Urban creek restoration, Adobe Creek, Santa Clara County, California.

Abstract

Increased urban development has encroached upon and impacted Adobe Creek by constricting the route and volume of flow to predetermined corridors, often irrespective of the original creek morphology. The headwaters geology and human influences have contributed to the creek's disequilibrium. Channelization and instream modifications have segmented the creek system limiting the transfer of changes through the system. Located east of the San Andreas fault (SAF) in the Franciscan Complex, Adobe Creek flows from the eastern foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains and empties into the San Francisco Bay.