Temescal Creek (Northern California)

Temescal Creek is one of the main watercourses in the city of Oakland, California. The name "Temescal" comes from the Mexican Spanish word for "sweat lodge", which itself comes from the Nahuatl language of Mexico. Long ago, the creek was part of the Peralta family's Rancho San Antonio, and its name reflects structures seen there by people from New Spain.

The creek has three forks that begin in the Berkeley Hills and come together in the Temescal district of Oakland. It flows west across Oakland and Emeryville before reaching the San Francisco Bay. Over time, parts of the creek have been changed, with some sections now underground and others flowing above ground. One part, called Lake Temescal, is now a public park.

Mouth area

Temescal Creek is a stream that flows year-round, which made it very important to early settlers. Near where the creek meets the water, the Ohlone people, specifically the Chochen/Huichin band, built up a large shellmound, which is one of the most studied shellmounds along the San Francisco Bay shoreline.

In the past, when the area was part of the Peralta's Rancho San Antonio, the place near the shellmound was used as a landing spot for loading cattle and hides onto ships. The creek once may have been home to rainbow trout and coho salmon, but changes like building dams have caused their numbers to drop. Today, much of the creek is underground in tubes called culverts, but some parts above Lake Temescal are still open. A small park now stands where the creek used to flow, remembering both the creek and the Ohlone people who lived there long ago. The creek finally reaches San Francisco Bay, where it creates muddy areas and marshland.