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Adobe Watershed
The Adobe Creek watershed drains approximately 10 square miles in northwestern Santa Clara County, of which roughly 7.5 square miles are mountainous and 2.5 square miles are on the valley floor. Adobe Creek originates on the northeastern facing slopes of the Santa Cruz Mountains and flows northerly over steep forested terrain until it meets the Middle, West and North Adobe Forks. The drainage area above the confluence of the Adobe Forks is undeveloped open space owned by the Mid-Peninsula Regional Open Space District and the Trust for Hidden Villa. The remainder of the watershed primarily consists of residential development that begins as low density in the foothills and transitions to moderate- and high-density east of I-280 on the Valley floor. Other major tributaries in the upper watershed are Moody and Purissima Creeks.
Along the valley floor, Adobe Creek flows through Los Altos Hills, Los Altos, Palo Alto, and Mountain View. Several sections of the Creek have been re-aligned, including the trapezoidal concrete channel between El Camino Real and Highway 101. Adobe Creek is joined by Barron Creek west of Highway 101 and continues to flow through estuarine area with tidal influence until it drains into the Palo Alto Flood Basin (SCBWMI 2001) and then the Lower South San Francisco Bay.
Four species of native fishes have been collected from Adobe Creek: California roach, Sacramento sucker, threespine stickleback, and prickly sculpin.
Watershed Facts
- Drainage area: 11 square miles
- Number of creeks: 7
- Miles of creek: 18.8
- Miles of Engineered Channel: 2.3
- Miles of Underground Culvert or Stormdrain: 12.0
- Local jurisdictions: Palo Alto, Los Altos Hills, Los Altos, Mountain View
- Percent area by land use:
- Residential 46.5%
- Industrial/Commercial 11.8%
- Forest 36.3%
- Rangeland 2.7%
- Other 2.7%
- Percent Impervious Area: 44.7%
- Beneficial Uses: None Desginated by SFRWQCB but see Table 3 (however, monitoring indicates WARM, REC-1, REC-2 exist)