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a P Panther Springs Trail to follow Center Creek into its headwater canyons. The trail to follow Center Creek into its headwater canyons. Trail Springs will eventually cross over into the headwaters of New Creek as it rises toward the summit of Coyote Ridge, 1.5 miles from trailhead. 12. Coyote Lake. ocean; damming a stream blocks the flow of both. Sediment typically deposits where the stream first enters lake, forming a broad plain called a delta. From the county park campground, enjoy beautiful view The of the delta Coyote Creek, Lake, and valley below. delta is valuable wetland and riparian habitat. 13. Fish Ladder on Llagas Creek. claw Road and imagine a meandering Llagas Creek beside you (green lines) flowing beneath a canopy of large oaks. Straightened and deep- ened in 1996 for flood protection, Llagas Creek is now an engineered from the turnout is one of fourteen fish ladders channel (red line). Visible installed in the new channel. Steelhead jump from pool to up The ladders need periodic ladders toward upstream spawning grounds. removal of gravel and debris from the pools to assure fish passage. Park. Animas Veterans 14. Las city park is a popular spot for community and family recreation. Upper Miller Slough provides a natural backdrop, flowing through the park in landscaped channel following the original curves of its historical channel. Branch of Llagas Creek, Upper Miller Slough is a Once fed by the West footbridges Two remnant of its former self, fed only by city storm drains. cattails Avenue, At the western end of park along Wren allow viewing. fill the channel and provide wetland habitat in an urban environment. 15. Dennis Debell Uvas Creek Preserve. mountainous area of highly erodible rock west the park. Historically, winter floodwaters washed great quantities of gravel and sand down the Early maps and photo- creek, depositing them in sheets the valley. Boulevard show a wide, Teresa graphs of the creek near Santa channel deposited gravel and sand -- a pattern typical of Coast Range streams The green lines on the map show channel with high-sediment-loads. as it appears on 1939 aerial photographs. to improve the creek channel after years of gravel In 1995, in an effort mining, a single meandering channel was constructed, despite the fact that such a channel had not previously existed here. In another reminder that “nature bats last,” the next winter's heavy rains washed out this Although the channel and left in its place… a wide, braided channel! project seemed a failure, preparation work that had removed piles of mining debris obstructing the channel gave creek space it needed to reshape its bed own liking. Hike the levee trail view this now-typical Coast Range braided stream. 16. Christmas Hill Park. a good place to view variety of strategies for handling floodwaters and preventing erosion. Uvas Creek is a wide, gravelly channel, which flows under the road through a row of corrugated steel culverts. If water is In a rather too high, the creek spills over road, blocking traffic. unusual arrangement, the tributary creek from Reservoir Canyon flows across the surface of main parking lot. Look for a gentle V-shaped After a winter storm, it may swale in the concrete; it will be dry most days. At the downstream end, water from be flooded with flowing water. parking lot flows down a concrete chute into channel lined with gabions reducing its erosive power before confluence with Uvas Creek. water, Enjoy a hike upstream or downstream along the road to see more natural setting. 17. Uvas-Carnadero Creek at Thomas Road. pieces of broken rock, or the paved bike trail either direction to Take erosion during winter storms. view natural reaches of this creek shaded by large oaks and other Boule- Teresa streamside trees. Northward, the trail extends to Santa The name Carnadero Creek appears on early maps of the creek’s vard. downstream reaches. Carnadero, at the southern edge of map, boasted a railway station and school in 1876. 18. Babbs Creek Park Preserve. Babbs Creek Park Preserve, and a footbridge crosses in the middle. This is a dedicated open this natural creek from the footbridge. View space within Gilroy intended to maintain a natural environment for this tributary to Uvas Creek. Plant. Treatment 19. Gilroy Wastewater Authority, 1990 and operated by the South County Regional Wastewater The water is recycled treats wastewater from Gilroy and Morgan Hill. either by discharging it to on-site ponds, where soaks into the ground- for irrigation or industrial use. Recycled water or by piping it off-site water, plays an important role in water conservation here.

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Protection Project, a diversion channel is planned that will re-route most of At present, the diversion Little Llagas Creek into Creek. West channel dead ends here, and the water flows into East Little Llagas Creek. Harvey Bear Ranch. 11. buildings greet hikers and bicyclists at this major trailhead for Coyote Lake-Harvey Bear Ranch County Park. From here, hike up the Willow

remaining sycamores dot the landscape, creating a beautiful setting to savor the streamside serenity. Anderson Dam and Reservoir. 4. The impounds Coyote Creek, the largest stream in Santa Clara Valley. which can store 90,000 acre-feet of water, dam backs up a deep reservoir, nine other Like SCVWD’s the largest reservoir in Santa Clara Valley. Anderson Reservoir’s major reservoirs built between 1935 and 1957, for groundwater recharge during the purpose is to store wintertime runoff The Coyote Canal takes water from the reservoir northward to dry season. The reservoir also provides flood recharge ponds in southern San Jose. a hike on the Take protection, recreation, and generates electricity. About once where you can view the concrete spillway. Trail Serpentine every ten years, heavy winter rains fill the reservoir to overflowing and At the opposite water cascades down the spillway in a spectacular show. end of the dam, hike trail that leads eastward from parking lot for a grand view of the watershed. 5. Morgan Hill Retention Pond. During major storms, water can be business park and shopping center. pumped out of the pond and discharged northward into Fisher Creek. Otherwise, the water from this area flows southward into Butterfield Channel. Hence, the two-color striped pattern on this map representing The pond is a popular spot for bird watchers. this watershed. 6. Madrone Channel. stormwater from Morgan Hill but also doubles as a groundwater recharge basin. From the sidewalk on overpass, view a series of check dams These slow the flow of water into creek, allowing it within the channel. provide even more groundwater To to soak into the groundwater. recharge, the SCVWD pipes Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta water into the channel at Half Road, one block north. Trails. 7. San Pedro Ponds Walking on trails winding among the seven percolation ponds at this SCVWD site. The ponds, fed by water piped in from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, The water that soaks into the ground from recharge groundwater levels. these ponds is later withdrawn by local wells. Morgan Hill relies completely on well water for its municipal supply. 8. Butterfield Channel, a “Ditch to Nowhere.” collects stormwater from an eastern portion of Morgan Hill. Downstream, so the Butter- Llagas Creek cannot accommodate any additional runoff, Plans call for building a large Avenue. Tennant field Channel stops here at allowing it to soak into the ground. For now, retention basin to hold runoff, the channel itself serves as a retention basin. Bike Trail. 9. Morgan Hill Wildlife trail along Little Llagas Creek, a straight, engineered channel that drains The original Little Llagas Creek, shown in green northwestern Morgan Hill. on the map as it appeared 1939 aerial photographs, was a shallow meandering channel. North of Edmundson, the bike path meanders, reminiscent of the old creek. 10. Little Llagas Creek Diversion. a MMiller n

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POINTS OF INTEREST 1. Coyote Creek Parkway Trailhead. 1. Coyote Creek Parkway Trailhead. paved trail following Coyote Creek for 15 miles from southern San Jose to Morgan Hill. Popular with walkers, bikers, equestrians, and skaters, riparian woodland View much of this trail passes through rural scenery. and species such as big-leaf maple, cottonwood, sycamore, willow, The oaks produce acorns, which were an coast live oak along the trail. Americans, and still serve many important source of food to the Native animal species today. Anderson Dam Hydroelectric Facility. 2. District (SCVWD) Santa Clara County Water power of falling water, Water, Anderson Dam Hydroelectric Facility. generates electricity at the runs through the turbines to generate piped down from the reservoir, The power electricity and then flows under the road into Coyote Creek. plant, built in 1988, produces clean electricity with zero carbon Anderson emissions. PG&E buys the electricity generated by Hydroelectric Facility for distribution to its customers. Anderson Dam. 3. Coyote Creek below reservoir water gushes into Coyote Creek from an outfall pipe. About reservoir water gushes into Coyote Creek from an outfall pipe. 100 yards downstream, the cylindrical metal building with a cone- shaped roof is a gaging station where, between 1904 and 1987, the U.S. Geological Survey recorded creek levels. Signs interpret the dam's describing the power of water when large volumes are history, prior to the dam's construction, peak flows were discharged. However, The records show winter floods in excess of 3,000 even more powerful. cfs After dam construction in 1950, floods record flood reaching 25,000 cfs! in excess of 3,000 cfs have occurred about once every ten years and The dam has effectively the highest flood has been a mere 7,000 cfs. think how much reduced flood hazard for downstream areas. However, Today, more dynamic this riverbed was before the dam's construction. a M g M LLlagasla

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f e C Creek r CCreekr C e tt s u a 4000 g How this map was made: flood-control channels, and present-day creeks were compiled from and field city and county data, 2004 to 2007 aerial photography, The historical locations of creeks were interpreted from inspection. and historical maps. Historical lakes, 1939 aerial photography, marshes, and willow groves were compiled by the San Francisco Estuary Institute using historical maps, photographs, and written accounts. Complete documentation can be obtained from Janet Creek, or Associates, Inc. in Walnut Sowers at William Lettis & The base map (showing present www.museumca.org/creeks. geographic features) was prepared by the U. S. Geological Survey. added major new roads and highways. We Financial support District and the Oakland Museum of California. assistance Technical District; the county of Santa Water the Santa Clara Valley Gilroy, Clara. Field and editorial assistance were provided by Christopher The map was drafted by Jason Holmberg. Mulvey. Trish Richard and Fair Use and Citation Policy: domain, and we encourage the general public to use information Proper citation for this map is: openly and appropriately. Map of Sowers, J.M. and Henkle, J.E., 2008, Creek & Watershed Morgan Hill & Gilroy: Oakland Museum of California, Oakland, CA, 1:25,800 scale. BButterfield la LLlagas ≥

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W W This map shows area, including the creek and storm drain network present-day Also shown are the historical creeks, fresh- watershed boundaries. water marshes, willow groves, and lakes. Many of these historical water features no longer exist. Development of farms, ranches, and cities has resulted in the construction of engineered channels and underground culverts, the draining of marshes, and construction reservoirs. Many creeks in the flatlands of south Santa Clara Valley have been straightened and channelized to prevent flooding. Notes: minimum of 0.2 square kilometers watershed, and storm drains 24 Smaller features are not shown. inches or greater in diameter. Engineered channels include both natural creeks significantly reinforced by concrete, rip rap, etc., and artificial channels not coincident with a natural or historical creek. Accuracy: There is error all lines should be considered approximate. however, in the historical maps, transfer of information to modern maps, and in the maps themselves. In addition, natural shifting of creeks and fluctuations in the extent marshes and lagoons can be expected both before after the historical maps or photos were made. Marsh, lake, and willow grove boundar- ies are considered accurate to within 1000 feet on either side of the line shown. Former creek locations are accurate to within 200 feet. Present-day creek and storm drain locations are considered accurate to within 100 feet on either side of the line shown. 7'30" ˚ 5'00" 2'30" ˚ ˚ 10'00" 37 ˚ 37 37 37