Guadalupe River (California)

The Guadalupe River mainstem is an urban, northward flowing 14mi river in California whose much longer headwater creeks originate in the Santa Cruz Mountains. The river mainstem now begins on the Santa Clara Valley floor when Los Alamitos Creek exits Lake Almaden and joins Guadalupe Creek just downstream of Coleman Road in San Jose, California. From here it flows north through San José, California where it receives Los Gatos Creek, a major tributary. The Guadalupe River serves as the eastern boundary of the City of Santa Clara and the western boundary of Alviso, and after coursing through San José, it empties into south San Francisco Bay at the Alviso Slough.The Guadalupe River is the southernmost major U.S. river with a Chinook salmon run (see Habitat and Wildlife section below). Much of the river is surrounded by parks. The river's Los Alamitos and Guadalupe Creek tributaries are, in turn, fed by smaller streams flowing from Almaden Quicksilver County Park, home to former mercury mines dating back to when the area was governed by Mexico. The Guadalupe River watershed carries precipitation from the slopes of Loma Prieta and Mount Umunhum, the two major peaks of the Sierra Azul, the historical Spanish name ("Blue Mountains") for that half of the Santa Cruz Mountains south of California Highway 17. Two of the Guadalupe River's major tributaries, Los Gatos Creek and Guadalupe Creek have their sources in the Sierra Azul Open Space Preserve on the western and eastern flanks of the Sierra Azul.