San Antonio Creek is a
[U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data]
The National Map
accessed February 27, 2016 northwesterly-flowing
stream
A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a strea ...
originating on the eastern edge of
Santa Clara County
Santa Clara County, officially the County of Santa Clara, is the sixth-most populous county in the U.S. state of California, with a population of 1,936,259 as of the 2020 census. Santa Clara County and neighboring San Benito County form the ...
just west of its border with
Stanislaus County
Stanislaus County ( ; ) is a county located in the San Joaquin Valley of the U.S. state of California. As of 2023, its estimated population is 564,404. The county seat is Modesto.
Stanislaus County makes up the Modesto metropolitan statistic ...
.
History
On April 5, 1776, the
de Anza Expedition
Juan Bautista de Anza Bezerra Nieto (July 6 or 7, 1736 – December 19, 1788) was a Novohispanic/Mexican expeditionary leader, military officer, and politician primarily in California and New Mexico under the Spanish Empire. He is credited as on ...
called the area El Cañada de San Vicente as he traversed the west side of
San Antonio Valley
The community of San Antonio Valley, also called San Antonio or San Antone, is located along the Diablo Range in eastern Santa Clara County, California. The locale is bordered by Alameda County to the north and Stanislaus County to the east. ...
from north to south.
The 1956 Thomas Brothers map spells it San Antone. This spelling mimics the way it is pronounced in common, modern usage by locals. It was spelled San Antone on the 1924 "Mount Boardman, California" U.S. Geological Survey 15-minute quadrangle.
Watershed and course
San Antonio Creek arises at on the southwest slopes of
Mount Stakes and descends into the
San Antonio Valley
The community of San Antonio Valley, also called San Antonio or San Antone, is located along the Diablo Range in eastern Santa Clara County, California. The locale is bordered by Alameda County to the north and Stanislaus County to the east. ...
. San Antonio Creek's tributaries are, in order heading downstream, Beauregard Creek on the right, Jumpoff Creek on the left, and Long Gulch on the right. Its confluence with
Arroyo Bayo forms the source of
Arroyo Valle
Arroyo Valle or Arroyo Del Valle is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed March 15, 2011 westward-flowing stream that begins in northeastern Santa Clara County, Californi ...
. Arroyo Valle proceeds through
Lake Del Valle to join
Arroyo de la Laguna
Arroyo de la Laguna is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed March 15, 2011 southward-flowing stream in Alameda County, California, United States which originates at the con ...
thence to
Alameda Creek
Alameda Creek () is a large perennial stream in the San Francisco Bay Area. The creek runs for 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. Along its course, ...
and finally terminates in San Francisco Bay. San Antonio Creek and Beauregard Creek are ephemeral.
[
]
Habitat and wildlife
The area includes the San Antonio Valley Ecological Reserve, a 3,282 acre nature preserve created by a Nature Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, United States. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US.
Founded in ...
purchase of land from local rancher, Keith Hurner, and known for its herd of tule elk
The tule elk (''Cervus canadensis nannodes'') is a subspecies of elk found only in California, ranging from the grasslands and marshlands of the Central Valley to the grassy hills on the coast. The subspecies name derives from the tule (), ...
(''Cervus canadensis nannodes'').steelhead trout
Steelhead, or occasionally steelhead trout, is the anadromous form of the coastal rainbow trout or Columbia River redband trout (''O. m. gairdneri'', also called redband steelhead). Steelhead are native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacif ...
(''Oncorhynchus mykiss''), although Arroyo Valle was a historical steelhead stream whose "headwaters were full of fish".
See also
*San Antonio Valley, California
The community of San Antonio Valley, also called San Antonio or San Antone, is located along the Diablo Range in eastern Santa Clara County, California. The locale is bordered by Alameda County, California, Alameda County to the north and Sta ...
*List of watercourses in the San Francisco Bay Area
These watercourses (rivers, creeks, sloughs, etc.) in the San Francisco Bay Area are grouped according to the bodies of water they flow into. Tributaries are listed under the watercourses they feed, sorted by the elevation of the confluence so th ...
References
External links
San Antonio Valley Ecological Reserve Land Management Plan
{{San Francisco Bay watershed
Rivers of Santa Clara County, California
Rivers of Northern California
Tributaries of Alameda Creek
Diablo Range