Pescadero Creek Park
Map SatelliteOf import in this park is Pescadero Creek and its steelhead, Salmo gairdnerii gairdnerii, spawning grounds. The creek traverses a canyon generally 6-20 meters (20 - 60 feet) deep and 12 - 30 meters (40 - 100 feet) wide. The riparian association found in the canyon is composed of red alder, Alnus oregona, big-leaf maple, Acer macrophyllum, willow, Salix spp., and thimbleberry, Rubus parviflorus.
The uplands are predominantly a mixed evergreen forest with Douglas fir, Pseudotsuga menziesii, madrone, Arbutus menziesii, tanbark oak, Lithocarpus densiflorus, California bay, Umbellularia californica, coast live oak, Quercus agrifolia, buckeye, Aesculus californica, and some scattered redwood, Sequoia sempervirens. Portions of the area support a forest where the redwood is dominant.
There are some grasslands and coastal scrub. Elements of the latter include coyote bush, Baccharis pilularis, California sagebrush, Artemisia californica, and poison oak, Toxicodendron diversilobum. A stand of the rare Santa Cruz cypress, Cupressus abramsiana, is present (see Butano Ridge).
Animals are abundant and typical of the Santa Cruz Mountains. Raccoon, Procyon lotor, bobcat, Lynx rufus, mountain lion, Felis concolor, and gray fox, Urocyon cinereoargenteus, are some of the larger mammals that live in or use the park.
Crayfish, Pacifastacus sp., are abundant in the creek.|
Integrity: Logging has taken place intermittently in the area for the past 100 years, the most recent foray in 1972. As a result, only about twenty percent of the redwood are virgin. Grazing has resulted in the clearing of some of the scrub. Portions of the park are heavily impacted by human use. However, most of the area is in good condition.
Use: Research, educational, observational, present.
March 1982
Inventory of California Natural Areas
Revision © 2009 Steven Louis Hartman
