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CREEK & WATERSHED MAPof Palo Alto & Vicinity

By Janet M. Sowers, William Lettis & Associates, Inc.Historical wetlands by the San Francisco Estuary Institute

SCALE

1 1 MILE012

1000 0 1000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000 FEET

.5 0 1 KILOMETER1

S A N F R A N C I S C O B AYS A N F R A N C I S C O B AYS A N F R A N C I S C O B AY

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Squealer

Squealer

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West

West

West

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CreekCreekCreek

Sausal

Sausal

Sausal

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Printed 7/30/04

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This map shows the current waterways of Palo Alto and vicinity,including the creek and storm drain network and present-day watershedboundaries. Also shown are the historical creeks, tidal marshes, andwillow groves.

Urban development has noticeably changed the natural drainage.Creeks that once spread out and dropped their sediment on theflatlands now connect to the bay with engineered channels. Parts ofsome creeks now flow in underground storm drains. New storm drainshave been built as increased pavement area has resulted in morerunoff. In the hills, creeks are impounded to create reservoirs. Besidethe bay, tidal marshes are diked, filled, or drained, and meanderingsloughs are replaced by straight channels.

How this map was made: Storm drains, engineered channels, andpresent-day creeks were compiled from city and county data, 1999and 2000 aerial photography, and field inspection. The historicallocations of creeks were compiled primarily from historical maps, 1939and 1943 aerial photography, and previous work by the San FranciscoEstuary Institute (SFEI) and Alan K. Brown. Historical tidal marshesand willow groves were researched by SFEI using a variety of sourcesincluding the 1857 U. S. Coast Survey. Complete documentation canbe obtained from www.museumca.org/creeks/paloaltodoc.html, orfrom Janet Sowers at William Lettis & Associates, Inc. in Walnut Creek.The base map (showing present geographic features) was preparedby the U. S. Geological Survey in 1991.

Notes: The map shows creeks and engineered channels having aminimum of 0.2 square kilometers of watershed, and storm drains 24inches or greater in diameter. Where the entire creek flow is carriedby a culvert buried in a former creek bed, only the culvert symbol (reddots) is shown on the map.

Accuracy: Every effort was made to produce an accurate map.However, no map is completely accurate and all lines should beconsidered approximate. There is error in the historical maps, in thetransfer of historical information to modern maps, and in the modernmaps themselves. In addition, natural shifting of creeks and fluctuationsin the extent of marshes and lagoons can be expected both beforeand after the historical maps or photos were made. Marsh and lagoonboundaries are considered accurate to within 1000 feet on either sideof the line shown. Former creek locations are accurate to within 200feet, or if dashed, to within 500 feet on either side of the line shown.Present-day creek and storm drain locations are considered accurateto within 100 feet on either side of the line shown.

Financial support was provided by the California Bay-Delta Program(CALFED), San Francisquito Watershed Council - a project of Acterra,Silicon Valley Pollution Prevention Center, cities of Mountain View andPalo Alto, Oakland Museum of California, William Lettis & Associates,Inc., and Santa Clara Valley Water District.

Technical assistance was provided by Atherton, East Palo Alto, LosAltos, Los Altos Hills, Menlo Park, Mountain View, Palo Alto, PortolaValley, Redwood City, San Carlos, Sunnyvale, Redwood City, andWoodside, and by the Santa Clara Valley Water District, Santa ClaraCounty, San Mateo County, San Francisquito Creek Joint PowersAuthority, San Francisquito Watershed Council - a project of Acterra,NASA, USGS, Stanford University, and Trish Mulvey. ChristopherRichard provided field and editorial assistance. The map was draftedby Jason Holmberg.

Fair Use and Citation Policy: This map is not copyrighted, and weencourage the general public to use the information openly andappropriately. Proper citation for this map is:Sowers, J.M., 2004, Creek & Watershed Map of Palo Alto & Vicinity:Oakland Museum of California, Oakland, CA, 1:26,500 scale.

Published byOakland Museum of California1000 Oak Street, Oakland, CA 94607www.museumca.org/creeks• 2004 •

Bay or slough

Creeks

Former creeks, buried or drained- dashed where channel wasephemeral

Underground culverts &storm drains

Engineered channels

Flood control channels(>– 100 feet wide)

Water spreads over the ground

Tidal marsh, circa 1850

Now water

Now filled or drained land

Tidal marsh formed after 1850

Artificial marsh, modern

Fresh water marsh, modern

Willow groves, circa 1850

Artificial bodies of water

Present watersheds

EXPLANATION