| Buckhorn Creek | |
|---|---|
 Thick vegetation lines the banks of Buckhorn Creek for the entirety of its course out of the Berkeley Hills (May 19th, 2022) | |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| State | California |
| Region | Bay Area |
| District | Contra Costa County |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Mouth | Upper San Leandro Reservoir |
• coordinates | 37°47′18″N 122°05′39″W / 37.78845°N 122.09405°W |
| Length | ~2.1 miles |
| Basin features | |
| Cities | Moraga, California |
Buckhorn Creek is a 2.1 mile long creek in Contra Costa County, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area.[1]
Course
Buckhorn Creek begins on the western slopes of Rocky Ridge in Western Contra Costa County at an elevation of 2,020 feet above sea level.[2] It runs generally west off of Rocky Ridge before abruptly turning to the south where it runs for approximately 1.5 miles to its confluence with Kaiser Creek at the Upper San Leandro Reservoir.
Geography
Buckhorn Creek is a tributary to San Leandro Creek, one of the largest streams draining into the San Francisco Bay. It drains a small portion of the Berkeley Hills which are a subrange of the California Coast Ranges. The Buckhorn Creek watershed is characterized by the steep, rounded hills typical of much of the East Bay region. The climate of the area is classified as Cool-summer mediterranean, defined by wet winters and dry summers puncuated by frequent marine fogs.[3]
Though there is little development in the Buckhorn Creek watershed besides fire roads, trails and ranching hardware, nearby communities include Moraga, California and the campus of Saint Mary's College of California. Buckhorn Creek is isolated by rugged terrain and a lack of development in much of the surrounding area.
The Buckhorn Creek watershed is entirely contained within the EBMUD San Leandro watershed, a nearly 50 square mile area of protected land surrounding the Upper San Leandro Reservoir, Lake Chabot and the area west of Rocky Ridge. Access to the Buckhorn Creek watershed is restricted by a permit system.[4] Buckhorn Creek is managed to ensure clean and unpolluted inflow to the Upper San Leandro Reservoir, which is a major source of drinking water for the area's dense population. The creek can be reached via hiking trail at access points at Rancho Laguna Park and Saint Mary's College
Ecology
Despite originating in Contra Costa County, home to 1.61 million people, 1,626 per square mile,[5][6] Buckhorn Creek is almost entirely undeveloped and protected from its source to its outlet. This makes it unique among the streams of the Bay Area, one of California's most densely populated regions with over 7 million people.
A large proportion of the streams draining into the San Francisco Estuary have undergone significant habitat degradation as a result of the intensive residential and industrial development undertaken in the region in the last century.[7] Buckhorn Creek, however, is unaffected by residential or industrial development and exhibits much more intact habitat than many other streams in the region. Mixed forests of mature Valley oak, Coast Live oak, Black oak, California buckeye and California Bay dominate much of the watershed's lower elevation areas while annual grasslands and chaparral cover the rugged hilltops and exposed slopes.
Buckhorn Creek's flow is heavily dependant on rainfall and can become greatly diminished during the dry period from June to November. During droughts there may only be water in pools in some sections of the stream.
Riparian vegetation along the creek includes arroyo willow, white alder and Fremont cottonwood.
Buckhorn Creek is a crucial source of water for the vibrant wildlife communities inhabiting the area. The creek supports numerous species of birds, both migratory and resident. Great horned owl and Screech owl are commonly seen in the evenings near the creek. Black-tailed deer, coyotes, bobcats, gray foxes and cottontail rabbit among many other species live in the Buckhorn Creek watershed.
Rainbow trout population
Buckhorn Creek supports a population of native Coastal rainbow trout in years where there is enough flow to support the fish over the dry summer season.[7] The Central California Coast Steelhead DPS is federally listed as threatened as a result of habitat loss and degradation, as well as the widespread installation of migration barriers.[8] Rainbow trout migrate from Upper San Leandro Reservoir to Buckhorn Creek to spawn during periods of high water. They have been observed in the lower and upper reaches of the creek on multiple occasions between the 1970s and early 2000s. However, due to its relative low flow and poor instream substrate for spawning, Buckhorn Creek has limited value to trout.[1][7]
See also
References
- 1 2 "Contra Costa County Creeks Inventory" (PDF). www.cccleanwater.org. p. 62.
- ↑ "Contra Costa County Watershed Atlas" (PDF). www.cccleanwater.org.
- ↑ "Atlas of the Biodiversity of California". wildlife.ca.gov. Retrieved 2023-12-06.
- ↑ "San Leandro Creek Watershed | Alameda County Flood Control District". Retrieved 2023-12-05.
- ↑ "U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Contra Costa County, California". www.census.gov. Retrieved 2023-12-06.
- ↑ "Demographics | Contra Costa County, CA Official Website". www.contracosta.ca.gov. Retrieved 2023-12-05.
- 1 2 3 Leidy, Robert. "Historical Distribution and Current Status of Steelhead/Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) in Streams of the San Francisco Estuary, California" (PDF). www.cemar.org.
- ↑ Fisheries, NOAA (2021-12-06). "Central California Coast Steelhead | NOAA Fisheries". NOAA. Retrieved 2023-12-06.