Los Gatos Creek (Santa Clara County, California)
| Los Gatos Creek | |
| Arroyo de Los Gatos, Jones Creek | |
| stream | |
 Upper Los Gatos Creek confluence with Lexington Reservoir, courtesy Mercury Freedom 2008
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| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| State | California |
| Region | Santa Clara County |
| Tributaries | |
| - left | Moody Gulch, Aldercroft Creek, Briggs Creek, Black Creek, Lyndon Canyon Creek |
| - right | Austrian Gulch, Hooker Gulch Creek, Hendrys Creek, Soda Springs Creek, Limekiln Canyon Creek, Dry Creek |
| Cities | Los Gatos, Campbell, San Jose, Holy City, Chemeketa Park |
| Source | Loma Prieta Mountain in the Santa Cruz Mountains |
| - elevation | 3,250 ft (991 m) |
| - coordinates | 37°06′36″N 121°50′48″W / 37.11000°N 121.84667°W |
| Mouth | Guadalupe River |
| - location | San Jose, California |
| - elevation | 69 ft (21 m) |
| - coordinates | 37°00′02″N 121°53′57″W / 37.00056°N 121.89917°WCoordinates: 37°00′02″N 121°53′57″W / 37.00056°N 121.89917°W |
The Los Gatos Creek runs 24 miles (39 km) in California through Santa Clara Valley Water District's Guadalupe Watershed from the Santa Cruz Mountains northward through the Santa Clara Valley until its confluence with the Guadalupe River in downtown San Jose. The Guadalupe River then continues onward into San Francisco Bay.
The creek begins in the Santa Cruz mountains near the Santa Clara/Santa Cruz County border, just south of the peak Loma Prieta. It then flows northwesterly to Lake Elsman, a reservoir owned by the San Jose Water Company, then on to Holy City and Chemeketa Park, then northward into the Lexington Reservoir. The creek then flows through the Los Gatos Canyon and through the town of Los Gatos and Vasona Reservoir, then northeasterly through Campbell and San Jose where it meets the Guadalupe River.
The creek was named after the Alta California land grant Rancho Rinconada de Los Gatos ("Corner of the Cats"), which itself was named for the cougars and/or bobcats that roam in the mountains above the present-day town of Los Gatos. The first settlers, a Spanish family arriving in 1839, were scouting for a homestead in the area when they heard mountain lions roaring and fighting. While frightened, they also recognized it was a good omen, for it meant water couldn't be far away. They discovered the creek and built a home in what is now Vasona Lake County Park. On Hare's 1872 map the creek was called Arroyo de Los Gatos and Zachariah Jones called it Jones Creek at the time he laid out the town he called Jones Mill (which later became the now submerged Lexington, California).Forbes Mill was established by James Forbes along the creek in the 1850s; the town of Los Gatos was subsequently built around the mill.
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Wikipedia