San Mateo Creek (San Francisco Bay Area)
| San Mateo Creek | |
| Arroyo De San Mateo, Arroyo De San Matheo |
|
| River | |
| Name origin: Saint Matthew | |
| Country |  United States |
|---|---|
| State | California |
| Region | San Francisco Peninsula |
| County | San Mateo County |
| Tributaries | |
| - left | San Andreas Creek |
| - right | Laguna Creek, Polhemus Creek |
| Cities | Hillsborough, San Mateo |
| Landmark | Crystal Springs Reservoir |
| Source | |
| - elevation | 1,000 ft (305 m) |
| - coordinates | 37°35′35″N 122°26′59″W / 37.59306°N 122.44972°W |
| Mouth | |
| - elevation | 7 ft (2 m) |
| - coordinates | 37°34′30″N 122°18′17″W / 37.57500°N 122.30472°WCoordinates: 37°34′30″N 122°18′17″W / 37.57500°N 122.30472°W |
| Length | 12 mi (19 km) |
San Mateo Creek (Spanish for: St. Matthew Creek) is a perennial stream whose watershed includes Crystal Springs Reservoir, for which it is the only natural outlet after passing Crystal Springs Dam.
After discovering San Francisco Bay from Sweeney Ridge on November 4, 1769, the Portolà expedition descended what Portolà called the Cañada de San Francisco, now San Andreas Creek (or possibly San Mateo Creek), both of which emptied into the "Laguna Grande" where the party camped (now covered by the Upper Crystal Springs Reservoir). The Laguna Grande place name is also shown on the 1840s diseño del Rancho Cañada de Raymundo and an 1856 plat. The campsite is marked by California Historical Marker No. 94 "Portola Expedition Camp", located at Crystal Springs Dam, on Skyline Boulevard, 0.1 mi south of Crystal Springs Road. They camped here a second time on November 12, on their return trip.
Padre Palóu, on an expedition from Mission San Carlos Borromeo (Carmel) to explore the western side of San Francisco Bay led by Captain Fernando Rivera, renamed Portola's Cañada de San Francisco to Cañada de San Andrés on November 30, 1774, it being the feast day of St. Andrew. Palou's name was later applied to the San Andreas fault (misspelled) when the fault was discovered to be the creator of the valley.
In 1776, the expedition led by Captain Juan Bautista de Anza, rather than stay on the coast as Portola had done, followed an inland route from Monterey, California established by Pedro Fages in 1770. De Anza descended the Santa Clara Valley to San Francisco Bay and followed its western shoreline up the peninsula to San Francisco. The de Anza party selected the sites for Mission San Francisco de Asís (Mission Dolores) and the Presidio of San Francisco. De Anza picked up Portola's trail at San Francisquito Creek, following the Cañada de San Andrés north from there. On the return to Monterey, the party camped on the banks of San Mateo Creek on March 29, 1776.
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Wikipedia