Temescal Creek 1859

Description:
U.S. Coastal Survey map (detail) showing Temescal Creek; Vicente Peralta's adobes (both his primary compound at right, and near the mouth of Temescal Creek, at left); Telegraph Road, including the portion (later renamed Claremont Avenue) that veers off to the northwest just after it crosses Temescal Creek; San Pablo Road; various willow groves; and two shellmounds near the mouth of Temescal Creek, in what was then an area of unincorporated Alameda County immediately to the north of the city of Oakland, Calif., boundary.

Date of Document:
1859

Document Author:
U.S. Coastal Survey

Geographic Location:
Shattuck Avenue and 49th Street, Oakland, Calif.

Context:
Flowing down from the Oakland hills through the flatland communities of Rockridge, Temescal, and Emeryville to San Francisco Bay, Temescal Creek forms one of the largest watersheds in Oakland. Three main tributaries feed the creek: Harwood Creek in Claremont Canyon; the Thornhill branch running from the Montclair district; and Tunnel Branch roughly following Highway 24 west of the Caldecott Tunnel. Today, virtually the entire creek, from Lake Temescal to the bay, is confined to an underground culvert. In many places, the upper reaches of Temescal Creek s tributaries and smaller branches are still visible, although their banks and creek beds often have been altered.