Guadalupe River (California)
Guadalupe River Río de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe Los Alamitos Creek and Guadalupe Creek | |
---|---|
• location | San Jose, California |
• coordinates | 37°14′48″N 121°52′16″W / 37.24667°N 121.87111°W[1] |
• elevation | 194 ft (59 m) |
Los Alamitos Creek, Canoas Creek |
The Guadalupe River (
Much of the river is surrounded by parks. The river's Los Alamitos and
History
The Guadalupe River was named by the
In 1777, the original
Historically the Guadalupe River was even shorter, originating several miles further north, at the downstream end of a large willow swamp that is now
On July 9, 2005, the fossilized bones of a juvenile Columbian mammoth were discovered by San Jose resident Roger Castillo in the Lower Guadalupe River near the Trimble Road overcrossing.[8] Roger founded the Salmon and Steelhead Restoration Group conservation organization[9] and has served as a board member of the Guadalupe–Coyote Resource Conservation District.[10] The Pleistocene mammoth was nicknamed "Lupe" by area residents and Lupe's fossils are exhibited at Children's Discovery Museum of San Jose.[11]
Guadalupe watershed
Historically, the Guadalupe River flowed into Guadalupe Slough, 1.0 mile (1.6 km) west of its current drainage into Alviso Slough.[12][13] To make it easier to get sailboats up the Guadalupe River to the port of Alviso, the river was redirected into the straighter Alviso Slough by the 1870s. Alviso Slough, also known as Steamboat Slough historically, was relatively straight, while Guadalupe Slough meandered extensively through the marshes. Alviso Slough was historically not fed by any upland streams, but simply carried tidewater in and out of the extensive salt marshes.[14]
The re-routing of the river to Alviso Slough in the 1870s also disconnected it from several tributaries, and had the effect of shrinking the Guadalupe watershed. San Tomas Aquino Creek (current) and its Saratoga Creek tributary (previously known as San Jon Creek and Campbell Creek) and Calabazas Creek (historic), used to enter the Guadalupe River upstream of Alviso. These tributaries were disconnected from the river and re-routed directly into Guadalupe Slough between 1876 and 1890 according to historic maps. Reportedly, Saratoga Creek (Campbell Creek) had steelhead and coho salmon runs. Large portions of the tributaries of the river were straightened and armored starting in the late 19th century and continuing through the 20th century first by farmers and then by the Santa Clara Valley Water District (SCVWD) and its predecessor organizations. They now go dry in the summer months and their lower segments have become denuded ditches requiring continuous maintenance. Mission Creek used to harbor trout and salmon but today it is buried in a culvert. The historic watershed can be viewed in the Thompson and West 1876 maps.[7][15]
The
Restoration of the river mouth
Ending nine years of study and passionate debate about the future of the San Jose/Alviso waterfront, the Santa Clara Valley Water District in November, 2009 voted to approve a $6 million project to clear bulrushes, tule reeds and thick sediment from the Guadalupe River in Alviso.
Habitat and wildlife
A recent
On the
Flooding
The river occasionally floods in downtown San Jose, south of downtown, as well as in Alviso. Flooding prompted
The river has flooded 15 times since World War II. In response to this flooding, the Santa Clara Valley Water District (SCVWD) launched a series of flood protection projects along the Guadalupe River to ensure that residential and commercial areas near the river are protected from 100-year floods. A major component of the flood control project, designed to control a 100-year flood along the Lower Guadalupe, was completed in late 2008.[34] The greatest Guadalupe River flood on record occurred in 1955 and was part of the legendary "Christmas Week Floods" when the Guadalupe River flooded 8,300 acres (34 km2).
Drought
After four years of the harsh California drought, in July 2015, the river ran dry for an 8-mile stretch through the city of San Jose. This was due to inadequate storage in upstream reservoirs for the releases of water needed to sustain flow to the river mouth until winter rains returned.[35]
Mercury contamination
The
Recreation
The Guadalupe River Trail runs along 11 miles (18 km) of the river bank.
See also
References
- ^ a b c U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Guadalupe River
- ISBN 978-1-884995-35-4.
- ISBN 978-0-8047-1862-2. Retrieved 2014-07-27.
- ^ Ingersoll, Luther A. (1893). Henry D. Barrows (ed.). A memorial and biographical history of the coast counties of Central California. Lewis Publishing Company. p. 190. Retrieved 2014-07-27.
- ^ de Anza, Juan Bautista (1776). Diary of Juan Bautista de Anza October 23, 1775 – June 1, 1776. http://anza.uoregon.edu/anza76.html Archived 2009-11-25 at the Wayback Machine Accessed Dec. 21, 2009 University of Oregon Web de Anza pages
- ^ Fava, Florence M. (1976). Los Altos Hills the Colorful Story. Woodside, California: Gilbert Richards Publications. p. 10.
- ^ a b Historical Atlas of Santa Clara County California. San Francisco, California: Thompson & West. 1876.
- ^ Eric Simons (June 27, 2018). "The Guadalupe River and the Hidden Heart of San José". Bay Nature. Retrieved July 2, 2018.
- ^ Bernard, Don. "Salmon and Steelhead Restoration Group". Retrieved 2011-06-19.
- ^ Sanders, Robert (Aug 8, 2005). "Elephants in San Jose?". UC Berkeley News. Retrieved December 21, 2009.
- ^ Pyenson, Nick. "Metropolitan Mammoth – One fossil's journey from riverbed to museum exhibit". Berkeley Science Review. Archived from the original on June 12, 2010. Retrieved December 21, 2009.
- ^ "Guadalupe Slough". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
- ^ "Alviso Slough". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
- ^ "Guadalupe Slough Watershed". Oakland Museum. Retrieved Jan 15, 2010.
- ISBN 978-1-884995-35-4. Retrieved Jan 15, 2010.
- ^ "Guadalupe Watershed, Santa Clara Valley Urban Runoff Pollution Prevention Program". Retrieved December 21, 2009.
- ^ Rogers, Paul (Nov 10, 2009). "Santa Clara Valley Water District approves project to widen Guadalupe River at Alviso". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved December 21, 2009.
- ^ Bauer, Ian (Aug 5, 2009). "Federal Monies Back Salt Pond Flow Project" (PDF). Milpitas Post. Retrieved December 21, 2009.
- PMID 33857143.)
{{cite journal}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - ^ Phil M. Roedel (1948). "Common Marine Fishes of California". State of California Department of Natural Resources Division of Fish and Game Bureau of Marine Fisheries, Fish Bulletin No. 68.
- ^ Garcia-Rossi, Dino; Hedgecock, Dennis (2002). Provenance Analysis of Chinook Salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) in the Santa Clara Valley Watershed (PDF) (Report). Santa Clara Valley Water District. Retrieved 2015-08-22.
- ^ Garza, John Carlos; Pearse, Devon (March 2008). Population genetics of Oncorhynchus mykiss in the Santa Clara Valley Region (PDF) (Report). Santa Clara Valley Water District. Retrieved 2015-08-22.
- ^ Garza, John Carlos; Crandall, Eric D. (July 2013). Genetic Analysis of Chinook Salmon from the Napa River, California (PDF) (Report). U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Napa County Resource Conservation District. Retrieved 2015-08-22.
- ^ Santa Clara Valley Habitat Plan (Report). Santa Clara Valley Habitat Agency. 2012. Retrieved September 18, 2016.
- ^ Krieger, Lisa M. (Oct 5, 2009). "Tracking the big cats". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved Nov 25, 2009.
- ^ Colgan, Mike (2013-04-10). "Family Of Beavers Takes Up Residence In Downtown San Jose". CBS5-KPIX. Retrieved 2013-04-10.
- ^ Louie, David (2013-04-10). "Beaver colony sighted in downtown San Jose". ABC7-KGOTV. Retrieved 2013-04-10.
- ^ "Castor canadensis subauratus, catalog number USNM 580354". Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. Retrieved May 10, 2010.
- ISBN 0-520-24851-1.
beaver.
- ISBN 978-0-939837-31-1.
- JSTOR 25155808.
- ^ Kay, Jane (October–December 2003). "Four Threats to a Healthy Bay – Habitat Loss; Pollution; Freshwater Flow; Invasive Species". Bay Nature. Retrieved December 22, 2009.
- ^ Hahn, Randy (Oct 16, 2007). "San Jose Sharks – Seagate Technology's "In the Crease": The Weird Factor". Archived from the original on May 29, 2010. Retrieved May 5, 2010.
- ^ Rogers, Paul (March 14, 2009). "Major flood project completed on Lower Guadalupe River in San Jose" (PDF). San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved December 21, 2009.
- ^ Rogers, Paul (August 8, 2015). "River that runs through downtown San Jose goes dry; fish and wildlife suffer". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved August 10, 2015.
- ^ Crimp, David; Patmore, Leda; Hogan, C. Michael; Seidman, Harry; Paparigian, Vivian (1976). Final Environmental Impact Report, Almaden Quicksilver Park (Report). Santa Clara County Parks and Recreation Department.
- ^ McKee, Lester; Leatherbarrow, Jon (October 2002). "Measurement of Sediment and Contaminant Loads from the Guadalupe River Watershed" (PDF). San Francisco Estuary Institute. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
- ^ Fuller, Amanda (2002). "Addressing the Environmental Mercury Problem in Watersheds: Remediation in the Guadalupe River Watershed" (PDF). San Jose, California: University of California, Berkeley. Retrieved December 21, 2009.
- ^ Russell, Daniel L. (April 2005). "Derivation of Numeric Wildlife Targets for Methylmercury in the Development of a Total Maximum Daily Load for the Guadalupe River Watershed". U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Retrieved December 21, 2009.
- ^ Young, Sarah; McMurtry, Richard; Stanley-Jones, Michael; Ringer, Alice (February 2003). Watershed Assessment Report, Chapter 4: Assessment of Guadalupe Watershed (Report). Vol. II. pp. 4–9. Archived from the original on 2015-05-05. Retrieved 2014-07-26.
- ^ McKee, L.J.; Gilbreath, A.N.; Pearce, S.A.; Shimabuku, I. (2018). Guadalupe River mercury concentrations and loads during the large rare January 2017 storm - A technical report prepared for the Regional Monitoring Program for Water Quality in San Francisco Bay. Pathways and Loadings Workgroup (SPLWG). Contribution No. 837 (PDF) (Report). Richmond, California: San Francisco Estuary Institute.
- PMID 23122771.
External links
- Guadalupe River King Salmon Spawn under Julian Street bridge, Nov 14, 2011 courtesy of Gregory Kerekes
- South Bay Clean Creeks Coalition home page
- Beaver in Downtown San Jose Part 2, April 8, 2013, courtesy of Gregory Kerekes
- Santa Clara County, California: Historic and Interpretive Sites (2001)
- Guadalupe Watershed Projects Page[permanent dead link]
- Guadalupe River Watershed, Guide to San Francisco Bay Area Creeks
- Guadalupe River Park Conservancy's website
- Fish ladder on Guadalupe River promises hope for salmon and steelhead recovery
- Guadalupe River water level
- Guadalupe – Coyote Resource Conservation District
- Santa Clara Basin Watershed Management Initiative (WMI)