page_title: Matadero Creek
section_title: Watershed
hierarchical_section_title: Matadero Creek / Watershed
caption_attribution_description: English: Matadero Creek at West Bayshore Road, near Highway 101 in Palo Alto, looking south
context_page_description: Matadero Creek is a stream originating in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains in Santa Clara County, California, United States. The creek flows in a northeasterly direction for 8 miles until it enters the Palo Alto Flood Basin, where it joins Adobe Creek in the Palo Alto Baylands at the north end of the Mayfield Slough, just before its culmination in southwest San Francisco Bay. Matadero Creek begins in the city of Los Altos Hills, then traverses the Stanford University lands and Palo Alto.
context_section_description: Matadero Creek's mainstem begins at elevation 640 feet just north of Altamont Road and west of Black Mountain Road in Los Altos Hills. The creek has two significant tributaries, Arastradero Creek and Deer Creek. Arastradero Creek  is protected by the Arastradero Preserve. Arastradero Creek begins at elevation 800 feet just south of the terminus of Alexis Drive in Palo Alto, and heads briefly west then north around the Palo Alto Hills Country Club where it is dammed to form small two small water bodies (Sobey Pond and Arastradero Lake), then joins Matadero Creek where Arastradero Road intersects Page Mill Road. Deer Creek begins at elevation 680 feet just north of Altamount Road and west of Taafe Road in Los Altos Hills, then flows northerly passing under Interstate 280 at the La Barranca Road underpass, where it turns west and parallels Purissima Road, crosses Arastradero Road and Deer Creek Road, before joining the Matadero Creek mainstem just south of Foothill Expressway and east of Page Mill Road.  Deer Creek has also been labelled as Purisima Creek on some maps.
  The Santa Rita Creek tributary, which drains the faculty housing area of Stanford, was artificially connected to Matadero Creek by the "Stanford Channel". Historically Santa Rita Creek terminated in the marshlands in historic Mayfield.
  The Matadero Creek watershed drains 14 square miles (36 km²), of which 11 square miles (28 km²) are mountainous land, and 3 square miles (7.8 km²) are gently sloping valley floor. Downstream of Foothill Expressway Matadero Creek has been greatly modified for flood protection.  From Highway 101 to El Camino Real the creek flows through a concrete trapezoidal channel. In 1990, the concrete trapezoidal channel was extended from the CalTrain tracks to El Camino Real. On the historic 1862 Allardt Map Barron Creek was a tributary of Adobe Creek, but on the 1899 Topo Map Barron Creek was tributary to Matadero Creek, although subsequently Barron Creek was connected to Adobe Creek north of U. S. Highway 101. However, during large storm events flow may be diverted to Matadero Creek from Barron Creek via the Barron Diversion Channel.
  On June 27, 2012 the creek suddenly dropped a foot and went dry below Matadero Avenue whereas it usually flows all summer from Bol Park to El Camino Real at the Creekside Inn. This may be related to the removal of toxic groundwater in the watershed, although it is normally cleaned and then returned to the creek. The creek remains perennial in Bol Park.
caption: Matadero Creek at West Bayshore Road, near Highway 101 in Palo Alto, looking south.  The concrete channel is very wide by then to carry large flows.
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