsula and was placed in charge of the...
wrote, "Only in the watercourses are any trees to be seen; elsewhere we saw nothing but grass, and that was burned." The Ohlone managed the land with the most effective tool they had, fire.
Farmers began building levees and drained small areas of the marsh by the late 1920s. Substantial levee building and conversion of marshlands to agriculture occurred during the 1930s, and continued through the early 1960s. The State began acquiring land in the 1960s. In the early 1960s local farmers used a dragline to remove sediment from Butano Creek
Butano Creek
Butano Creek is a principal river in San Mateo County, California and carries a large amount of the runoff of the Santa Cruz Mountains into the Pacific Ocean through the delta at its mouth Pescadero Marsh. The creek is long....
channel below Pescadero Bridge for several thousand feet down stream. The sediment removed was used to build a 6,000 foot levee on the west side of Butano Creek
Butano Creek
Butano Creek is a principal river in San Mateo County, California and carries a large amount of the runoff of the Santa Cruz Mountains into the Pacific Ocean through the delta at its mouth Pescadero Marsh. The creek is long....
. Other levees were built to keep salt water out of agricultural fields. California Department of Fish and Game
California Department of Fish and Game
The California Department of Fish and Game is a department within the government of California, falling under its parent California Natural Resources Agency. The Department of Fish and Game manages and protects the state's diverse fish, wildlife, plant resources, and native habitats...
(DFG) required the dragline practice to stop following the introduction of new fish protection laws in 1963.
The Highway One
California State Route 1
State Route 1 , more often called Highway 1, is a state highway that runs along much of the Pacific coast of the U.S. state of California. It is famous for running along some of the most beautiful coastlines in the world, leading to its designation as an All-American Road.Highway 1 does not run...
bridge was rebuilt (1989-90) with fewer supports and closer to the ocean to minimize effects on the stream and lagoon; the original bridge had been built in the early 1940s.
Ecology
Intensive logging and watershed development, also beginning in the late 1920s or early 1930s, has dramatically increased sedimentation in Butano and Pescadero creeks. Both streams are listed under the federal Clean Water ActClean Water Act
The Clean Water Act is the primary federal law in the United States governing water pollution. Commonly abbreviated as the CWA, the act established the goals of eliminating releases of high amounts of toxic substances into water, eliminating additional water pollution by 1985, and ensuring that...
as impaired water bodies for sediment. Concerns about agricultural pesticide runoff into the marsh prompted a report prepared by DFG. Jong confirmed eutrophic (high nutrient) conditions in the marsh and found that algae blooms raise DO levels to saturation during the day and deplete levels during night respiration. Jong speculated that the low night DO could result in fish kills. The DFG study found levels of pesticides potentially toxic to fish in the sediment. In the mid-1980s the west bank levee of Butano Creek was breached about 50 feet downstream of Pescadero Road Bridge in order to reduce flood flows down the Butano Creek channel in the marsh. Breeches in other levees of the North Butano Marsh were also made to improve circulation.
Historically, both Pescadero Creek and Butano Creek, as well as several tributary streams, supported runs of Steelhead trout (Oncorhyncus mykiss) and 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:...
(Oncorhynchus kisutch). Steelhead are still present, but there have been only sparse reports of Coho salmon in the watershed in recent years. Before logging removed much of the dense forest cover of this area in the middle of the 20th century, these streams were shaded, with frequent, stable pools created by fallen trees, bedrock outcrops, and boulders, and an abundant, if not steady, supply of gravel. With cool stream temperatures and reliable flows through the summer, they provided excellent habitat for salmon and trout, and both Pescadero Creek and Butano Creek were renowned sports fishing streams for vacationing San Franciscans in the late 19th century. According to a study by Professor Jerry Smith San Jose State University
San José State University
San Jose State University is a public university located in San Jose, California, United States...
, estimates in 1985 showed that 10,000 steelhead trout were rearing in the lagoon. As of 2008, 750 steelhead were counted in the same area. With the exception of a few juvenile coho observed in Peters Creek in 1999, salmon have been absent from the watershed until a 2003 release of 17,000 hatchery-raised coho smolts in Pescadero Creek. Very few of these coho have returned to the creek.
California Golden Beaver (Castor canadensis subauratus) were re-introduced to Pescadero Creek around 1937-1938 by the DFG after near extinction in California in the early twentieth century. The beavers continue to thrive and although concerns about flooding related to beaver dams occurs, there is evidence that beaver in the lower channel in the 1950s reduced sediment movement through the system, especially since the late 1980’s. Beaver improve salmonid abundance and size as their beaver ponds recharge the water table which, in turn, replenishes stream flows in the dry season and by providing ideal over-summering habitat. Contrary to popular myth, most beaver dams do not pose barriers to trout and salmon migration, although they may be restricted seasonally during periods of low stream flows. Physical evidence suggesting that beaver were once native to the area prior to extensive early nineteenth century fur trapping
California Fur Rush
Before the 1849 California Gold Rush, American, English and Russian fur hunters were drawn to Spanish California in a California Fur Rush, to exploit its enormous fur resources...
is a Castor canadensis subauratus skull in the Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
National Museum of Natural History
National Museum of Natural History
The National Museum of Natural History is a natural history museum administered by the Smithsonian Institution, located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., United States. Admission is free and the museum is open 364 days a year....
collected by zoologist James Graham Cooper
James Graham Cooper
James Graham Cooper was an American surgeon and naturalist.Cooper was born in New York. He worked for the California Geological Survey with Josiah Dwight Whitney, William Henry Brewer and Henry Nicholas Bolander...
in Santa Clara, California
Santa Clara, California
Santa Clara , founded in 1777 and incorporated in 1852, is a city in Santa Clara County, in the U.S. state of California. The city is the site of the eighth of 21 California missions, Mission Santa Clara de Asís, and was named after the mission. The Mission and Mission Gardens are located on the...
on Dec. 31, 1855.
Pescadero Marsh
Located at the confluence of Pescadero and Butano Creeks, the area known as Pescadero Marsh has for decades been a thriving habitat for both migratory and native wildlife. Besides being a refuge and nesting ground for wintering waterfowl, the Marsh ia a critical spawning area and nursery for coho salmon, steelhead trout, tidewater goby, and many other threatened or endangered fish, amphibian, and reptile species. Since 1995, annual fish "die-offs" of hundreds of juvenile fish, crabs, and other species occur in the late fall when the sandbar barrier between the lagoon and the ocean is breached. As water levels fluctuate, many species are cut off from supportive habitat, and the entire eco-system degrades. Since 1998 concerned citizens and other wildlife agencies have repeatedly asked California State Parks to take immediate corrective action. The Parks department has failed to respond and has instead moved to request further studies. Meanwhile, native species populations in the marsh have reached critically low levels.Watershed
The Pescadero-Butano watershed is the largest coastal watershed between the Golden Gate and the San Lorenzo RiverSan 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 watershed’s two principal streams, Pescadero Creek and Butano Creek, which have their confluence in Pescadero Marsh, drain 81 square miles (209.8 km²) of the Santa Cruz Mountains. Peters Creek in Portola Redwoods State Park, Oil Creek
Oil Creek (San Mateo County, California)
Oil Creek is a small river in San Mateo County, California and is a tributary of Pescadero Creek....
, Slate Creek and Butano Creek
Butano Creek
Butano Creek is a principal river in San Mateo County, California and carries a large amount of the runoff of the Santa Cruz Mountains into the Pacific Ocean through the delta at its mouth Pescadero Marsh. The creek is long....
are the largest of many tributaries of Pescadero Creek.
Tributaries
- Butano CreekButano CreekButano Creek is a principal river in San Mateo County, California and carries a large amount of the runoff of the Santa Cruz Mountains into the Pacific Ocean through the delta at its mouth Pescadero Marsh. The creek is long....
- Bradley CreekBradley CreekBradley Creek is a river in San Mateo County, California and is a tributary of the Pescadero Creek.-Tribuatries:*Chandler Gulch...
- Chandler GulchChandler GulchChandler Gulch is a valley in San Mateo County, California. It contains a stream which is a tributary of Bradley Creek....
- Chandler Gulch
- Honsinger CreekHonsinger CreekHonsinger Creek is a stream in San Mateo County, California and a tributary of Pescadero Creek....
- Windmill GulchWindmill GulchWindmill Gulch is a valley in San Mateo County, California. It contains a small stream which is a fork of Honsinger Creek....
- Big Chicken HollowBig Chicken HollowBig Chicken Hollow is a valley in San Mateo County, California. It contains a fork of Honsinger Creek....
- Little Chicken HollowLittle Chicken HollowLittle Chicken Hollow is a valley in San Mateo County, California. It contains a stream which is a fork of Honsinger Creek....
- Windmill Gulch
- Newell GulchNewell GulchNewell Gulch is a valley in San Mateo County, California. It contains a stream which is a tributary of Pescadero Creek....
- Roy GulchRoy GulchRoy Gulch is a valley in San Mateo County, California, containing a small stream that is a tributary of Pescadero Creek....
- Bloomquist CreekBloomquist CreekBloomquist Creek is a stream in San Mateo County, California and is a tributary of Pescadero Creek. It enters Pescadero Creek within the boundaries of Memorial Park.-See also:* List of watercourses in the San Francisco Bay Area...
- Peterson Creek
- Hoffman CreekHoffman CreekHoffman Creek is a stream in San Mateo County, California and is a tributary of Pescadero Creek....
- McCormick CreekMcCormick CreekMcCormick Creek is a stream in San Mateo County, California and is a tributary of Pescadero Creek....
- Harwood CreekHarwood CreekHarwood Creek is a small river in San Mateo County, California. It is a tributary of Pescadero Creek....
- Dark GulchDark GulchDark Gulch is a valley in San Mateo County, California associated with a small stream that is a tributary of Pescadero Creek....
- Keyston CreekKeyston CreekKeyston Creek is a small river in San Mateo County, California and is a tributary of Pescadero Creek....
- Carriger Creek
- Rhododendron CreekRhododendron CreekRhododendron Creek is a small river in San Mateo County, California and is a tributary of Pescadero Creek....
- Tarwater CreekTarwater CreekTarwater Creek is a small river in San Mateo County, California and is a tributary of Pescadero Creek....
- Peters Creek
- Evans CreekEvans CreekEvans Creek is a small river in San Mateo County, California which is a fork of Peters Creek, which is a tributary of Pescadero Creek....
- Bear CreekBear Creek (San Mateo County, California)Bear Creek is a small river in San Mateo County, California which is a fork of Peters Creek, which is a tributary of Pescadero Creek....
- Lambert CreekLambert CreekLambert Creek is a small river in San Mateo County, California which is a fork of Peters Creek, which is a tributary of Pescadero Creek....
- Evans Creek
- Fall CreekFall Creek (San Mateo County, California)Fall Creek is a small river in the Santa Cruz Mountains, in San Mateo County, California. It is a tributary of Pescadero Creek.The creek flows through a Coast Redwood forest in its short course through a narrow canyon...
- Iverson CreekIverson CreekIverson Creek is a small river in San Mateo County, California and is a tributary of Pescadero Creek.It flows about from its source on Butano Ridge in Pescadero Creek County Park to its mouth in Portola Redwoods State Park.-Notes:...
- Slate Creek
- Oil CreekOil Creek (San Mateo County, California)Oil Creek is a small river in San Mateo County, California and is a tributary of Pescadero Creek....
- Little Boulder CreekLittle Boulder CreekLittle Boulder Creek is an eastward-flowing stream in the Santa Cruz Mountains of California. Rising in Santa Cruz County near Big Basin Redwoods State Park, it crosses into San Mateo County and empties into Pescadero Creek....
- Waterman CreekWaterman CreekWaterman Creek is a southward-flowing stream in southern San Mateo County, California. Rising near Big Basin Way and the Santa Cruz County line, it empties into Pescadero Creek....