Trout Creek is a 1.8-mile-long (2.9 km)[2] southeastward-flowing stream originating in the Santa Cruz Mountains, a tributary of Los Gatos Creek in Santa Clara County, California. From its confluence with Los Gatos Creek, its waters flow to the Guadalupe River and thence through San Jose, California to south San Francisco Bay.
| Trout Creek | |
|---|---|
  Location of mouth | |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| State | California |
| Region | Santa Clara |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | El Sereno Summit in the Santa Cruz Mountains |
| • coordinates | 37°12′56″N 122°1′20″W / 37.21556°N 122.02222°W[1] |
| • elevation | 1,333 ft (406 m) |
| Mouth | Los Gatos Creek |
• location | 1.7 mi (3 km) southeast of Los Gatos, California |
• coordinates | 37°12′14″N 121°59′24″W / 37.20389°N 121.99000°W[1] |
• elevation | 474 ft (144 m) |
| Length | 9 mi (14 km) |
History
editTrout Creek is likely named for local steelhead trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), and is one of over 25 named Trout Creeks in California.[3]
Watershed and course
editTrout Creek begins southeast of and below the 2,526 feet (770 m) El Sereno Summit in El Sereno Open Space Preserve near the top of Montevina Road in the Santa Cruz Mountains.[4] It joins lower Los Gatos Creek just below (north of) Leniham Dam on Lexington Reservoir.
Ecology and conservation
editTrout Creek could serve as an important wildlife linkage undercrossing to reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions on Highway 17.[5] Trout Creek runs through protected San Jose Water District lands on the west side of the highway, and on the east side of the highway lie the conserved lands of St. Joseph's Hill Open Space Preserve.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Trout Creek
- ^ U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map Archived March 29, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, accessed March 27, 2022
- ^ Erwin G. Gudde (1969). William Bright (ed.). California Place Names: The Origin and Etymology of Current Geographical Names. Berkeley, California: University of California Press. p. 345. ISBN 9780520266193.
- ^ "El Sereno". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
- ^ Lis M. Krieger (October 15, 2016). "New tunnels in Santa Cruz Mountains will provide cougars safe passage". San Jose Mercury News. San Jose, California. Retrieved November 10, 2022.