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23-615: The creek runs from the southeast to the northwest, originating near Orinda and flowing into San Pablo Bay . It drains one of the largest watersheds in the East Bay, comprising some 41 square miles (110 km). The creek has 34 named tributaries. The creek was dammed in 1919, forming the San Pablo Reservoir . Briones Reservoir , constructed in 1964, dams the Bear Creek tributary. San Pablo Reservoir essentially splits

46-646: A branch in Orinda. Rancho Boca de la Ca%C3%B1ada del Pinole Rancho Boca de la Cañada del Pinole was a 13,316-acre (53.89 km ) Mexican land grant in present-day Contra Costa County, California given in 1842 by Governor Juan Alvarado to María Manuela Valencia. The name means "Mouth of the Pinole Valley" in Spanish. The rancho located between present-day Martinez , Pleasant Hill , Orinda , and Lafayette . Felipe Santiago Briones (1790 -1840)

69-483: Is helped by many community organizations. The city of San Pablo has organized cleanups, as has the Friends of Orinda Creeks. The San Pablo Watershed Neighbors Education and Resources Society (SPAWNERS) goes further than just garbage and weed cleanups and includes restoration efforts and watershed studies. SPAWNERS has built and maintained a creek bank restoration site and California native plant demonstration gardens at

92-691: Is the only middle school. Together, these five schools make up the Orinda Union School District . Orinda's high school, Miramonte High School , is a part of the Acalanes Union High School District . Orinda is home to three private educational establishments: Orinda Academy , Holden High School , and Fountainhead Montessori School. Of these, two (OA & Holden) are private high schools, while Fountainhead Montessori School services kindergarten through fifth grade. The Contra Costa County Library has

115-477: Is water. The area is characterized by a warm-summer Mediterranean climate ( Köppen climate classification : Csb ) with cool, rainy winters and warm, dry summers. Because Orinda is located in a hilly area, microclimates often dominate temperature differences in short distances. The Oakland Hills often block the cool foggy conditions that can be seen in Oakland and the inner Bay. In the summer, fog can spill over

138-461: The California and Nevada , ran down the canyon as far as Orinda. The company intended to construct their line past Orinda all the way to the mining districts of Nevada, but the railroad was plagued by washouts in the canyon every winter, and was relegated to serving weekend picnickers traveling from the cities on San Francisco Bay. The line through the canyon was abandoned upon the acquisition of

161-621: The California and Nevada by the Santa Fe Railroad . Orinda, California Orinda is a city in Contra Costa County, California , United States. The city's population as of the 2020 census is estimated at 19,514 residents. Orinda is located within four Mexican land grants: Rancho Laguna de los Palos Colorados , Rancho Acalanes , Rancho El Sobrante and Rancho Boca de la Cañada del Pinole . The area

184-585: The El Sobrante Library adjacent to downtown El Sobrante since 2000. SPAWNERS also maintains a creek re-vegetation site at the El Sobrante Boys and Girls Club as well as an outdoor classroom project along Wilkie Creek (a tributary of San Pablo) behind De Anza High School. The damming of the creek has limited threatened steelhead spawning sites but has allowed it to continue to survive there. Native Ohlone shell mounds were once found along

207-764: The Land Act of 1851, a claim was filed with the Public Land Commission in 1852, and the grant was patented to María Manuela Valencia in 1878. In 1870, the Briones family sold their lands to Simon and Elias Blum who developed orchards and cultivated fruit. In 1909, the Peoples' Water Company, the precursor to the East Bay Municipal Utility District , purchased the land for the watershed. The nearby Briones Reservoir

230-402: The Oakland hills, cooling off the area. Heatwaves from the inland areas can be felt much more in Orinda than in Oakland and the inner Bay during the summer. In the winter, Orinda often sees more precipitation than surrounding areas because of its higher elevation. Snowfall is rare but not unheard of. A dusting of snow may occur in any given year because of the elevation. During stable conditions in

253-676: The city of Orinda was incorporated on July 1, 1985. Its first mayor was Richard G. Heggie. The city is served by Orinda station on the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) Yellow Line and Route 6 of the County Connection . According to the United States Census Bureau , the city has a total area of 12.7 sq mi (33 km ), of which 12.7 sq mi (33 km ) of it is land and 0.015 sq mi (0.039 km ) of it (0.12%)

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276-989: The creek in two, with about half of the creek and its related feeder creeks on either side of the artificial lake; for much of its course, it runs parallel to Wildcat Creek , which drains from Wildcat Canyon, the next valley to the west. The East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) gets less than 10% of its water from the creek. The tributaries are as follows: Appian Creek, Baden Creek, Barn Creek, Bear Creek, Big Oak Creek, Briones Reservoir , Cascade Creek, Castro Creek , Coal Mine Creek, Clark Creek, Dutra Creek, El Toyonal Creek, Greenridge Creek, Inspiration Creek, Kennedy Creek, La Colina Creek, Lauterwasser Creek, Leastrot Creek, Lila Creek, Miner Creek, Newell Creek, Oak Creek, Oursan Creek, Overhill Creek, Rose Creek, Russel Creek, San Pablo Reservoir , Sather Creek, Schoolhouse Creek, Siesta Valley Creek, Tarry Creek, Tin House Creek, Wagner Creek, Wilkie Creek and Wire Ranch Creek. The creek

299-492: The creek, especially near San Pablo Bay. San Pablo Creek's delta, located within the city limits of Richmond, is known as San Pablo Creek Marsh , and its 300 acres (1.2 km) are filled with an abundance of wildlife, including endangered species such as the California clapper rail , the salt marsh harvest mouse , the threatened black rail , the salt marsh wandering shrew, and the San Pablo vole. Other animals present are

322-562: The land grant in her name. In 1842, Governor Alvarado, made a three square league grant of Rancho Boca de la Cañada del Pinole to María Manuela Valencia and a four square league grant of Rancho El Pinole to Ygnacio Martinez . With the cession of California to the United States following the Mexican-American War , the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo provided that the land grants would be honored. As required by

345-643: The population) lived in households, 6 (>0.1%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 37 (0.2%) were institutionalized. There were 6,553 households, out of which 2,361 (36.0%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 4,673 (71.3%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 370 (5.6%) had a female householder with no husband present, 159 (2.4%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 138 (2.1%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships , and 58 (0.9%) same-sex married couples or partnerships , 1,127 households (17.2%) were made up of individuals, and 695 (10.6%) had someone living alone who

368-471: The population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 1,590 people (9.0%) lived in rental housing units. As of February 10, 2019, Orinda has 14,020 registered voters, with 6,692 (47.7%) registered as Democrats, 3,176 (22.7%) registered as Republicans, and 3,662 (26.1%) decline to state voters. Orinda has four public elementary schools: Sleepy Hollow Elementary, Wagner Ranch Elementary, Glorietta Elementary and Del Rey Elementary. Orinda Intermediate School

391-410: The shy salt marsh harvest sparrows which live in the sloughs, while salt marsh yellow throats live among the willows that grow along the transition between fresh creek water and salty bay water. The San Pablo Canyon through which the creek flows was in the early 19th century an open grazing area shared by adjoining Mexican ranch owners. In the latter years of the 19th century, a narrow gauge railroad ,

414-693: The winter, mornings can be cold and frosty in downtown and lower-lying areas, while the higher hills surrounding the area may be several degrees warmer. The 2010 United States Census reported that Orinda had a population of 17,643, The population density was 1,389.5 inhabitants per square mile (536.5/km ), The racial makeup of Orinda was 14,533 (82.4%) White-American , 149 (0.8%) African American , 22 (0.1%) Native American , 2,016 (11.4%) Asian-American , 24 (0.1%) Pacific Islander , 122 (0.7%) from other races, and 777 (4.4%) from two or more races. There were 807 people (4.6%) of Hispanic or Latino origin, of any race. The Census reported that 17,600 people (99.8% of

437-428: Was 47.8 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.9 males. There were 6,804 housing units, at an average density of 535.8 per square mile (206.9/km ), of which 6,553 were occupied, of which 5,876 (89.7%) were owner-occupied, and 677 (10.3%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.2%; the rental vacancy rate was 4.2%. 16,010 people (90.7% of

460-413: Was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.69. There were 5,202 families (79.4% of all households); the average family size was 3.03. The population was spread out, with 4,512 people (25.6%) under the age of 18, 729 people (4.1%) aged 18 to 24, 2,741 people (15.5%) aged 25 to 44, 6,111 people (34.6%) aged 45 to 64, and 3,550 people (20.1%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age

483-661: Was a soldier at the San Francisco Presidio . He married Maria Manuela Valencia in 1810. Maria Manuela Valencia's brother, Candelario Valencia, was the grantee of Rancho Acalanes . In 1829, Briones and his family settled on the El Pinole lands, built a home (near what is now the Bear Creek Staging area), and in 1839, petitioned for a grant of El Pinole. When Felipe Briones was killed in 1840, his widow, Maria Manuela Valencia de Briones, petitioned for

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506-536: Was changed to Orinda in 1895. Orinda was also the site of Bryant Station, a stop on the failed California and Nevada Railroad around the turn of the 20th century. Later, the area around Bryant Station was known as Orinda Crossroads. Orinda's popularity as a year-round residence grew after the 1937 completion of the Caldecott Tunnel , which provided easier access to the west. Bisected by California State Route 24 and framed by its rolling oak-covered hills,

529-502: Was originally rural, mainly known for ranching and summer cabins. The Moraga Adobe was built in 1841, and is the oldest building in the East Bay. In the late 19th century, the land was named by Alice Marsh Cameron, probably in honor of the poet Katherine Philips , who was also known as the "Matchless Orinda". In the 1880s, United States Surveyor General for California Theodore Wagner built an estate he named Orinda Park. The Orinda Park post office opened in 1888. The post office's name

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