The Gravel Pit

So what does it look like?

Here's the view of the valley from the new entrance from Villa Maria looking southeast. The valley bottom is mostly flat and open, but rather boggy during the winter. Even during the summer it remains damp under foot. This supports the theory that this once was a gravel pit since gravel is typically found where the water table is high, and often disused gravel pits get made into small lakes.

So where is it exactly? The valley is in Cupertino, California - in the heart of Silicon Valley. But to be honest it's hard to describe its exact location, and I'm not too sure I want to. There is no street access, no parking lot, no adjacent facilities. It is bounded on 3 sides by cliffs, and on the north side by Stevens Creek itself, which for this short length is actually running east-west. The valley is just south of Linda Vista Park in Cupertino, southeast of Deep Cliff golf course in Cupertino, and northwest of Lindy Lane (though Lindy Lane is at a much higher elevation).

The next question is who owns this place? I suspect it is either still owned by the mining company (would that be Hanson Permanente Cement?) or possibly the San Jose Water Company since this might be considered a watershed. Either way, apart from the fence, no is doing much to place their stamp of ownership on the place - which is a good thing!

posted by Andy Abel @ 10:56 PM