Isabel Creek
| Isabel Creek | |
| stream | |
 Isabel Creek in July 2011, courtesy of Robert A. Leidy PhD, U.S. EPA
|
|
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| State | California |
| Region | Santa Clara County |
| Tributaries | |
| - left | Hog Slough |
| - right | Bonita Creek |
| Source | Southwestern flank of Jays Ridge in the Diablo Range |
| - elevation | 2,637 ft (804 m) |
| - coordinates | 37°15′40″N 121°31′39″W / 37.26111°N 121.52750°W |
| Mouth | Confluence with Smith Creek to form source of Arroyo Hondo |
| - elevation | 1,585 ft (483 m) |
| - coordinates | 37°23′00″N 121°41′34″W / 37.38333°N 121.69278°WCoordinates: 37°23′00″N 121°41′34″W / 37.38333°N 121.69278°W |
Isabel Creek is a 18-mile-long (29 km)perennial stream which flows northwestly along the eastern then northern flank of Mount Hamilton in Santa Clara County. It joins Smith Creek to form Arroyo Hondo north of Mt. Hamilton and is part of the southernmost Alameda Creek watershed.
The Spanish name for Mt. Hamilton was the "Sierra de Santa Isabel" and the highest point was originally known as Mount Isabel instead of Mount Hamilton. William Henry Brewer and his fellow geologist, Charles F. Hoffmann, did not know it already had a name, and climbed and named it Mt. Hamilton, on August 26, 1861, although they did place Isabel Valley on their map to the east of the mountain. When in 1895, the USGS realized that the peak two miles southeast of Mt. Hamilton was 14 feet taller at (4,193 ft or 1,278 m), they named it Mt. Isabel.
Isabel Creek arises at 2,637 feet (804 m) then flows north through Isabel Valley, where it is impounded in Isabel Reservoir since the 1940s. The creek leaves Isabel Valley and continues northwest, crossing Mount Hamilton Road then along the eastern and northern flanks of Mount Hamilton, joining Smith Creek about 15.3 km WNW of Mount Hamilton at 37°23′00″N 121°41′34″W / 37.38333°N 121.69278°W to form Arroyo Hondo which, in turn, joins Calaveras Creek in Calaveras Reservoir. Calaveras Creek exits the reservoir and joins Alameda Creek before final terminating in San Francisco Bay.
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Wikipedia