Uvas Creek facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Uvas Creek |
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Uvas Creek near Sveadal, California, January 2017
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| Country | United States |
| State | California |
| Region | Santa Clara County |
| City | Gilroy, California |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Main source | On the eastern flank of Loma Prieta Peak in the Santa Cruz Mountains 3,250 ft (990 m) 37°06′42″N 121°50′20″W / 37.11167°N 121.83889°W |
| River mouth | Confluence with Pajaro River just after becoming Carnadero Creek 167 ft (51 m) 36°58′19″N 121°32′48″W / 36.97194°N 121.54667°W |
| Length | 29.5 mi (47.5 km) |
| Basin features | |
| Tributaries |
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Uvas Creek is a stream that flows for about 29.5-mile-long (47.5 km) in Santa Clara County, California. It starts high up on Loma Prieta Peak in the Santa Cruz Mountains. The creek flows south through beautiful areas like Uvas Canyon County Park and into Uvas Reservoir.
After the reservoir, it continues through Uvas Creek Preserve and Christmas Hill Park in Gilroy, California. When it passes U.S. Highway 101, it changes its name to Carnadero Creek. Finally, it joins the Pajaro River near the border of Santa Clara County and San Benito County.
History of Uvas Creek's Name
Uvas Creek got its name from an old land grant from 1842 called Rancho Las Uvas. "Uvas" is a Spanish word that means "grapes." This name was chosen because there were lots of wild grapes (called Vitis californica) growing along the creek's banks.
The name "Carnadero," which is used for the lower part of the creek, probably means "butchering place." This suggests that people might have used that area for preparing meat a long time ago.
Where Uvas Creek Flows: Its Journey
The Uvas Creek watershed is like a big bowl that collects water from the eastern side of the Santa Cruz Mountains. This water then flows into Uvas Creek.
High up in the creek's journey, you'll find Uvas Canyon County Park. The Sargent Fault, a crack in the Earth's crust, runs along the creek here.
In 1957, the Uvas Reservoir was built on the creek. This reservoir collects water from about 32 square miles (83 km2) of land. It's located about 7.5 miles (12.1 km) upstream from Gilroy and 10.5 miles (16.9 km) from where Uvas Creek meets the Pajaro River.
Many smaller streams, called tributaries, flow into Uvas Creek. Some important ones are Croy Creek, Little Uvas Creek, Little Arthur Creek, Bodfish Creek, and Gavilan Creek. After Uvas Creek crosses Highway 101 and becomes Carnadero Creek, it is joined by Gavilan Creek, Tick Creek, and Tar Creek. Uvas Creek is special because its water rights make sure there's always enough water flowing, even in winter and summer, to help fish survive.
Amazing Animals of Uvas Creek
Uvas Creek is home to a special type of fish called steelhead trout. These fish are a kind of rainbow trout that live in both fresh water and the ocean. The steelhead in Uvas Creek are considered "threatened" under the Endangered Species Act. This means they need our help to survive and thrive.
Before the Uvas Creek Dam was built in 1957, there was an agreement to help these fish. The plan was to keep enough water flowing below the dam for the steelhead. It also said that adult steelhead returning from the ocean would be moved above the dam to lay their eggs. However, this part of the plan didn't always happen.
A group of volunteers called CHEER (Coastal Habitat Education and Environmental Restoration) helps the steelhead. They move fish that get stuck in drying pools to parts of the creek that always have water. In 2008, this group saved over 23,000 steelhead! This is a huge number compared to the few hundred fish seen in the whole Pajaro River system in 1991. Two other streams, Bodfish and Little Arthur Creeks, are also important places where steelhead lay their eggs and grow up.
Even though the Uvas Reservoir can get warm and low on oxygen in late summer, wild rainbow trout still live in Uvas Creek above the dam. Studies show that these fish are native to the area and not from fish farms.
Other native fish species you might find in Uvas Creek include:
- Sacramento sucker (Catostomus occidentalis)
- Sacramento pikeminnow (Ptychocheilus grandis)
- California roach (Lavinia symmetricus)
- Riffle sculpin (Cottus gulosus)
- Pacific lamprey (Lampetra tridentata)
- Threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus)
You might also see Prickly sculpin (Cottus asper) and Hitch (Lavinia exilicauda), but they are less common. It's rare to find fish that are not native to the area in Uvas Creek.
