Arana Gulch facts for kids
Arana Gulch is a creek and a natural area in Santa Cruz, California. The creek starts in the Santa Cruz Mountains and flows southwest into Monterey Bay. It ends up in what is now the Santa Cruz Small Craft Harbor.
Arana Gulch got its name from José Arana. He arrived in Alta California in 1834. Arana was given land in 1842, which is now part of northern Santa Cruz. Later, he moved to the area we now call Arana Gulch. Before California became a state, Arana Creek was a border between different land areas.
The open space at Arana Gulch was once a farm called Hagemann farm. Frederick Hagemann was an early settler from Germany. His old house, built in the 1860s, is still there next to the open space. Cows used to graze here, but their barn is gone now.
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Exploring Arana Gulch Open Space
The City of Santa Cruz has turned this large area into a public park. It's called Arana Gulch Open Space. This park is part of the "greenbelt" that surrounds the city. The Arana Creek area also provides groundwater for Santa Cruz County.
The open space has wide meadows, California oak woodlands, and areas along the creek. You can find trails here for hikers and bicyclists. You can enter the park from the upper harbor parking lot or from Mentel Avenue and Agnes Street.
In 2015, new paved trails were opened. These trails are easy to use for everyone, including people on bikes. They connect different parts of Santa Cruz and Live Oak. New bridges were built over Hagemann Gulch and Arana Creek to make these connections possible.
Plants and Animals at Arana Gulch
Arana Gulch is home to many different plants and animals. It's a special place because it has an endangered species called the Santa Cruz tarplant. This plant is very rare.
To help the tarplant grow, black angus cows have been brought back to the area. These cows stomp and eat other plants that compete with the tarplant. This helps the tarplant and also supports the monarch butterfly population. Monarch butterflies need the tarplant to survive.
You can read more in the Arana Gulch Annual Report (2016).
Since the 1990s, people have noticed that a part of Arana Gulch is eroding. This happens because of water runoff from the city.
Times When the Park Was Closed
Some paths in Arana Gulch used to be on private land. Now, it's a public park for everyone to enjoy. Sometimes, the park trails have been closed for safety reasons.
One closure happened in 2014. This was during the construction of the Arana Gulch Multi-Trail Project. The new trails were built carefully to protect the environment. The park was partly closed for several months during this time.
Another closure happened in November 2018 due to extreme fire risk. This was a safety measure because of the wildfires in northern California. The city wanted to prevent any fires in the park.
The most recent closure was in April 2020. This was to support social distancing and shelter in place rules during the COVID-19 pandemic. These closures helped keep everyone in the community safe and healthy.
Images for kids
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The swampy part of the gulch is also known as Arana Marsh.
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Arana Gulch barn for cattle
