The Laguna Creek watershed consists of of land within northern California's Alameda County. The watershed drains the foothills of the Diablo Range south of Niles Canyon. To the southeast, the area of Mission Peak Regional Preserve around Mission Peak is included. Agua Caliente, Canada del Aliso, Mission, Morrison, Sabercat, Vargas, and Washington creeks drain the area of the watershed. They drain into Laguna Creek and eventually Mud Slough. Water from winter and spring storms feed the creeks and the watershed. Natural springs along Mission Peak are also a source of water. Many of the creeks are dry when there is no rain.

Background

Morrison Creek and Mission Creek meet just before Mission Creek flows into Lake Elizabeth on the lake's southern shore. Much of what is now the Fremont Central Park was once the Stivers Lagoon. Water leaving the park divides between Laguna Creek and Irvington Creek. Irvington Creek is also known as Line G, or the Laguna Creek bypass flood control channel. At the time of the Spanish settlement and the construction of Mission San José, groundwater was still readily available through the porous sandstone in the area. Development of water systems, and later residential and industrial development drained the water table, depleting the underground springs and leaving ground water sources only in areas close to the creeks. Prior to settlement, the area was filled with wildlife. Sabercat Creek derives its name from pre-historic fossils found in that area. The watershed still has many of the plants and trees native to the area, including

valley oak ''Quercus lobata'', commonly called the valley oak or roble, grows into the largest of California oaks. It is endemic to California, growing in interior valleys and foothills from Siskiyou County to San Diego County. Mature specimens may attain a ...

, Frémont's cottonwood, and

California sycamore ''Platanus racemosa'' is a species of plane tree known by several common names, including California sycamore, western sycamore, California plane tree, and in North American Spanish aliso. ''Platanus racemosa'' is native to California and Baja C ...

. Mud Slough debouches into the

San Francisco Bay San Francisco Bay is a large tidal estuary in the U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the big cities of San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland. San Francisco Bay drains water from a ...

near the site of the ghost town of

Drawbridge A drawbridge or draw-bridge is a type of moveable bridge typically at the entrance to a castle or tower surrounded by a moat. In some forms of English, including American English, the word ''drawbridge'' commonly refers to all types of moveable ...

. Its proximity to the bay means its marshy end is affected by tidal action. It goes from freshwater, to brackish to saline. The

slough Slough () is a town and unparished area in the unitary authority of the same name in Berkshire, England, bordering west London. It lies in the Thames Valley, west of central London and north-east of Reading, at the intersection of the M4 ...

passes the salt evaporation ponds made by the

Leslie Salt Company The Leslie Salt Company was a salt-producing company located in the San Francisco Bay Area, at the current locations of Newark, Hayward and other parts of the bay. Background They produced salt using salt evaporation ponds on the shores of the ...

, where it joins the larger Coyote Creek and the bay. Laguna Creek is the site of several flood control projects.

References

External links

* {{San Francisco Bay watershed Landforms of Alameda County, California Landforms of the San Francisco Bay Area San Francisco Bay watershed

Background

See also

References

External links