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Sierra Azul Open Space Preserve
Sierra Azul Open Space Preserve is managed by the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District in Santa Clara County, California. It is approximately in area. The preserve is named for the Sierra Azul or "Blue Mountains", the name the colonizing Spanish used for the half of the Santa Cruz Mountains south of today's California Highway 17. The park features the peaks of Mount Umunhum , Mount Thayer , and El Sombroso peak . El Sombroso is about north by northeast of Mount Umunhum. Trails connect from Lexington Reservoir, on the western edge of the park, to Hicks Road on the eastern edge. The preserve protects the upper watersheds of two important tributaries of the Guadalupe River. The upper headwaters of Los Gatos Creek originate just south of Loma Prieta, wrapping around the preserve on the western side before emptying into Lexington Reservoir. Guadalupe Creek originates just east of Mount Umunhum and flows into Guadalupe Reservoir then follows Hicks Road as it wraps around the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Guadalupe River (California)
The Guadalupe River ( es, Río Guadalupe; Muwekma Ohlone:''Thámien Rúmmey'') mainstem is an urban, northward flowing river in California whose much longer headwater creeks originate in the Santa Cruz Mountains. The river mainstem now begins on the Santa Clara Valley floor when Los Alamitos Creek exits Lake Almaden and joins Guadalupe Creek just downstream of Coleman Road in San Jose, California. From here it flows north through San Jose, where it receives Los Gatos Creek, a major tributary. The Guadalupe River serves as the eastern boundary of the City of Santa Clara and the western boundary of Alviso, and after coursing through San José, it empties into south San Francisco Bay at the Alviso Slough. The Guadalupe River is the southernmost major U.S. river with a Chinook salmon run (see Habitat and Wildlife section below). Much of the river is surrounded by parks. The river's Los Alamitos and Guadalupe Creek tributaries are, in turn, fed by smaller streams flowing from Alma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Protected Areas Of Santa Clara County, California
Protection is any measure taken to guard a thing against damage caused by outside forces. Protection can be provided to physical objects, including organisms, to systems, and to intangible things like civil and political rights. Although the mechanisms for providing protection vary widely, the basic meaning of the term remains the same. This is illustrated by an explanation found in a manual on electrical wiring: Some kind of protection is a characteristic of all life, as living things have evolved at least some protective mechanisms to counter damaging environmental phenomena, such as ultraviolet light. Biological membranes such as bark on trees and skin on animals offer protection from various threats, with skin playing a key role in protecting organisms against pathogens and excessive water loss. Additional structures like scales and hair offer further protection from the elements and from predators, with some animals having features such as spines or camouflage servin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Parks In The San Francisco Bay Area
A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are green spaces set aside for recreation inside towns and cities. National parks and country parks are green spaces used for recreation in the countryside. State parks and provincial parks are administered by sub-national government states and agencies. Parks may consist of grassy areas, rocks, soil and trees, but may also contain buildings and other artifacts such as monuments, fountains or playground structures. Many parks have fields for playing sports such as baseball and football, and paved areas for games such as basketball. Many parks have trails for walking, biking and other activities. Some parks are built adjacent to bodies of water or watercourses and may comprise a beach or boat dock area. Urban parks often have benches for sitting and may contain picnic tables and barbecue grills. The larg ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chaparral
Chaparral ( ) is a shrubland plant community and geographical feature found primarily in the U.S. state of California, in southern Oregon, and in the northern portion of the Baja California Peninsula in Mexico. It is shaped by a Mediterranean climate (mild wet winters and hot dry summers) and infrequent, high-intensity crown fires. Chaparral features summer-drought-tolerant plants with hard sclerophyllous evergreen leaves, as contrasted with the associated soft-leaved, drought-deciduous, scrub community of coastal sage scrub, found often on drier, southern facing slopes within the chaparral biome. Three other closely related chaparral shrubland systems occur in central Arizona, western Texas, and along the eastern side of central Mexico's mountain chains (mexical), all having summer rains in contrast to the Mediterranean climate of other chaparral formations. Chaparral comprises 9% of California's wildland vegetation and contains 20% of its plant species. The name comes fro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Guadalupe Reservoir
Guadalupe Reservoir is a reservoir in Santa Clara County, California, United States, about south of the city of San Jose, California. It is at an elevation of . It has a surface area of and a capacity of . The reservoir is located along Hicks Road on Guadalupe Creek, a tributary of the Guadalupe River. The Guadalupe River was named Rio de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe on March 30, 1776, by the de Anza expedition, in honor of the Mexican saint who was the principal patron saint of the expedition. Guadalupe dam and reservoir, constructed in 1935, is one of the six original systems approved for construction by voters in 1934. The California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) has developed a safe eating advisory for the reservoir, stating no one should eat any fish caught there.https://oehha.ca.gov/advisories/guadalupe-reservoir See also *List of lakes in California *List of lakes in the San Francisco Bay Area This list of lakes in the San Francisco Ba ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Guadalupe Creek (Santa Clara County)
Guadalupe Creek is a northward-flowing stream originating just east of the peak of Mount Umunhum in Santa Clara County, California, United States. It courses along the northwestern border of Almaden Quicksilver County Park in the Cañada de los Capitancillos before joining Los Alamitos Creek after the latter exits Lake Almaden. This confluence forms the Guadalupe River mainstem, which in turn flows through San Jose and empties into south San Francisco Bay at Alviso Slough. History The "Valley of the Little Captains" or Rancho Cañada de los Capitancillos is named for the cañada, or valley, through which Guadalupe Creek courses. The river was once used for recreation prior to the removal of the Guadalupe Dam. Watershed and course The Guadalupe Creek subwatershed drains . Heading downstream east from the peak of Mount Umunhum, Guadalupe Creek is joined on the left by Rincon Creek, then on the right by Los Capitancillos Creek before reaching Guadalupe Reservoir. Guadalupe Dam ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Loma Prieta
Loma Prieta (from Spanish ''loma'' -hill, ''prieta'' -dark) is high and is the highest peak in the Santa Cruz Mountains in Northern California. Although the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake was named for this mountain, the actual epicenter was five miles southwest of the peak, across the San Andreas fault, in the The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park. In the 19th century, the peak was called Mount Bache, a name given in honor of Alexander Dallas Bache; the name is no longer in use. From 1955 to 2005, the mountain was the longtime site for the transmitter tower of San Jose television station KNTV. In September 2005, it moved its transmitter northwest to San Bruno Mountain after it became the Bay Area's NBC affiliate. Geology Loma Prieta is the tallest peak in the Santa Cruz Mountains and it is common to see snow on the mountain during the winter. Loma Prieta and other nearby mountain peaks are pushed upward by local collision forces associated with a left bend in the San ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Los Gatos Creek (Santa Clara County, California)
The Los Gatos Creek runs in California through Santa Clara Valley Water District's Guadalupe Watershed from the Santa Cruz Mountains northward through the Santa Clara Valley until its confluence with the Guadalupe River in downtown San Jose. The Guadalupe River then continues onward into San Francisco Bay. The creek begins in the Santa Cruz mountains near the Santa Clara/ Santa Cruz County border, just south of the peak Loma Prieta. It then flows northwesterly to Lake Elsman, a reservoir owned by the San Jose Water Company, then on to Holy City and Chemeketa Park, then northward into the Lexington Reservoir. The creek then flows through the Los Gatos Canyon and through the town of Los Gatos and Vasona Reservoir, then northeasterly through Campbell and San Jose where it meets the Guadalupe River. History The creek was named after the Alta California land grant Rancho Rinconada de Los Gatos ("Corner of the Cats"), which itself was named for the cougars and/or bobcats ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lexington Reservoir
Lexington Reservoir is an artificial lake on the Los Gatos Creek near Los Gatos, California. The James J. Lenihan Dam, a high, thick earthen dam, forms the third-largest reservoir in Santa Clara County. Background The reservoir is in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains, at an elevation of . State Route 17 runs alongside the dam's western edge and over part of the reservoir. Alma Bridge Road (Limekiln Canyon Road) runs around the eastern side, connecting with 17 at the north end and again at the south end via other surface streets. The reservoir is contained in Lexington Reservoir County Park, which includes hiking trails in the hills with good views of the reservoir and of Silicon Valley. The Los Gatos Creek Trail starts at the dam and continues downstream along the creek's canyon. It is part of the Santa Clara Valley Water District and provides water for Silicon Valley. History In 1943, because of the rapid expansion of orchards in the county, the Santa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District
Formed in 1972 by voter initiative, the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District (MROSD) is a non-enterprise special district in the San Francisco Bay Area. It has acquired and preserved a regional green belt of open space land and provides opportunities for ecologically-sensitive public enjoyment and education. Its stated mission is: ''To acquire and preserve a regional greenbelt of open space land in perpetuity; protect and restore the natural environment; and provide opportunities for ecologically sensitive public enjoyment and education.'' The District, which includes parts of Santa Clara, San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties, works to form a continuous green belt of permanently preserved open space by linking its lands with other public park lands. A member of the Bay Area Open Space Council, the District also participates in cooperative efforts such as the San Francisco Bay Trail, Bay Area Ridge Trail, and Skyline-to-the-Sea Trail, which are regional trail systems i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
El Sombroso
The Santa Cruz Mountains, part of the Pacific Coast Ranges, are a mountain range in central and Northern California, United States. They form a ridge down the San Francisco Peninsula, south of San Francisco. They separate the Pacific Ocean from the San Francisco Bay and the Santa Clara Valley, and continue south to the Central Coast, bordering Monterey Bay and ending at the Salinas Valley. The range passes through the counties of San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, San Benito and Monterey, with the Pajaro River forming the southern boundary. Geography The northernmost portion of the Santa Cruz Mountains, north of Half Moon Bay Road ( SR 92), is known as Montara Mountain; the middle portion is the Sierra Morena, which includes a summit called Sierra Morena, and extends south to a gap at Lexington Reservoir; south of the gap, the mountain range is known as the Sierra Azul. The highest point in the range is Loma Prieta Peak, west of Morgan Hill, with a height of , near the e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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