Purisima Creek (San Mateo County)

Purisima Creek is an 8.0-mile-long (12.9 km)[1] stream in San Mateo County, California[2] which rises 1.3 miles (2.1 km) north of Sierra Morena and flows westward to the Pacific Ocean 2.3 miles (3.7 km) south-southeast of Miramontes Point.[3] Much of its watershed has been incorporated in the Purisima Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve.

This article is about Purisima Creek (San Mateo County). For Purisima Creek (Santa Clara County), see Purisima Creek (Santa Clara County).
Purisima Creek
Another view of the creek

History

The first European land exploration of Alta California, the Spanish Portolà expedition, passed through the area on its way north, camping near the creek on October 27, 1769.[4]

Tributaries

Ecology

The California Academy of Sciences has a tule elk (Cervus canadensis nannodes) skull fragment unearthed one mile inland from the mouth of Purisima Creek in 1951.[5] Elk were thought to be extirpated from the entire state by 1873 when elk hunting was ultimately banned by the California Legislature, and current herds are descended from a small number of elk survivors discovered in southern San Joaquin County.[6]

See also

References
  1. U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map, accessed March 15, 2011
  2. USGS, 09-20-07
  3. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Purisima Creek
  4. Bolton, Herbert E. (1927). Fray Juan Crespi: Missionary Explorer on the Pacific Coast, 1769-1774. HathiTrust Digital Library. pp. 222–223. Retrieved April 2014. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  5. "Cervus elaphus nannodes". Retrieved April 7, 2020.
  6. Tule Elk State Natural Reserve Brochure (PDF) (Report). California State Parks. Retrieved 2020-04-20.


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