San Francisquito Creek

San Francisquito Creek is a creek that flows into southwest San Francisco Bay in California, United States of America. Historically it was called the Arroyo de San Francisco by Juan Bautista de Anza in 1776. San Francisquito Creek courses through the towns of Portola Valley and Woodside, as well as the cities of Menlo Park, Palo Alto, and East Palo Alto. The creek and its Los Trancos Creek tributary define the boundary between San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties.HistoryThe original inhabitants of the area were the Ohlone people, called by the Spaniards "Coastanoans", or Coast-dwellers. These local residents lived off the land, gathering nuts, berries and fish from both the ocean and the bay. Because of the abundance of food there was no need for them to practice agriculture. Evidences of their civilization are still being unearthed on the Filoli estate in Woodside, and along San Francisquito Creek.In 1769, the Spanish exploration party led by Don Gaspar de Portolà camped by the creek for five nights, November 6–11, after their momentous discovery of San Francisco Bay. The Franciscan missionary Juan Crespí, a member of the expedition, noted in his diary that, "The commander decided that we should stop in this valley while the explorers went out again to acquire certain information...They were given four days to be gone". When the scouts returned, the expedition leaders met and decided to turn around and return to Monterey Bay (the original goal), which they had passed but failed to recognize as the place described by earlier maritime explorers.