San Jose Creek

San Jose Creek
Map showing San Jose Creek in the San Gabriel River Watershed
San Jose Creek is located in California
San Jose Creek
Location of the San Jose Creek confluence with the San Gabriel River
Location
CountryUnited States
StateCalifornia
RegionLos Angeles County
MunicipalityAvocado Heights, California
Physical characteristics
Source 
 • locationEastern end of the San Jose Hills in Pomona
 • coordinates34°04′50″N 117°45′38″W / 34.08056°N 117.76056°W / 34.08056; -117.76056[1]
 • elevation960 ft (290 m)[2]
Mouth 
 • location
3.5 miles (5.6 km) southwest of Bassett, California
 • coordinates
34°02′18″N 118°01′34″W / 34.03833°N 118.02611°W / 34.03833; -118.02611[1]
 • elevation
194 ft (59 m)[1][2]
Basin features
Tributaries 
 • leftSouth San Jose Creek[3]

San Jose Creek is a southwest-flowing 19.2 miles (30.9 km) intermittent, tributary stream of the San Gabriel River in Los Angeles County, California.[2]

History

From 1829, San Jose Creek was a stopping place on the Old Spanish Trail first used by Antonio Armijo. In 1837, much of its upper reaches were enclosed within the Rancho San José,[4] which became San Jose Township, a historic township in Los Angeles County, and ultimately the cities of Pomona and Walnut.[5] Because of its strategic location between the San Jose Hills and Puente Hills, the Union Pacific Railroad laid tracks along its route connecting Los Angeles with San Bernardino and Salt Lake City.[6]

Watershed and Course

The source of San Jose Creek is at the end of Thompson Wash at the east end of the San Jose Hills near the Los Angeles County Fairplex in northwest Pomona.[7] Thompson Wash originates further north at the southern edge of the San Gabriel Mountains in Claremont.[8] From the end of Thompson Wash, San Jose Creek flows nearly 20 miles (32 km) westwards from Pomona into the San Gabriel River through the Pomona Valley and San Gabriel Valley.[1] San Jose Creek is joined by its 2.5 miles (4.0 km)-long South San Jose Creek tributary about 5 miles (8.0 km) west-southwest of Pomona.[8] The mouth of San Jose Creek is at an elevation of 194 feet (59 meters) at its confluence with the San Gabriel River, 3.5 miles (5.6 km) southwest of Bassett, California.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "San Jose Creek". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
  2. 1 2 3 U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map Archived 2012-03-29 at the Wayback Machine, accessed July 23, 2026
  3. ↑ "South San Jose Creek". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
  4. ↑ Erwin G. Gudde, William Bright (1998). California Place Names. The Origin and Etymology of Current Geographical Names. Berkeley, California: University of California Press. p. 338. ISBN 978-0-520-26619-3.
  5. ↑ Paul R. Spitzzeri (Fall 2007). "What a Difference a Decade Makes: Ethnic and Racial Demographic Change in Los Angeles County during the 1860s" (PDF). Branding Iron.
  6. ↑ Lindley, Walter; Widney, Joseph Pomeroy (1888). California of the South: Its Physical Geography, Climate, Resources, Routes of Travel, and Health-resorts; Being a Complete Guide-book to Southern California. D. Appleton. p. 157.
  7. ↑ "Thompson Wash". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
  8. 1 2 David L. Durham (2000). Durham's Place Names of Greater Los Angeles. Clovis, California: Quill Driver Books\Word Dancer Press. ISBN 1-884995-28-4.