San Leandro Creek

River in California, United States

San Leandro Creek

Arroyo de San Leandro, Rio San Leandro[1]

The upper watershed of San Leandro Creek is densely forested and rugged, in contrast with its highly-urbanized lower reaches (January 3rd, 2023)

Location of the mouth of San Leandro Creek in California

Etymology| Spanish
Location
Country| United States
State| California
Region| Alameda County, Contra Costa County
City| San Leandro, California
Physical characteristics
Source|
• location| east of Oakland, California
• coordinates| 37°50′47″N 122°11′43″W﻿ / ﻿37.84639°N 122.19528°W﻿ / 37.84639; -122.19528[2]
• elevation| 1,140 ft (350 m)
Mouth| San Francisco Bay

• location

| Oakland, California, just north of Oakland International Airport

• coordinates

| 37°44′34″N 122°12′28″W﻿ / ﻿37.74278°N 122.20778°W﻿ / 37.74278; -122.20778[2]

• elevation

| 0 ft (0 m)
Basin features
Tributaries|
• left| Indian Creek, Moraga Creek, Buckhorn Creek, Kaiser Creek, Miller Creek
• right| Redwood Creek, Grass Valley Creek

San Leandro Creek (Spanish: Arroyo de San Leandro) is a 21.7-mile-long (34.9 km) year-round natural stream in the hills above Oakland in Alameda County and Contra Costa County of the East Bay in northern California.[3]

## Geography

[edit]

It flows along the east face of the hills, east of Oakland and San Leandro. It runs into Upper San Leandro Reservoir and then Lake Chabot, both reservoirs are North of the unincorporated town of Castro Valley. It then flows through the city of San Leandro, and after crossing Hegenberger Road just north of Oakland International Airport on into San Leandro Bay of San Francisco Bay.

## Watershed

[edit]

Although it is channeled and culverted in places, it is remarkable among East Bay streams for being mostly uncovered throughout most of its course. It is joined by Indian Creek, and 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.[4]

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.[5]

The creek terminates in Arrowhead Marsh in Oakland, 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.[6]

## History

[edit]

Historic site in yards past Redwood Gate entrance kiosk, Redwood Regional Park

Rainbow trout species identified

Location| 50 yards past Redwood Gate entrance kiosk,
Redwood Regional Park

California Historical Landmark

Designated| 1986[7]
Reference no.| 970[7]

San Leandro Creek was formerly named Arroyo de San Leandro, likely named by the Spanish for St. Leander, 6th-century archbishop of Seville, "Apostle of the Goths".[1] It was crossed by El Camino Viejo, now State Route 185.

The creek is known 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.[8] Although rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), 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).[5][9] The site was then declared a California Historical Landmark.[7]

In 1874 work began on Lake Chabot Dam and it was completed in 1875, forming a 315-acre (127 ha) lake. Lake Chabot serves as a standby emergency water supply but was opened to limited recreation in the 1960s.[10] Four miles upstream, a second dam built in 1926 formed San Leandro Reservoir.

## Ecology

[edit]

It sustains the redwood 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.[11] 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.[12] California Department of Fish and Game Warden George Smalley reported runs of coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) and steelhead trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss irideus) 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."[13] As mentioned above, Gibbons discovered rainbow trout in San Leandro Creek in 1855. Thus, 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 rainbow trout 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.[14]

## See also

[edit]

* List of watercourses in the San Francisco Bay Area

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b Gudde, Erwin G.; Bright, William (2004). California Place Names: The Origin and Etymology of Current Geographical Names. University of California Press. p. 339\. ISBN 9780520242173. Retrieved 2010-09-24.
2. ^ a b U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: San Leandro Creek
3. ^ U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map, accessed March 15, 2011
4. ^ "San Leandro Area Historical Creek Map". Oakland Museum. Retrieved 2010-09-24.
5. ^ a b Redwood Regional Park, East Bay Regional Parks District
6. ^ Richard, Christopher. "Arrowhead Marsh & Lake Chabot". Oakland Museum. Retrieved 2010-09-24.
7. ^ a b c "Rainbow trout species identified". Office of Historic Preservation, California State Parks. Retrieved 2012-10-06.
8. ^ About Trout: The Best of Robert J. Behnke from Trout Magazine By Robert J. Behnke, Ted Williams
9. ^ Coombs, Trey (1999). Steelhead Fly Fishing. Globe Pequot. p. 5\. ISBN 978-1-55821-903-8. Retrieved 2010-10-23.
10. ^ "Lake Chabot Regional Park". East Bay Regional Park District. Retrieved 2010-10-23.
11. ^ Leidy, Robert A. (2007). Ecology, Assemblage Structure, Distribution, and Status of Fishes in Streams Tributary to the San Francisco Estuary, California (Report). San Francisco Estuary Institute. Archived from the original on 2012-03-30. Retrieved 2010-10-22.
12. ^ Report of the Commissioners of Fisheries of the State of California for the years 1878 and 1879 (Report). San Francisco, California: California Commissioners of Fisheries. 1880.
13. ^ Leidy, Robert A.; Becker, Gordon; Harvey, Brett N. (2005). "Historical Status of Coho Salmon in the San Francisco Estuary" (PDF). California Fish and Game: 241. Retrieved 2010-10-23.
14. ^ "Lake Chabot Offers Monster Rainbows In The East Bay Hills". The Fish Sniffer. 2009-06-02. Archived from the original on 2011-07-24. Retrieved 2010-10-23.

## External links

[edit]

* Friends of San Leandro Creek
* Historical watershed map

* v
* t
* e

San Francisco Bay watershed

Outline|

* Hydrography
* Ecology
* List of tributaries
* List of lakes

Subdivisions|

Major
San Francisco Bay
Suisun Bay
San Pablo Bay
Minor
Golden Gate
Grizzly Bay
Richardson Bay
San Rafael Bay
Richmond Inner Harbor
San Leandro Bay
Former
Yerba Buena Cove
Mission Bay

Waterways|

Rivers
San Joaquin
Sacramento
Napa
Guadalupe
Petaluma
Creeks (discharging into the Bay)
Alameda
Baxter
Cerrito
Codornices
Coyote (Santa Clara)
Coyote (Marin)
San Leandro
San Lorenzo
Schoolhouse
Temescal
Sausal
Redwood
San Mateo
Sonoma
Corte Madera
Arroyo Corte Madera del Presidio
San Rafael
Miller
Novato
Tolay
San Francisquito
Pacheco
Alhambra
Adobe
Rodeo
Refugio
Pinole
Garrity
Rheem
Karlson
San Pablo
Castro
Wildcat
Fluvius Innominatus
Marin (Alameda County)
Strawberry
Easton
Mission Creek
Reservoirs
Calaveras Reservoir
Lafayette Reservoir
Straits and estuaries
Clifton Court Forebay
Carquinez Strait
Oakland Estuary
Raccoon Strait
Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta
Stockton Deepwater Shipping Channel
Watersheds
Laguna Creek Watershed
Guadalupe watershed

Parks and
protected areas|

* Don Edwards National Wildlife Refuge
* San Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge
* Eden Landing Ecological Reserve
* Hayward Regional Shoreline
* Hayward Shoreline Interpretive Center
* Crown Memorial State Beach
* McLaughlin Eastshore State Park
* Emeryville Crescent State Marine Reserve
* Point Isabel Regional Shoreline
* César Chávez Park
* Brooks Island Regional Preserve
* Point Pinole Regional Shoreline
* Antioch Dunes National Wildlife Refuge
* Coyote Point Recreation Area
* Middle Harbor Shoreline Park
* National Estuarine Research Reserve
* China Camp State Park
* San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park
* SF Bay Trail
* Oyster Bay Regional Shoreline
* Big Break Regional Shoreline
* Palo Alto Baylands Nature Preserve

Islands and
peninsulas|

Major islands
Alameda
Alcatraz
Angel
Treasure Island
Yerba Buena
Minor
Brooks
Bair
Bay Farm
Belvedere
Brother
Castro Rocks
Coast Guard
Greco
Hooks Island
Mare
Red Rock
The Sisters
Marin Islands
Roe
Ryer
Seal Islands
Peninsulas/infill
Albany Bulb
Brisbane Baylands
Point Isabel
Foster City
Fleming Point
Hunters Point
Sierra Point
Steamboat Point

Wetlands|

* Baylands
* Belmont
* Chelsea
* Cordelia
* Crissy Field
* Hoffman
* Meeker
* Mowry
* Napa Sonoma
* Point Molate
* Salt ponds
* Seal
* Stege
* Steinberger
* Suisun
* Westpoint

Bridges
and tubes|

Bridges
San Francisco–Oakland

Eastern span replacement
Richmond–San Rafael
San Mateo–Hayward
Dumbarton
Dumbarton Rail Bridge (inactive)
Golden Gate
Benicia–Martinez
Antioch
Carquinez
Leimert
Park Street
Fruitvale
High Street
Bay Farm Island
Tubes
Posey/Webster Street
Transbay

Ferries|

* Angel Island–Tiburon Ferry
* Blue & Gold Fleet
* Golden Gate Ferry
* San Francisco Bay Ferry (WETA)

Ports and
marinas|

* Port of San Francisco
* Oakland Seaport
* Port of Richmond
* Hunters Point Naval Shipyard
* Mare Island Naval Shipyard
* Port of Redwood City
* Berkeley Marina
* Oyster Point Marina/Park
* Westpoint Harbor
* Foster City Marina (proposed)

Other|

History
Delta and Dawn
Discovery Site
Humphrey the Whale
San Leandro Oyster Beds
Richmond Shipyards
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Bay Model
Harold Gilliam
Marincello
Ecology
Golden Gate Biosphere Reserve
Cosco Busan oil spill
Thicktail chub
Delta smelt
Conservation and Development Commission
The Watershed Project
Save The Bay
Citizens for East Shore Parks
Friends of Five Creeks
Urban Creeks Council
1971 oil spill
Greenbelt Alliance
The Bay Institute
Reber Plan
San Francisco Baykeeper
San Francisco Estuary and Watershed Science
Estuary Partnership
Transportation
Water Trail
Transportation in the San Francisco Bay Area

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