San Lorenzo Creek

San Lorenzo Creek
Arroyo de San Salvador de Horta, Arroyo de la Harina[1][2]
stream
Name origin: Spanish
Country United States
State California
Region Alameda County
Tributaries
 - left Crow Creek, Castro Valley Creek
 - right Sulpher Creek (diversion)
City Hayward, California
Source
 - location east of Hayward, California
Source confluence confluence [2]
 - location at Palomares Creek and Eden Canyon Creek
 - coordinates 37°41′45″N 122°01′33″W / 37.69583°N 122.02583°W / 37.69583; -122.02583
Mouth San Francisco Bay
 - location Hayward Regional Shoreline
 - elevation 0 ft (0 m)
 - coordinates 37°40′13″N 122°09′46″W / 37.67028°N 122.16278°W / 37.67028; -122.16278Coordinates: 37°40′13″N 122°09′46″W / 37.67028°N 122.16278°W / 37.67028; -122.16278 [2]

San Lorenzo Creek is a 10.7-mile-long (17.2 km)[3] year-round natural stream flowing through Hayward, California, into San Francisco Bay at the Hayward Regional Shoreline.

Creek and foliage, downtown Hayward
View from bridge, downtown Hayward
San Lorenzo Creek Trail entrance

Watershed

The creek begins in Castro Valley, and is the main tributary within the San Lorenzo Watershed, including the formerly independent Sulpher Creek, which had most of its flow diverted into San Lorenzo Creek in the 1960s to reduce the risk of flooding in downtown Hayward. Only in large flow events does some of the creek flow follow its old course into the Bay.[4][5] The creek runs through the town of San Lorenzo and empties into San Francisco Bay. A portion of the San Francisco Bay Trail runs along the mouth of the creek.[6] The Cull Canyon and Don Castro reservoirs, both located within regional parks, feed into the creek.[7]

History

The creek was previously known to Spanish colonists as Arroyo de San Salvador de Horta, and Arroyo de la Harina, from records dating to 1772. The current name for the creek, Arroyo de San Lorenzo, dates to at least 1812, and was recorded as such in land grants from 1841 and 1842.[1][2]

El Camino Viejo now Mission Boulevard, passed through what is now San Lorenzo, California crossing San Lorenzo Creek where Mission Boulevard crosses it now.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Erwin G. Gudde, William Bright (2004). California Place Names: The Origin and Etymology of Current Geographical Names. University of California Press. p. 339. Retrieved 2011-01-15.
  2. 1 2 3 4 U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: San Lorenzo Creek
  3. ↑ U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map, accessed March 15, 2011
  4. ↑ San Lorenzo Creek Watershed
  5. ↑ San Lorenzo Creek: Neighboring Creeks
  6. ↑ Bay Trail, San Leandro: San Lorenzo Creek to Marina Park
  7. ↑
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