Butte Creek View Trail

BUTTE CREEK TRAILS PROJECT: A MASTER PLAN Item Type text; Master's Report-Reproduction (electronic) Authors CLIFFORD, SARS Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 25/09/2021 09:25:53 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/555252 ' • || YARP v v : < LAR ) / r ■ i . 6 3 ' i Arch i t ' v ,A kf.- t- I R eserve -- 'v UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA LIBRARY ^ , \ ; z , - ---- V , 1 TV'2' V • Xz c 2 . N ( 1* \ This Master’s Report has been submitted in partial fulfillm ent o f requirements for an advanced degree at The University o f Arizona and is deposited in theUniversity Li brary to be made available to borrowers under the rules o f the Library. Brief quotations from this project report are allowable without special permission, provide that accurate acknowledgement o f source is made. Request for permission for extended quotation from or reproduction o f this manuscript in whole or part may be granted by the copyright holder. / Signed: APPROVAL BY THESIS DIRECTOR & COMMITTEE MEMBERS This thesis has been approved on the date shown below: i'V c ^V - OZ- Mark P. Fredrickisqn,Thesis Director Date Associate Professor College o f Landscape Architecture 1 2 - ' o V ' o z__ Lauri Macmillian Johnson Date Associate Professor College o f Landscape Architecture /a- 5 • Marjgaiw Livingston Date Assistant Professor College o f Landscape Architecture UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA SCHOOL OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE BUTTE CREEK TRAILS PROJECT:^ MASTER PLAN A Master’s Report Submitted to the faculty of the COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE,PLANNING AND LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE In Partial Fulfilment of the Requirments for the Degree of MASTER OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE By Sars Clifford Advisory Committee: Associate Professor Mark Fredrickson Associate Professor Lauri Macmillan Johnson Assistant Professor Margaret Livingston 2002 W hat a he the natural features that make a township handsome? A river with it's waterfalls and meadows, a lake, a hill, a cl iff or indi vidual rocks, a forest, an ancient tree standing singly.Such things are beautiful; they have a high use which dollars and cents never repre sent. if the inhabitants o f the town were wise,they would seek to preserve such things ............ Henry David Thoreau, Journal 1861 Acknowledgements What a wonderful journey this has been................ Who said you can't teach an old dog new tricks! First o f all thank you to my friend and wife, Barbara..... your incredible attitude about challenge and change is tru ly remarkable... and to my kids, your'e the greatest! To my compatriots in the Landscape Architecture Program..... we make a good team,Thank you . To my committee , each ofyouur'e own special way have motivated me to succeed- To those teachers that I have been so fortunate to work with....Thank you ! Nancy....for crossing the T's and dotting the i's...thank you for just being who you are. TABLE OF CONTENTS PROJECT OVERVIEW Acknowledgements What do I want to accomplish,scope and need o f the Butter Creek Trails Project. INTRODUCTION TO BUTTE CREEK CANYON Location o f th e p ro je ct area History o f Butte Creek Canyon PROJECT ANALYSIS Literature review. Site Inventory User group surveys Case studies PRELIMINARY DESIGN CONCEPTS Concept 1 Canoe Camp Concept 2 Picnic Day Camp Concept 3 Recreational Trail Concept 4 Butte Creek View Trail FINAL SOLUTION Final solution Final diagrammatic solution Trail heads Bicycle Trail Native Trail Covered Bridge Overview o f "Trails Project" Future trail extensions Benefits o f the project Conclusion APPENDICES References Survey guestionnaires/Results w nat qo I wgnx to ^ccompiibn A mgsterplgn for the Butte Creek Trailways Project. Historical research, current analysis,community and individual surveys will be used in generating this ■ ■ project. Site inventory and case studies will help in determining a solution..Preliminary concepts will be derived from this research to determine a final concept solution. Butte Creek Canyon roadside and creek The Project location is in Butte County California. The specific region is Butte Stand o f Blue Oak,Butte Creek Canyon Creek canyon. This area is just a few miles outside the city limits o f Chico, California. Chico is town o f 65,000 people. Butte Creek Canyon sits between Chico and the town o f Paradise population 45,000. Paradise has a large retirement community. The canyon itself has a population o f approximately 1,500 people. Butte Creek is a year round stream abundant with steel head and salmon. Panoramic view o f Butte Creek Canyon Project Location Butte Creek Canyon San lu ll Obiij Santa M a rtia l j 0_________ 100 Miles Santa Bai Los An^eJj " 100 K ilo m e te rs • N.F. Aoetyi M R *■ OcMmldeVj^ " 128 ' W 124' W \ \ ^ no w Sen Diego1 n r w > California State map The Butte Creek Trails Project is located in Northern California. The site is situated between Chico and Paradise California. Butte Creek Canyon is nestled in the foothills o fth e Sierras.Butte creek sits in the canyon between two majestic volcanic walls to the east and west.The creek is a year round stream. Chinook salmon and steel head make this their home.Butte Creek Canyon is popular to local as well as com m unity residents. The Creek offers a respite from the hot summer day's.The Historic Honey Run Covered Bridge is a popular destination for those who visit the canyon. Local students find the creek a tubers paradise! Located 90 miles north o f Sacramento at the northern end o f the lush Sacra mento Valley is the town o f Chico. Six miles southeast o f the center o f Chico lies Butte Creek Canyon.This canyon is the site for The Butte Creek Trails Project. OR The Butte Creek Trails Project is located within the boundaries o f the Butte Creek watershed. The Watershed is located in Butte County, along the eastern edge o fth e Sacramento Valley, in Northern California. Butte Creek is one ofthe few and most significant tributaries o f the Sacramento River system which provides important habitat to many aquatic and terrestrial animals, includ ing the rare Spring Run Chinook Salmon. The entire watershed is o u t lined in yellow,with the circled red area indicating the Butte Creek Trails Project. The watershed is under the protection o f the Butte Creek Water shed Advisory Committee. Monthly meetings are held,as well as special fundraisers to help with the upkeep and protection o f The Butte Creek Water- Butte Creek canyon was born 180 m illion years ago, the result o f a Cataclysmic explosion. The volcanoe respon sible for the massive buildup o f the canyon walls was Mount Lassen located 90 miles north o f the canyon. Butte Creek originates on the western slope o fth e Sierra Nevada at an elevation o f approximately 7 ,0 0 0 feet. Run-off originating from snow and rainfall creates numerous tributaries that flow into the Jonesville Basin in Lassen National Forest. Butte Creek cascades from the Jonesville Basin approximately 25 miles through a steep canyon to a point where it enters the valley floor near Chico. The stream flows all year, but peak flows generally occur between Octo ber and May. Early peak flows result fi'om rainfall, and late season peak flows result from snowmelt. Stream tem peratures remain cool all year. Deep, shaded pools surrounded by species o f pine and fir form the landscape in the section ofthe canyon above Centerville, whereas the area below has a shallower gradient and a riparian canopy o f alder, oak, sycamore and willow. Today, Butte Creek is one ofthe most significant remaining tributaries ofthe Sacramento River that provides a habitat for a sustaining population o f spring run Chinook salmon and additionally supports fall run salmon, and poten tially a remnant population o f late fall run salmon and Steel head Trout. Caves in upper Butte Creek Canyon Butte Creek circa 1910 The early residents o f Design implications Butte Creek Canyon were the Maidu Indians. The ’ Use o f native materials Maidu were content to live simply in caves or brush ’ Historical design elements dwellings along the creek's banks. ’ Viewsheds History of Butte Creek Canyon History The Gol4 Rush 1844 John Bkjwell was given a land grant o f 2 6 ,0 0 0 acres and soon the Canyon began a huge transforma tion from a quiet wilderness, to a wild west gun toting carnival The reason for this change was the "California Gold Rush" The discovery o f gold changed forever the character o fth e canyon. In less then tw o years, three large settle ments grew within the canyon as gold strikers rushed into the canyon to search for the Gold! The settlements Helltown, Diamondville, and Centerville increased the canyons' occupancy to over 3500 people. A growth from the original 800 Maidu Indians estimated to have lived in the canyon previously to the Gold rush. The early miners worked exclusively within the creek bed, but as more miners came into the area the sophistication o f mining also grew. Miners alongside the canyon hillsides were blasting away with huge 8 inch water nozzles,bringing soft soils into the creek as well as the gold. This practice o f mining was reft red to as hydraulic mining.

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