Tour - Walking Waterhoods: Temescal Creek — Rockridge

Walking Waterhoods: Temescal Creek — Rockridge

Oakland, California 94607, United States

Created By: Wholly H2O

Tour Information

This walk covers the mostly buried Temescal Creek through the upper portion of the Rockridge neighborhood. Most of what you will see was part of a "whites only" neighborhood developed in the 1920s. Where the freeway is now was originally covered with freight and passenger rail lines.

Along this walk you will encounter a very important piece of water infrastructure in this area: the Claremont Tunnel. Through this pipe flows water from the Mokelumne River and it provides up to 175,000,000 gallons of water each day to 800,000 East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) customers.

Tour Map

Loading Tour

What You'll See on the Tour

Temescal Creek Tributary at Roble

This unnamed tributary flows through a Claremont neighborhood before dropping into a concrete culvert as it nears the highway. It drops underground to meet the main Temescal branch flowing along State Route 24 towards San Francisco Bay. Alt... Read more

Great Horsetail

Great horsetails (Equisetum telmateia) are commonly found in damp shady places growing in clusters, perfect for the Temescal headwaters. The giant horsetail is an herbaceous perennial plant. It has separate green photosynthetic sterile ste... Read more

Raccoon

Raccoons (Procyon lotor), are a mammal native to North America. They grow 16 to 28 inches in length, usually weighing 12-25 lbs. With overall gray fur, their distinctive features are a black eye-mask, a ringed tail, and front paws whose pri... Read more

Grove Shafter Freeway (Highway 24)

This section of the Grove Shafter Freeway (which links the communities on the other side of the Caldecott Tunnel with the I-80 freeway) was completed in 1969. Its construction was highly controversial with numerous local organizations fo... Read more

California Buckeye

Native to California, the California buckeye (Aesculus californica) can live 300 years.The pollen and nectar of the buckeye flowers are consumed by native bees and butterflies, but toxic and deadly to the European honeybee. During times o... Read more

Black-Tailed Bumblebee

Black-tailed bumblebee (Bombus melanopygus) is an orange and yellow bumblebee with a black tip, native to western North America from British Columbia to California, and as far east as Idaho. This native bumblebee feeds on many different pla... Read more

Yellow Nutsedge

The yellow nutsedge (Cyperus esculentus), is a perennial herb that's native to the southern United States. It has the ability to survive in all kinds of soils due to its tuberous roots that store energy. In fact, certain parts of the tubero... Read more

Common/Spring Vetch

Common vetch (Vicia sativa) is a nitrogen fixer in the pea family that was introduced to the U.S. from Europe and North Africa.It's sometimes used to reclaim burned or disturbed land, as well as an winter crop to add nitrogen to soil. It is... Read more

French Broom

French Broom (Geninsta monospessulana) was introduced to the San Francisco Bay Area in the mid-1800s. Initially used as an ornamental plant, French Broom ranks high on the invasive species list due to the amount of seeds it produces, alon... Read more

History of Rockridge Park

The area you find yourself in is part of the Rockridge Park development, which was created and sold in the 1920s as a cheaper alternative to Claremont and Piedmont. It was an explicitly white-only neighborhood where "No Negroes, no Chines... Read more

Claremont Water Tunnel

The Claremont Tunnel, built in 1929 and owned by EBMUD, is a 18,000-foot long tunnel that carries treated water from the eastern Orinda Filtration Plant, through the Berkely Hills, to three western distribution aqueducts located in and arou... Read more

Temescal Branch Gate

A population boom on the eastern side of the hill in Orinda and Walnut Creek drove the desire for a highway connecting Contra Costa and Alameda counties. Engineers used the natural depression of Temescal Creek's main branch to build State R... Read more

Creton Mallow Tree

Cretan tree-mallow (Malva multiflora) is a small pale pink to whitish flower native to the Mediterranean and naturalized in places with a Mediterranean climate, including California. The plant forms deep roots which allows it to access wate... Read more

Cabbage White

Cabbage white (Pieris rapae) is a butterfly with black spots on its white wings. Believed to have originated in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Europe, it has spread to North America and other continents with plants like cabbages brough... Read more

Western Gumbo Gym

Western gumbo gym (Gymnopilus ventricosus) is a fungi. They grow in stumps and logs and taste extremely bitter.

White-Crowned Sparrow

White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys) is a medium-sized bird native to North America. They are brown- and gray, with black and white streaks on their head. Unlike migratory populations of the same species, many Bay Area white crown... Read more

Mourning Dove

The mourning dove (Zenaida macroura) is considered one of the most abundant bird species in North America—but it is also the most hunted. These birds are gray brown and have black spots with a fan shaped tail and pink legs. They are foun... Read more

California Slender Salamander

California slender salamander (Batrachoseps attenuatus) is found primarily in coastal mountain areas of Northern California. A lungless salamander, it breathes through its skin. With a narrow body and head, the slender salamander is 3 to 5�... Read more

Omnivorous Looper

Omnivorous looper (Sabulodes aegrotata) is a moth found in northwestern North America. Northern California is the southern part of its habitat. The moth is mostly tan to orangish on top, with a black stripe across the middle of its wings. A... Read more

Mica Cap

Mica cap (Coprinellus micaceus) is a mushroom-forming fungus, with mushrooms that typically grow in clusters on or near rotting tree stumps or tree roots. Its nutrients come from dead and decomposing organic matter. In an early stage, the m... Read more

Mourning Cloak

The mourning cloak (Nymphalis antiopa) is a very distinctive butterfly. Just like any other butterfly, it closes its wings when at rest, and opens up the wings when in action. The wings very dark with golden or yellowish edges that looks li... Read more

Common Yarrow

Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) is a native perennial plant with a large distribution and comes in many colors, from pink, yellow to white. The flower consists of many clusters of 15 to 40 tiny disk flowers surrounded by several white to pin... Read more

Open Culvert at Presley Way

Presley way contains another exposed portion of the main branch of Temescal Creek. This culvert is the last place you are able to see it before it merges with the Harwood branch of the creek near Frog Park. Also in this picture are vines of... Read more

Mourning Cloak

Mourning Cloak (Nymphalis antiopa) is a large butterfly native to Eurasia and North America. Its large size and distinct markings of dark maroon or brown, with pale-yellow edges and bright blue spots, make it easily distinguishable from oth... Read more

Western Sword Fern

The western sword fern (Polystichum munitum) has a wide distribution, ranging from southeast Alaska to southern California. It is prefers to live in the understory, in cool dark places. It can be identified by its dark green color and singl... Read more