Loma Chiquita, California

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Loma Chiquita
Populated Place
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Loma Chiquita
Location in the United States
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Loma Chiquita
Loma Chiquita (the US)
Coordinates: 37°06′18″N121°49′25″W / 37.10500°N 121.82361°W / 37.10500; -121.82361 Coordinates: 37°06′18″N121°49′25″W / 37.10500°N 121.82361°W / 37.10500; -121.82361
Country Flag of the United States.svg  United States
State Flag of California.svg  California
County Santa Clara
Area
 • Total 1.2 sq mi (3 km2)
 • Land 1.2 sq mi (3 km2)
 • Water 0.0 sq mi (0 km2)
Elevation [1] 2,598 ft (792 m)
Time zone PST (UTC-8)
 • Summer (DST) PDT (UTC-7)
ZIP code 95033, 95037
Area code(s) 408, 669
GNIS feature ID 227487

Loma Chiquita is an unincorporated rural area along the ridge leading to Loma Chiquita summit in southwest Santa Clara County, California. The area covers the associated ridgeline and hillsides, from the eastern base of Loma Prieta, towards the west near the intersection with upper Little Uvas Road. The northern part faces the Mountain Home area, and the southern part overlaps with Uvas Canyon.

Santa Clara County, California County in California, United States

Santa Clara County, officially the County of Santa Clara, is California's 6th most populous county, with a population of 1,781,642, as of the 2010 census. The county seat and largest city is San Jose, the 10th most populous city in the United States and California's 3rd most populous city.

Loma Prieta mountain

Loma Prieta is 3,790 feet (1,160 m) high and is the highest peak in the Santa Cruz Mountains in Northern California. The peak is on private property about 11 miles (18 km) west of Morgan Hill in Santa Clara County. The dirt road to the summit is gated, but the tower maintainers generally do not mind hikers.

Mountain Home (Santa Clara County, California) Populated Place in California, United States

Mountain Home is a sparsely populated area located on the eastern side of the Santa Cruz Mountains in unincorporated southwest Santa Clara County, California near Mount Chual and Rancho Canada del Oro Open Space Preserves. The Loma Fire burned about one half of the region in 2016.

Contents

The western half of the region lies within the Los Gatos Mountains zip code 95033, and the eastern half lies within the Morgan Hill zip code 95037. The telephone area codes are 408 and 669.

Area codes 408 and 669

Area code 408 is a California telephone area code that was split from area code 415 as a flash-cut in 1959. Area code 669 is an overlay of 408 that became effective on November 20, 2012. It covers most of Santa Clara County and Northern Santa Cruz County and includes Gilroy, Morgan Hill, Saratoga, Los Gatos, Monte Sereno, Milpitas, Sunnyvale, Santa Clara, Cupertino, and San Jose.

Geography

The Loma Chiquita ridge ranges from a peak of approximately 3,300 feet (1,000 metres) near the base of Loma Prieta to 1,800 feet (550 metres) above Little Uvas Valley. The ridge divides the upper Llagas and Uvas creek watersheds, which provide water to the Chesbro and Uvas reservoirs, respectively.

Llagas Creek river in the United States of America

Llagas Creek is a perennial stream in Santa Clara County, California, United States. The headwaters rise on the eastern side of Crystal Peak near Loma Prieta. From there, the creek flows northeast along Casa Loma Road, until it reaches Uvas Road, and then turns south. At Oak Glen Avenue, the creek turns southeast, passing through Chesbro Reservoir, and the cities of Morgan Hill, San Martin, and Gilroy. The creek continues its southward flow, eventually joining with the Pajaro River at the San Benito County line.

Uvas Creek river in the United States of America

Uvas Creek is a 29.5-mile-long (47.5 km) mainly southward-flowing stream originating on Loma Prieta peak of the Santa Cruz Mountains, in Santa Clara County, California, United States. The creek descends through Uvas Canyon County Park into Uvas Reservoir near Morgan Hill, and on through Uvas Creek Preserve and Christmas Hill Park in Gilroy. Upon passing U.S. Highway 101 it is known as Carnadero Creek, shortly before the confluence with the Pajaro River at the Santa Clara County - San Benito County boundary.

Native vegetation consists of mixed conifer-oak woodland along the mountain ridge, to chaparral and coastal scrub along the slopes.

Northern California coastal forests (WWF ecoregion)

The Northern California coastal forests are a temperate coniferous forests ecoregion of coastal Northern California, USA.

Chaparral shrubland or heathland plant community found primarily in the US state of California and in the northern portion of the Baja California Peninsula, Mexico.

Chaparral is a shrubland or heathland plant community found primarily in the US state of California and in the northern portion of the Baja California Peninsula, Mexico. It is shaped by a Mediterranean climate and wildfire, featuring summer-drought-tolerant plants with hard sclerophyllous evergreen leaves, as contrasted with the associated soft-leaved, drought-deciduous, scrub community of coastal sage scrub, found below the chaparral biome. Chaparral covers 5% of the state of California and associated Mediterranean shrubland an additional 3.5%. The name comes from the Spanish word chaparro, for evergreen oak shrubland.

The area has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate.

History

In Spanish, "Loma Chiquita" means "little ridge". The ridgeline is relatively flat and gently sloping along its five-mile descent into the Little Uvas Valley.

Little Uvas Creek watercourse in the United States of America

Little Uvas Creek is a perennial stream in southwest Santa Clara County, California, United States. The headwaters rise on the northeastern flank of Loma Chiquita Ridge in the Santa Cruz mountains, and flow eastward, eventually merging with Uvas Creek.

Prior to the arrival of the Spaniards in the late-18th century, the area was inhabited by the Ohlone people. Shortly thereafter, Spanish (and later Mexican) governments began awarding large land tracts ("ranchos") for settlement and grazing. The area abuts the Rancho Soquel Augmentación and Rancho Las Uvas lands granted in the mid-19th century. [2] In the early 20th century, a few (unsuccessful) attempts were made to establish summer resorts in the area. [3] However, a small population began staying year-round and has since grown into the present-day community.

Ohlone Native American people of the Northern California coast

The Ohlone, named Costanoan by early Spanish colonists, are a Native American people of the Northern California coast. When Spanish explorers and missionaries arrived in the late 18th century, the Ohlone inhabited the area along the coast from San Francisco Bay through Monterey Bay to the lower Salinas Valley. At that time they spoke a variety of related languages. The Ohlone languages belonged to the Costanoan sub-family of the Utian language family, which itself belongs to the proposed Penutian language phylum.

The Spanish and later Mexican governments encouraged settlement of the coastal region of Alta California by giving prominent men large land grants called ranchos, usually two or more square leagues, or 35 square kilometres (14 sq mi). Land-grant titles (concessions) were government-issued, permanent, unencumbered property-ownership rights to land called ranchos. The ranchos encompassed virtually all of the most valuable land near the coast, around San Francisco Bay, and inland along the Sacramento River and nearby lands in the Central Valley.

Rancho Soquel was a 1,668-acre (6.75 km2) Mexican land grant in present-day Santa Cruz County, California given in 1833 by Governor José Figueroa to Martina Castro. In 1844, Martina Castro was granted by Governor José Figueroa a further 32,702-acre (132.34 km2) grant known as the Soquel Augmentation. The Rancho Soquel grant along Monterey Bay includes present-day Soquel and Capitola. Rancho Aptos of her brother Rafael Castro formed the south boundary of the grant. The much-larger Soquel Augmentation grant lay inland from both of these, and comprised mainly mountain watershed land.

In 2015, the indie drama Maya Dardel was filmed on location in Loma Chiquita, along properties near the intersection with Casa Loma Road [4] .

Wildfires

As with most of the Santa Cruz Mountain region, wildfires periodically occur in the area. [5] The area is primarily serviced by state and regional fire departments, as well as by local volunteer fire brigades. [6] [7] [8]

The Croy Fire of 2002 originated on the hillsides facing Uvas Canyon County Park, and burned through the southeastern part of the area. [9] The fire was caused by sparks from an unpermitted solar array. [10]

The Loma Fire of 2016 originated near the eastern base of Loma Prieta, [11] [12] and caused extensive damage to many homes and properties in the area. [13] The fire was caused by sparks from a portable generator. [14] [15]

Related Research Articles

1989 Loma Prieta earthquake major earthquake in northern California

The 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake occurred in Northern California on October 17 at 5:04 p.m. local time. The shock was centered in The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park approximately 10 mi (16 km) northeast of Santa Cruz on a section of the San Andreas Fault System and was named for the nearby Loma Prieta Peak in the Santa Cruz Mountains. With an Mw magnitude of 6.9 and a maximum Modified Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent), the shock was responsible for 63 deaths and 3,757 injuries. The Loma Prieta segment of the San Andreas Fault System had been relatively inactive since the 1906 San Francisco earthquake until two moderate foreshocks occurred in June 1988 and again in August 1989.

Santa Clarita Valley valley

The Santa Clarita Valley is part of the upper watershed of the Santa Clara River in Southern California. The valley was part of the 48,612-acre (19,673 ha) Rancho San Francisco Mexican land grant. Located in Los Angeles County, its main population center is the city of Santa Clarita which includes the communities of Canyon Country, Newhall, Saugus, and Valencia. Adjacent unincorporated communities include Castaic, Stevenson Ranch, Val Verde, and the new master planned community of Newhall Ranch.

Mount Umunhum mountain in United States of America

Mount Umunhum is the fourth-highest peak in California's Santa Cruz Mountains. The mountain is situated in Santa Clara County, south of San Jose. It is sometimes referred to as Mount Um by locals. Most of the mountain is within the Sierra Azul Open Space Preserve.

Bay Area Ridge Trail

The Bay Area Ridge Trail is a planned 550-mile (890 km) multi-use trail along the hill and mountain ridgelines ringing the San Francisco Bay Area, in Northern California. When complete, the trail will connect over 75 parks and open spaces. The trail is being designed to provide access for hikers, runners, mountain bicyclists, and equestrians. It will be accessible through trailheads near major population centers, while the trail will extend into more remote areas. The first trail section was dedicated on May 13, 1989.

Castro Adobe historic house near Watsonville, California, USA

The Rancho San Andrés Castro Adobe is a historic house in California.

Black Mountain (near Los Altos, California) mountain in Monte Bello Ridge in the Santa Cruz Mountains, west Santa Clara County, California

Black Mountain is a summit on Monte Bello Ridge in the Santa Cruz Mountains of west Santa Clara County, California, south of Los Altos and Los Altos Hills, and west of Cupertino; it is within the Palo Alto city limits though not near the developed part of the city. It is located on the border between Rancho San Antonio Open Space Preserve and Monte Bello Open Space Preserve, with the summit located in the former. Early Spanish explorers commonly named tree- or chaparral-covered summits which look black in the distance Loma Prieta, from the Spanish . The Spanish also called the middle portion of the Santa Cruz Mountains the Sierra Morena meaning, extending from Half Moon Bay Road south to a gap at Lexington Reservoir, and which includes a summit called Sierra Morena. There are over 100 "Black Mountains" in California.

Casa Loma is a sparsely populated community along its namesake road in unincorporated Santa Clara County. It has an unofficial population of 175.

Los Gatos Creek (Santa Clara County, California) river in the United States of America

The Los Gatos Creek runs 24 miles (39 km) in California through Santa Clara Valley Water District's Guadalupe Watershed from the Santa Cruz Mountains northward through the Santa Clara Valley until its confluence with the Guadalupe River in downtown San Jose. The Guadalupe River then continues onward into San Francisco Bay.

Summit Fire (2008) 2008 forest fire in California

The Summit Fire was a wildfire that started on May 22, 2008 in the Santa Cruz Mountains, near Corralitos, California, United States. The fire was fully contained on May 27, 2008. No injuries or fatalities occurred, with the exception of twelve firefighters who received minor sprains, cuts and strains.

Llagas-Uvas, California census county division in California, United States

Llagas-Uvas is an unincorporated, census county division (CCD) located on the eastern side of the Santa Cruz Mountains in southwest Santa Clara County, California. The area covers approximately 102 square miles (260 km2), much of it open space, and contains the Uvas and Chesbro reservoirs, as well as the Calero, Uvas Canyon, Rancho Cañada del Oro, and Mount Madonna county parks.

Hidden Villa is a United States nonprofit educational organization teaching programs on environmental and multicultural awareness. In 1924, Frank and Josephine Duveneck founded this working organic farm and wilderness area on land comprising the upper Adobe Creek watershed on the foothills of Black Mountain in Los Altos Hills, California, part of the Santa Cruz Mountains. Hidden Villa is important historically as the site of the West's first American youth hostel and the nation's first multicultural children's summer camp.

Lake Elsman lake of the United States of America

Lake Elsman is a 6,200-acre-foot (7,600,000 m3) reservoir, created by an earthen dam called Austrian Dam on Los Gatos Creek in the Santa Cruz Mountains of California. At several points it is over 140' deep and its normal surface area is 96 acres. It provides 12% of San Jose Water Works’ total water capacity in some years. The lake and dam is owned by the San Jose Water Company,

Alamitos Creek river in the United States of America

Alamitos Creek or Los Alamitos Creek is a 7.7-mile-long (12.4 km) creek in San Jose, California, which becomes the Guadalupe River when it exits Lake Almaden and joins Guadalupe Creek. Los Alamitos Creek is located in Almaden Valley and originates from the Los Capitancillos Ridge and the Santa Cruz Mountains. This creek flows through the Valley's Guadalupe Watershed, which is owned by the Santa Clara Valley Water District. The creek flows in a generally northwesterly direction after rounding the Los Capitancillos Ridge and the town of New Almaden, in the southwest corner, before ambling along the Santa Teresa Hills on northeast side of the Almaden Valley. Its environment has some relatively undisturbed areas and considerable lengths of suburban residential character. Originally called Arroyo de los Alamitos, the creek's name is derived from "little poplar", "alamo" being the Spanish word for "poplar" or "cottonwood".

Loma Fire

The Loma Fire was a wildfire that broke out on September 26, 2016, in the Santa Cruz Mountains in Santa Clara County, California. By the time the fire was contained on October 12, the fire had burned 4,474 acres (18 km2) of land and had destroyed 12 residences and 16 outbuildings.

Cañada Garcia Creek

Cañada Garcia Creek is a perennial stream in southwest Santa Clara County, California, United States. The headwaters rise on the southern flank of Portezuelo Gap near Manzanita Ridge in the eastern foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains. From there, the creek flows southeastward, eventually merging with Llagas Creek.

References

  1. ↑ USGS, Loma Chiquita
  2. ↑ Arbuckle, Clyde (1968). Santa Clara County Ranchos (2nd ed.). San Jose, CA: The Rosicrucian Press, Ltd.
  3. ↑ Young, John V. (2002). Ghost Towns of Santa Cruz Mountains. Lafayette, CA: Great West Books. pp. 45–47.
  4. ↑ Movie Maker review of Maya Dardel, November 2017
  5. ↑ Sugihara, Neil G. (2006). Fire in California's Ecosystems. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
  6. ↑ CalFire, Northern Region, Santa Clara Unit
  7. ↑ Web Archive: Casa Loma Volunteer Fire Association
  8. ↑ Web Archive: Uvas Volunteer Fire Department, Coverage Area
  9. ↑ CalFire Final Report, Croy Fire, September 2002
  10. ↑ San Jose Mercury News, September 2016
  11. ↑ ABC7 News, September 2016
  12. ↑ San Jose Mercury News, October 2016
  13. ↑ CalFire Watershed Report, October 2016
  14. ↑ ABC7 News, November 2016
  15. ↑ San Jose Mercury News, August 2017
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