Post by spacecowboy2006 on Jan 8, 2017 16:03:06 GMT
A series of major streams flow out of the Sierra Nevada Mountains across the Great Central Valley to join the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers. They have their headwater sources on the crest of the Sierra. But north of the American River and between there and the Feather River/Bear Creek system to the north, is Arcade Creek, not flowing from the high Sierra but having its headwaters low in the foothills. _______________________________________________ Arcade Creek has the largest drainage basin of all the local streams. It is 16.2 miles long and its basin area is about 19,000 acres or 29.7 square miles. The creek is still partially bordered with blue, interior, and valley oaks. There are scattered places with Fremont Cottonwood, small willows and Oregon Ash. Because of the natural and open spaces, native vegetation in some areas persists, providing habitat for wildlife. Once this habitat was abundant; today it is quickly vanishing because of bordering land development. 6000-3000 BC, people of the Early Horizon period came to live near Arcade Creek and its surrounding area. These were the seed gatherers. About 3000 years ago the Maidu, or Southern Nisenan settled in this area. Early man found the creek water clean and full of fish, and the surrounding plants were a good source for seed eating. The oak trees provided the staple acorn, and small game provided a bounty of food. Women often used digging sticks to gather bulbs. During the 1800s, Arcade Creek was included in some of the northernmost Mexican land grants in California. Governor Manuel Micheltorena, Captain John Sutter’s old friend, gave 44,000 acres to Elijah Grimes. Grimes called it the Rancho del Paso because it was on the road to the pass of the American River through the Sierra. With the construction of the Central Pacific Railroad, Arcade Creek became a central focal point and even acquired national fame. To build a railway through the mountains was more difficult and more expensive than over the Sacramento Valley plain. Thus when the Pacific Railroad Act was revised on July 2nd, 1864, the subsidy was adjusted. The Central Pacific would receive $16,000 for each mile built in the valley and $48,000 for each mile of the estimated 150 miles of rugged mountain terrain separating California from Nevada. Charles Crocker, supervisor of the actual construction, took the first State Geologist, Josiah Whitney, for a long ride along Arcade Creek. It was here, seven miles from Sacramento, that Crocker showed him engineer Theodore Judah’s chart which showed a gentle rise from the creek area to the peaks of the Sierra. Crocker asked Whitney where the beginning of the mountains should be located. Whitney replied, “Well, the true base is the Sacramento River, but for the purpose of this bill, Arcade Creek is as fair a place as any.” In Washington DC, A. A. Sergeant, the Central Pacific’s ambassador showed a geological map to the House of Representatives. It showed the east bank of Arcade Creek as mostly composed of red podzolic earth like that of the Sierra. On the opposite bank, it showed the dark soil of the Sacramento River flood plain. President Lincoln signed the bill increasing the subsidy giving the “Big Four”, Crocker, Standford, Huntington and Hopkins, an increase of $470,000 profit. President Lincoln was wise enough to know what linking California’s riches to the east would mean to the government during the Civil War. Getting the railroad built was the motivating factor. There were still swimming holes 6-7 feet deep in the 1950s. Today, Arcade Creek is a very different place. Water flowing into the creek from storm drains causes the creek to swell and flood in the winter and to hold many gallons of street gutter run off water in the summer. But along the creek’s banks and in the high branches of the oaks and other trees, wildlife still finds a home. Also these green spaces offer neighbors a peaceful retreat and a pleasant place for quiet recreation.sourcelink _http://saccreeks.org/know-your-creeks/arcade-creek-history/ _________________________________________________ I can say from personal experience that the foothill parks of the San Francisco Bay Area (EBRPD) and (MPOSD) are far more pristine and intact than any fragmented, compromised, mitigated urban preserve.
