Coyote Valley, California

Coyote Valley
Location	California
Floor elevation	260 feet (79 m) at Coyote, California
Long-axis direction	Northwest to Southeast
Long-axis length	7 miles
Width	2 miles
Geography
Bounded by	Mount Hamilton, Diablo Range (east) Foothills of Santa Cruz Mountains (west) San Jose (north) Morgan Hill, California (south)
Population centers	San Jose, California Coyote, California
Traversed by	U.S. Highway 101, Monterey Highway

Coyote Valley (see also Coyote, California) is a large expanse of farmland, orchards and homes, approximately 7,200 acres (2,914 ha) in size, located in a narrowing of the Santa Clara Valley, in the southernmost part of San Jose, California. The Coyote Valley is targeted for urban development and until March 2008 was undergoing the State of California Specific Plan process in which master planning of the area began. The process was intended to analyze the feasibility of bringing new development to the area, with the participation of planners, environmentalists, engineers, and the general public. Although the North and the Mid-Coyote Valley areas have been planned for urban development since 1961, much controversy surrounds the proposal to build in this valley, which is considered by many to be the last remaining "untouched" open area within San Jose, an open space buffer between the urban City of San Jose and the northward expanding City of Morgan Hill, and a critical wildlife corridor for safe passage of large mammals from the Diablo Range to the Santa Cruz Mountains.

Coyote Valley is a floodplain approximately 11.2 kilometres (7.0 mi) and 3.2 kilometres (2.0 mi) wide, situated in a narrow constriction in Santa Clara Valley between the Diablo Range to the east and the Santa Cruz Mountains to the west. It contains the largest freshwater wetland in Santa Clara County, Laguna Seca, a lake important to groundwater recharge. Coyote Valley was named a “2001 Last Chance Landscape of America the Beautiful", one of the ten most endangered American landscapes by Scenic America. The only landscape selected from California, Scenic America described Coyote Valley as: “Coyote Valley is a rare scenic break in an otherwise urbanized area... The rolling hills, blossoming orchards, and grand oaks provide respite to visitors, residents, and myriad species of wildlife."

Part of San Jose, Coyote Valley also includes the tiny unincorporated community of Coyote, California. It is bordered on the south by Morgan Hill, California.

...
Wikipedia