San Leandro Creek
Encyclopedia
San Leandro Creek is a 21.7 miles (34.9 km) year-round natural stream flowing along the east side of the range which comprises the Berkeley Hills
and the San Leandro Hills
, immediately east of Oakland
. In the hills, it runs into Upper San Leandro Reservoir and then Lake Chabot
, both manmade lakes lying north of the unincorporated town of Castro Valley, California
. It then runs through the city of San Leandro and on into San Leandro Bay
after crossing Hegenberger Road just north of Oakland International Airport
.
ed in places, it is remarkable among East Bay streams for being mostly uncovered throughout most of its course. It is joined by Indian Creek then at Upper San Leandro Reservoir it is joined by Moraga Creek, Redwood Creek, Buckhorn Creek and Kaiser Creek, then just below the spillway by Miller Creek. At Lake Chabot in Anthony Chabot Regional Park
it is joined by Grass Valley Creek, then descends to San Leandro Bay.
The Redwood Creek tributary is protected by Redwood Regional Park
, which contains the largest remaining natural stand of Coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) found in the East Bay.
The creek terminates in Arrowhead Marsh
, one of the few marshlands left in the East Bay. The marsh formed in San Leandro Bay between 1855 and 1895 from sediments washed down San Leandro Creek during construction of the Lake Chabot dam and also from the logging of the San Antonio Forest.
, 6th century archbishop of Seville
, "Apostle of the Goths
".
The creek is remarkable for having been the site of the first rainbow trout
hatchery in the world, drawing on the locally native variety of the species. The fish raised in this hatchery were sent as far away as New York. Although Rainbow trout
(Oncorhynchus mykiss), the landlocked form of steelhead trout, was initially identified in 1792 in Kamchatka, Siberia
by Johann Julius Walbaum
, William P. Gibbons, founder of the California Academy of Sciences
, believed in 1855 that he had discovered a new species of trout in San Leandro Creek, which he named Salmo iridea (now the Coastal rainbow trout subspecies Oncorhynchus mykiss irideus).
In 1874 work began on Lake Chabot Dam and it was completed in 1875, forming a 315-acre lake. Lake Chabot serves as a standby emergency water supply but was opened to limited recreation in the 1960s. Four miles upstream, a second dam built in 1926 formed San Leandro Reservoir.
groves in the unincorporated town of Canyon, California
and was formerly lined with numerous oaks and willows in its lower course.
Historical records indicate that Chinook salmon
(Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) occurred in at least two San Francisco Bay Area
watersheds, San Leandro Creek in Alameda County, and San Mateo Creek in San Mateo County. In the 1870s, “quinnant”, or Chinook salmon were reported from lower San Leandro Creek and persisted in Lake Chabot for several years following the completion of Lake Chabot Dam in 1875.
California Department of Fish and Game
Warden George Smalley reported runs of Coho salmon
(Oncorhynchus kisutch) and Steelhead trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) in San Leandro Creek “…in the
early days” and “…that after the completion of the Upper San Leandro Reservoir a run still persisted to the base of the dam for many years”. Leidy considered this single historical account of Coho in the creek "reliable...since we believe that suitable habitat was present in the watershed." As mentioned above, Gibbons discovered rainbow trout in San Leandro Creek in 1855. Thus, all three species of Oncorhynchus once inhabited San Leandro Creek.
Today, Lake Chabot's rainbow trout are hatchery fish, but the rainbow trout in San Leandro Reservoir are descended from native steelhead which were trapped when San Leandro Dam was constructed on Redwood Creek in 1926. The San Leandro trout have maintained genetic integrity with native coastal California steelhead since they have not been mixed with hatchery trout, and were used in a 1983 reintroduction of steelhead to Wildcat Creek
in Tilden Regional Park
.
Berkeley Hills
The Berkeley Hills are a range of the Pacific Coast Ranges that overlook the northeast side of the valley that surrounds San Francisco Bay. They were previously called the "Contra Costa Range/Hills" , but with the establishment of Berkeley and the University of California, the current usage was...
and the San Leandro Hills
San Leandro Hills
The San Leandro Hills are a range of the Pacific Coast Ranges located on the eastern side of the valley which includes San Francisco Bay. They run along the southeastern city limits of Oakland, extending southeastward above the city of San Leandro and the unincorporated community of Castro Valley....
, immediately east of Oakland
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
. In the hills, it runs into Upper San Leandro Reservoir and then Lake Chabot
Lake Chabot
Lake Chabot is a man-made lake covering in Alameda County, California. Part of the lake lies within Oakland city limits, but most of it lies in unincorporated Castro Valley, just east of San Leandro. It was formed by the damming of San Leandro Creek....
, both manmade lakes lying north of the unincorporated town of Castro Valley, California
Castro Valley, California
Castro Valley is a census-designated place in Alameda County, California, United States. As of the 2000 census, it is the fifth most populous unincorporated area in California, and the twenty-third in the United States...
. It then runs through the city of San Leandro and on into San Leandro Bay
San Leandro Bay
San Leandro Bay is a body of water in the San Francisco Bay. It is connected to the Oakland Estuary today, but was originally separated by land which formerly connected Alameda with Oakland. It is located along the east of the Oakland International Airport and Bay Farm Island. The principal...
after crossing Hegenberger Road just north of Oakland International Airport
Oakland International Airport
Oakland International Airport , also known as Metropolitan Oakland International Airport, is a public airport located south of the central business district of Oakland, a city in Alameda County, California, United States...
.
Watershed
Although it is channeled and culvertCulvert
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...
ed in places, it is remarkable among East Bay streams for being mostly uncovered throughout most of its course. It is joined by Indian Creek then at Upper San Leandro Reservoir it is joined by Moraga Creek, Redwood Creek, Buckhorn Creek and Kaiser Creek, then just below the spillway by Miller Creek. At Lake Chabot in Anthony Chabot Regional Park
Anthony Chabot Regional Park
Anthony Chabot Regional Park is a regional park on in the San Leandro Hills adjacent to Oakland, San Leandro and Castro Valley.The park is adjacent to Lake Chabot Regional Park and also to EBMUD's Upper San Leandro Reservoir. It houses a golfing club and a marksmanship club...
it is joined by Grass Valley Creek, then descends to San Leandro Bay.
The Redwood Creek tributary is protected by Redwood Regional Park
Redwood Regional Park
Redwood Regional Park is a park of the East Bay Regional Parks District in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is located in the hills east of Oakland. The park contains the largest remaining natural stand of coast redwood found in the East Bay. Redwood forests are more commonly found closer to the...
, which contains the largest remaining natural stand of Coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) found in the East Bay.
The creek terminates in Arrowhead Marsh
Arrowhead Marsh
Arrowhead Marsh is a wetlands habitat made of tidal mud flats in Martin Luther King, Jr. Shoreline in Oakland, California. It is an important stop on the Pacific flyway and is habitat for important endangered species especially the Salt Marsh Harvest Mouse....
, one of the few marshlands left in the East Bay. The marsh formed in San Leandro Bay between 1855 and 1895 from sediments washed down San Leandro Creek during construction of the Lake Chabot dam and also from the logging of the San Antonio Forest.
History
San Leandro Creek was likely named by the Spanish for St. LeanderLeander of Seville
Saint Leander of Seville , brother of the encyclopedist St. Isidore of Seville, was the Catholic Bishop of Seville who was instrumental in effecting the conversion to Catholicism of the Visigothic kings Hermengild and Reccared of Hispania .-Family:Leander and Isidore and...
, 6th century archbishop of Seville
Seville
Seville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level...
, "Apostle of the Goths
Goths
The Goths were an East Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin whose two branches, the Visigoths and the Ostrogoths, played an important role in the fall of the Roman Empire and the emergence of Medieval Europe....
".
The creek is remarkable for having been the site of the first rainbow trout
Rainbow trout
The rainbow trout is a species of salmonid native to tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead is a sea run rainbow trout usually returning to freshwater to spawn after 2 to 3 years at sea. In other words, rainbow trout and steelhead trout are the same species....
hatchery in the world, drawing on the locally native variety of the species. The fish raised in this hatchery were sent as far away as New York. Although Rainbow trout
Rainbow trout
The rainbow trout is a species of salmonid native to tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead is a sea run rainbow trout usually returning to freshwater to spawn after 2 to 3 years at sea. In other words, rainbow trout and steelhead trout are the same species....
(Oncorhynchus mykiss), the landlocked form of steelhead trout, was initially identified in 1792 in Kamchatka, Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
by Johann Julius Walbaum
Johann Julius Walbaum
Johann Julius Walbaum was a physician, naturalist and taxonomist. He was the first to describe many previously unknown species from remote parts of the globe, such as the Great Barracuda , the Chum salmon from the Kamchatka River in Siberia, and the curimatá-pacú Johann Julius Walbaum (30 June...
, William P. Gibbons, founder of the California Academy of Sciences
California Academy of Sciences
The California Academy of Sciences is among the largest museums of natural history in the world. The academy began in 1853 as a learned society and still carries out a large amount of original research, with exhibits and education becoming significant endeavors of the museum during the twentieth...
, believed in 1855 that he had discovered a new species of trout in San Leandro Creek, which he named Salmo iridea (now the Coastal rainbow trout subspecies Oncorhynchus mykiss irideus).
In 1874 work began on Lake Chabot Dam and it was completed in 1875, forming a 315-acre lake. Lake Chabot serves as a standby emergency water supply but was opened to limited recreation in the 1960s. Four miles upstream, a second dam built in 1926 formed San Leandro Reservoir.
Ecology
It sustains the redwoodRedwood
-Trees:Conifers* Family Cupressaceae *** Sequoia sempervirens - coast redwood**** Albino redwood*** Sequoiadendron giganteum - giant sequoia*** Metasequoia glyptostroboides - dawn redwood* Family Pinaceae...
groves in the unincorporated town of Canyon, California
Canyon, California
Canyon is an unincorporated community in Contra Costa County, California situated between Oakland and Moraga in the San Francisco Bay Area. The community is named for its location in the upper canyon of San Leandro Creek along the eastern slope of the Berkeley Hills...
and was formerly lined with numerous oaks and willows in its lower course.
Historical records indicate that 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...
(Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) occurred in at least two San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
watersheds, San Leandro Creek in Alameda County, and San Mateo Creek in San Mateo County. In the 1870s, “quinnant”, or Chinook salmon were reported from lower San Leandro Creek and persisted in Lake Chabot for several years following the completion of Lake Chabot Dam in 1875.
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...
Warden George Smalley reported runs of 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) and Steelhead trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) in San Leandro Creek “…in the
early days” and “…that after the completion of the Upper San Leandro Reservoir a run still persisted to the base of the dam for many years”. Leidy considered this single historical account of Coho in the creek "reliable...since we believe that suitable habitat was present in the watershed." As mentioned above, Gibbons discovered rainbow trout in San Leandro Creek in 1855. Thus, all three species of Oncorhynchus once inhabited San Leandro Creek.
Today, Lake Chabot's rainbow trout are hatchery fish, but the rainbow trout in San Leandro Reservoir are descended from native steelhead which were trapped when San Leandro Dam was constructed on Redwood Creek in 1926. The San Leandro trout have maintained genetic integrity with native coastal California steelhead since they have not been mixed with hatchery trout, and were used in a 1983 reintroduction of steelhead to Wildcat Creek
Wildcat Canyon
Wildcat Canyon is a narrow linear valley just east of the Berkeley Hills in the San Francisco Bay Area, situated in Contra Costa County, California. The canyon is bounded on its east side by the San Pablo Ridge, and is drained by Wildcat Creek which runs northwest to its outlet in San Pablo Bay. ...
in Tilden Regional Park
Tilden Regional Park
Tilden Regional Park, also known as "Tilden" , is a regional park in the East Bay, part of the San Francisco Bay Area in California. It is situated between the Berkeley Hills and San Pablo Ridge....
.