A sampling of some of the points along Pacheco Creek's path from source to destination. Only 3.8 miles long and active only in the rainy season, it moves through a wide expanse of social and ecological ground. From its source in designated Open Space, Pacheco Creek winds through the stylized yards of multi-million dollar homes, then passes through a suburban townhouse complex, city park, and preserved meadow. After crossing under the freeway it wends through working class neighborhoods, now cordoned off with chain link fencing and dotted with bi-lingual no-dumping signs. At one point it is piped underground to reappear in an abandoned section of the former Hamilton Air Base where homeless encampments lie hidden among the native and non-native species actively reclaiming the area. The creek ends in the toxic Pacheco Pond, with sediment laden with heavy metals and other industrial pollutants. The waters eventually flow into the San Pablo Bay.
