San Jose parks

Almaden Quicksilver County Park is a 4,147 acres (17park often.
km²) park that includes the grounds of formerEnvironment
mercury ("quicksilver") mines adjacent to south SanThe steep sides of the canyon demonstrate the
Jose, California, USA. The park's elevation variesdiversity of vegetation native to California. The
greatly: the most used entrances (on the east sidesouth-facing slopes primarily consist of grasses,
of the park) are less than 600 feet (183 m) abovePoison Oak, sagebrush, and occasional live oak trees.
sea level, while the highest point in the park is overThe warm sun on the sagebrush lends a sweet smell
1,700 feet (518 m) above sea level.to the air not found in the suburban Santa Clara
The park is owned and managed by the County ofValley.
Santa Clara and its grounds also include the GuadalupeThe north-facing slopes are dominated by trees,
Reservoir; adjacent to park is the Almaden Reservoir.including Coast live oak, California bay laurel, madrone,
The Casa Grande Almaden Quicksilver Mining Museumand California buckeye. On the canyon floor, in the
is located in nearby New Almaden.moist areas along Penitencia Creek, bigleaf maple,
History of the propertywhite alder, and Western Sycamore provide ample
The park's New Almaden Mines were in operationshade for the abundant ferns.
from 1847 to 1976. The mines were highly importantSeveral larger varieties of birds frequent the park,
during the California Gold Rush, since mercury wasincluding the Red-tailed Hawk, Turkey Vulture, Wild
used to extract gold from ore. By the time SantaTurkeys, Great Egrets, and California Quail. Larger
Clara County bought the mines in 1976 and endedwildlife includes Black-tailed Deer, bobcats, and an
operations, 83,974,076 pounds (37,388 metric tons)occasional mountain lion. There has been an increase
of mercury (worth more than US$70 million) hadin the Mountain lion population in the San Francisco
been extracted[1].Bay Area and one should know how to respond to
The remains of a variety of structures left overthese animals if encountered. Please see the
from the 135 years of mining activity, includingmountain lion safety tips in the Mountain Lion article.
housing for the up to 1,800 miners, are scatteredHistory
about the park, with the biggest concentration atAlum Rock Park was originally known simply as "the
what was known as English Camp, established byreservation"; it received its current name around the
Cornish miners in the 1860s. Some structures wereturn of the 20th century when people mistook the
built later by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers andwhite powdery appearance of a large rock near its
there is a memorial honoring the Civilian Conservationentrance to mean that it contained alum.
Corps firefighters that were stationed there for aThe canyon has abundant mineral springs, which were
time.touted as beneficial to people's health. In the late
Conversion from mines to park1800s and through the 1930s, the park was famed
In the period 1976 to 1978 the county developed athroughout the country as a health resort. Through
number of new large parks in rapid successionthose years and as late as the 1970s, the park
including Grant Ranch Park, Sanborn Park andfeatured a natatorium (a huge, heated indoor
Almaden Quicksilver County Park. Very soon afterswimming pool), dozens of private heated mineral
buying the mining property in 1976, Santa Clarabaths that visitors could rent, a restaurant, and
County began planning for park usage, in an eravarious other buildings. Many of the springs were
where the county parks program was aggressivelyenclosed in stonework grottos, and stone bridges
expanding. The county parks director envisioned awere built across the creek. An electric railroad
historic park where visitors could experience thebrought people from San Jose into the park.
mining past and also enjoy the biodiversity of theGrotto stonework around one of many mineral
natural setting. Facilities plans were created[2] and ansprings
Environmental Impact Report was prepared[3].Grotto stonework around one of many mineral
Principal issues assessed in the park proposal were:springs
biological impacts upon habitat by park usersFrom 1921 until unknown, the Santa Clara County
water quality impacts to creeks draining theCouncil of the Boy Scouts of America was given
watershedexclusive access to 15 acres (61,000 m²) in the
visual and drainage impacts of road improvementspark. By the 1960s, the park attracted so many
historical analysis of mine usagevisitors from the rapidly growing Santa Clara Valley
Alum Rock Park, founded in 1872, was the firstthat its facilities became overburdened and the
municipal park in the U.S. state of California. Locatednatural scenery was damaged. In the 1970s, the park
in a canyon in the Diablo Range foothills on the eastremoved most of the buildings, closed off parts of
side of San Jose, the 720 acre (2.9 km²) parkthe park, and began emphasizing the park's natural
offers 13 miles (21 km) of trails, varying from fairlyattractions rather than its man-made ones. Much of
level along Penitencia Creek to sharp switchbacksthe attractive stonework remains, however, as do
climbing to the ridges to the South Rim Trail and theold support structures for the railroad.
North Rim Trail. The narrow floor of the canyonDue to overuse, some of the springs became
includes a visitor center, picnic areas, a playground,extinct, and surviving ones became very weak,
and sand volleyball pits.producing very little output.
The ridge trails offer superb views of Santa ClaraPenitencia Creek had a different name until the early
Valley, also known as Silicon Valley, and of the1900s; somehow it began to be called by the name
canyon in which the park is located. Trails in the parkof a different creek located to the north of Alum
also connect to the Bay Area Ridge Trail and theRock Canyon, which was so-named because monks
Boccardo Trail, which leads into part of the Santa(possibly from Mission San Jose) would meditate by
Clara County Open Space Authority's property.its waters.
Equestrians and mountain bikers have access toEl Niño winter storms caused a landslide that
some of the park's trails, while others are reservedresulted in the closure of the original Alum Rock
for hikers only. High school cross-country meets fromAvenue entrance in the autumn of 2000; access is
schools around the area (such as Independence Highcurrently available only from Penitencia Creek Road.
School or Andrew Hill High School) are held at the