| 1. Along Aptos Creek | ||||||||||||
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 Interpretive Stops
1. Along Aptos Creek Additional Information
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Tectonic Uplift Helped Form Aptos CreekAptos Creek, just like all the other rivers and streams in California, had a humble beginning. Thousands of years ago, the creek began as runoff from rainfall that was not vaporized back into the atmosphere or absorbed into the soil. Driven by gravity, this runoff flowed across the suface of the land, eroding and incising the landscape. Different rates of erosion and the earth's topography allowed the water to concentrate into a rivulet. The rivulet, in turn, collected into a gully and the gully eventually became Aptos Creek. Since the Pliocene (about 5 million years ago), tectonics has continued to uplift the Santa Cruz Mountain range, steepening the slopes of the Aptos Creek watershed and increasing the rate of water flow. Increased water flow is one of several reasons that the stream has become powerful enough to gouge the steep-walled canyons seen throughout the creek's watercourse. The smooth, round cobbles found along the creek are the remains of rock eroded from the deep incisions made into the mountain side by the waters of this stream. As time passes, these cobbles will be worn down into smaller rocks, similar to the gravels seen along the creek bottom. As products of erosion, these gravels will be carried by the creek water to the Pacific Ocean. Clear-cut Logging Added SedimentsDuring the late 19th-century, clear-cut logging in the upper part of the park helped add fine sediments to the creek by reducing the vegetation that once held the soil. Heavy rains brought the loose sediments into the ravines and tributaries that fed Aptos Creek, where their build-up is still a concern a century later. Fine, silty sediments can coat salmon eggs, cutting off oxygen to embryonic fish while also burying creek-bottom gravels, making the gravels inaccessible for future salmon nest-building. Aptos Creek Empties into the Pacific at SeacliffAs Aptos Creek nears the ocean, it converges with the waters of Trout Creek Gulch, Mangels Gulch, and Valencia Creek and then continues a short distance to the ocean. Within a few hundred meters of the beach, the creek passes natural stands of redwood trees, protected by hills. These stands are the closest that salt-intolerant redwoods grow near the ocean in the Monterey Bay Area. After flowing 11.5-miles from its mountain source, Aptos Creek finally eases its waters into the Pacific at Seacliff State Beach in the town of Aptos. Animals Need the CreekThis beautiful creek provides water to many animals such as birds, mallard ducks, and opossums, and to small mammals like voles and mice. Deer and raccoon tracks are frequently seen along the banks of the creek, especially during the rainy season. Steelhead trout still swim in Aptos Creek while few coho salmon are present, even though both species of fish were evidently once abundant. Because of declining populations, steelhead and coho salmon in this area are listed as "threatened" by the federal government. Coho salmon can be found on both the state and federal government "threatened" lists. In these waters, the state of California considers coho an endangered species, a more urgent recognition of the coho's struggle to stabilize its population. Vitally important to the survival of both fish, Aptos Creek is considered a "critical habitat." Creek Creates Riparian HabitatThe creek also provides the moist habitat that trees like the red alders, big-leaved maples, and redwoods need in order to live. This creekside habitat, called "Riparian," is also home to ferns, mosses, and liverworts. Horsetails, descendants of an ancient, tree-like plant that once covered the earth in giant forests, also require the moisture that the creek provides. Large patches of horsetails grow on creek banks, just below the Advocates' Seasonal Bridge. Ohlone Established Village Near Aptos Creek The Native Americans who lived in the Bay Area and along the coast south of San Francisco to Monterey were called Ohlone (the Spanish name for them was "Costanoan").When the Portola expedition of 1769 passed through present-day Aptos, the Spaniards encountered an Ohlone village at the confluence of Aptos and Valencia creeks. The Ohlone called their village "Awatos," which means "meeting of the waters." When the Franciscan priests baptized the Native Americans, they recorded the name of each Ohlone's "rancheria" (the Spanish designation of a community of Native Americans). For the people of "Awatos," the padres recorded the name phonetically in Spanish as Aptos, Avtos, and Abtos. The now-familiar name "Aptos" survived as the modern place name. The halfway point between streams often defined boundaries between different groups of Ohlone. Rain and Muddy WatersWater runs through this creek throughout the year. During winter and spring rains, the creek often turns muddy because of the large amount of sediment. After several rainless days, the stream returns to clear-running water.
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