Lubberly & Unnavylike

There is a small, seasonal creek that runs through the Temescal Farmer’s market.  As far as I can tell, it runs above ground from around Frog Park, under CA-24, down to around 51st St.  It only seems to run in the summer, and kids at the market play poohsticks and splash around in it.  I have found this stream confusing for a while and have a few questions

• where does it come from?
• why does flow in summer?
• is it really safe for children?

Someone asked this among a group of perfectly intelligent UC Berkeley staffers and no one had a good answer, so I think this is a good exscuse to start using this blog in one of the ways I originally intended it: answering my own questions.  More to come…

Answer

First of all, not all of California has a Mediterranean climate. A Mediterranean climate is one in which summers are hot and dry and winters are mild and rainy, similar to the regions bordering the Mediterranean Sea. These conditions exist in CA from about Cape Medocino south to Baja, and east to the Sierra Foothills.

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