| Alameda Creek Spanish: Arroyo de la Alameda | |
|---|---|
,_April_2024.JPG) Alameda Creek at Niles, Fremont | |
 Alameda Creek watershed (Interactive map) | |
| Etymology | Spanish |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| State | California |
| Region | Alameda County, Santa Clara County |
| City | Union City, California |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | Packard Ridge in the Diablo Range |
| • location | 12 miles (19 km) east of San Jose |
| • coordinates | 37°23′16″N 121°36′44″W / 37.38778°N 121.61222°W[1] |
| • elevation | 2,950 ft (900 m) |
| Mouth | San Francisco Bay |
• location | Fremont |
• coordinates | 37°33′48″N 122°7′51″W / 37.56333°N 122.13083°W[a] |
• elevation | 0 ft (0 m) |
| Length | 45 mi (72 km) |
| Basin features | |
| Tributaries | |
| • left | Calaveras Creek |
| • right | San Antonio Creek, Arroyo de la Laguna |
Alameda Creek (Spanish: Arroyo de la Alameda) is a large perennial stream in the San Francisco Bay Area. The creek runs for 45 miles (72 km) from a lake northeast of Packard Ridge to the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay by way of Niles Canyon and a flood control channel.[1][b] Along its course, Alameda Creek provides wildlife habitat, water supply, a conduit for flood waters, opportunities for recreation, and a host of aesthetic and environmental values. The creek and three major reservoirs in the watershed are used as water supply by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, Alameda County Water District and Zone 7 Water Agency. Within the watershed can be found some of the highest peaks (Mount Isabel and Mount Hamilton) and tallest waterfall (Murietta Falls) in the East Bay, over a dozen regional parks, and notable natural landmarks such as the cascades at Little Yosemite and the wildflower-strewn grasslands and oak savannahs of the Sunol Regional Wilderness.
After an absence of half a century, ocean-run steelhead trout are able to return to Alameda Creek to mingle with remnant rainbow trout populations. Completion of a series of dam removal and fish passage projects, along with improved stream flows for cold-water fish and planned habitat restoration, enable steelhead trout and Chinook salmon to access up to 20 miles (32 km) of spawning and rearing habitat in Alameda Creek and its tributaries.[3] The first juvenile trout migrating downstream from the upper watershed through lower Alameda Creek toward San Francisco Bay was detected and documented in April 2023.[4]
- ^ a b U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Alameda Creek
- ^ Clark, William Otterbein. "Ground Water in Santa Clara County, California." p. 11. (1924). U.S. Department of the Interior. U.S. Geological Survey. Water Supply Paper 519. Accessed August 1, 2017.
- ^ "Alameda Creek Watershed Overview". Alameda Creek Coalition. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
- ^ "Steelhead Get Boost in Alameda Creek Thanks to Restoration Efforts". sfpuc.org. April 24, 2023. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
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