Alviso in Santa Clara County, California — The American West (Pacific Coastal)
Salt Ponds
Past, Present, Future
Photographed By Syd Whittle, November 5, 2009
1. Salt Ponds Marker
Inscription.
Salt Ponds. Past, Present, Future. Beginning with the Ohlone people, who harvested salt for local use and regional trade, small scale salt production on San Francisco Bay expanded into one of the largest industrial solar evaporation complexes in the world. Salt production transformed the South Bay landscape and contributed to the loss of more than 85 percent of the rich tidal marshes that once surrounded the Bay. However, salt ponds can be a natural part of San Francisco Bay., Twenty-five square miles of former commercial salt ponds in the South Bay, now publicly owned, are being restored to a mix of wetland habitats designed to provide homes for a variety of wildlife. A portion of the salt ponds will be restored to tidal wetlands for wildlife threatened with extinction, including the salt marsh harvest mouse and California clapper rail. But many of the salt ponds will remain ponds. These ponds will serve as feeding and resting habitat for shorebirds and ducks migrating on the Pacific Flyway, and as places for American avocets and black-necked stilts to feed, nest, and raise their young.
Beginning with the Ohlone people, who harvested salt for local use and regional trade, small scale salt production on San Francisco Bay expanded into one of the largest industrial solar evaporation complexes in the world. Salt production transformed the South Bay landscape and contributed to the loss of more than 85 percent of the rich tidal marshes that once surrounded the Bay. However, salt ponds can be a natural part of San Francisco Bay.
Twenty-five square miles of former commercial salt ponds in the South Bay, now publicly owned, are being restored to a mix of wetland habitats designed to provide homes for a variety of wildlife. A portion of the salt ponds will be restored to tidal wetlands for wildlife threatened with extinction, including the salt marsh harvest mouse and California clapper rail. But many of the salt ponds will remain ponds. These ponds will serve as feeding and resting habitat for shorebirds and ducks migrating on the Pacific Flyway, and as places for American avocets and black-necked stilts to feed, nest, and raise their young.
Erected by Santa Clara County Parks and the Santa Clara Valley Water District.
37° 25.865′ N, 121° 58.75′ W. Marker is in Alviso, California, in Santa Clara County. Marker can be reached from Hope Street. Marker is on the trail of the Alviso Marina County Park. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Alviso CA 95002, United States of America. Touch for directions.
The rectangular shapes around the South Bay in this infrared photo are salt evaporation ponds. Their different colors reflect the types of algae and bacteria living in the varying concentrations of salt water. The color red indicates ponds with high levels of salinity while blue and green mean low salinity.
Photo: Courtesy of Santa Clara County Water District.
4. Alvarado Salt Works
The Alvarado Salt Works in Alameda was typical of salt harvesting operations around San Francisco Bay in the 1800s and early 1900s.
5. Close-Up of Photo on Marker
American avocet Recurvirostra americana
Photo: @ Frank Baltis
Black-necked stilt Himantopus mexicanus
Photo: Lloyd Gomez, @ California Academy of Sciences
6. Close-Up of Photo on Marker
Snowy plover Charadrius alexandrinus Photo: Dr. Lloyd Glenn Ingles,
@ California Academy of Sciences
Western sandpiper Calidris mauri
Photo: Glenn and Martha Vargas,
@ California Academy of Sciences
Photographed By Syd Whittle, November 5, 2009
7. New Chicago Marsh
Harvested salt, waiting for processing, can be seen in the distance.
Credits. This page was last revised on February 7, 2023. It was originally submitted on November 12, 2009, by Syd Whittle of Mesa, Arizona. This page has been viewed 1,632 times since then and 58 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. submitted on November 12, 2009, by Syd Whittle of Mesa, Arizona.