2007 Alum Rock earthquake

Poverty Ridge is a ridge in unincorporated Santa Clara County, California, east of Milpitas. Calaveras Valley lies to its west, while its east side slopes down to meet Arroyo Hondo. Creeks that originate on Poverty Ridge include Calaveras and Penitencia Creeks.

Los Buellis Hills are a short sub−range of hills in the northwestern Diablo Range, in the South Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, within Santa Clara County, California.

Arroyo Hondo is a northwestward-flowing 13.0-mile-long (20.9 km) river in Santa Clara County, California, United States, that lies east of Milpitas. The area is privately owned by the San Francisco Water Department and is closed to public access because of its usage as drinking water. Bounded to the east by Oak Ridge and to the west by Poverty Ridge, Arroyo Hondo empties into the Calaveras Reservoir where it joins Calaveras Creek. It is formed by the confluence of Smith Creek and Isabel Creek which drain the west and east slopes of Mount Hamilton, respectively.

Sierra Vista Open Space Preserve is a 1,678-acre nature preserve in the eastern foothills of Santa Clara County, California. The preserve is managed by the Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority and was opened to public in 2002. The only access to the preserve had been from Alum Rock Park until 2014, when a new parking lot and trailhead opened along Sierra Road.

Calaveras Valley is a valley east of Milpitas, California in the San Francisco Bay Area. It has formed primarily as a result of the actions of the Calaveras Fault. The southern end of the Calaveras Valley is a few miles south of Calaveras Reservoir, while the northern end is at Sunol. See Calaveras Reservoir for more information.

Oak Ridge in Santa Clara County, California, is a ridge forming the east canyon wall of Arroyo Hondo, which drains into Calaveras Reservoir. Black Mountain is its highest point. The first known white settlers on Oak Ridge were the Parks family, who ran cattle on the ridge. Now owned by the San Francisco Water Department, the ridge is private property and is off-limits to most people.

The Blue Oak Ranch Reserve, a unit of the University of California Natural Reserve System, is an ecological reserve and biological field station in Santa Clara County, California. It is located on 3,260 acres (13.2 km2) in the Diablo Range, northwest of Mount Hamilton, at 1,500 ft (460 m) elevation. The land, part of the 19th century Mexican land grant of Rancho Cañada de Pala, was donated to the University of California on December 1, 2007 by the Blue Oak Ranch Trust, an anonymous benefactor. Overnight accommodations for academic researchers and educational groups may be made by permission only.

Black Mountain, also known as Mount Day, is a mountain in the Diablo Range of eastern Santa Clara County, California, east of Poverty Ridge and Arroyo Hondo, and about 10 miles (16 km) from Milpitas. The peak is one of the highest in area. The northern half of Black Mountain is an oak woodlands while the southern half is barren. Black Mountain can be clearly seen from most parts of the Santa Clara Valley including Sunnyvale, Cupertino, Mountain View and San Jose. The peak is visible from the Mount Hamilton and Monument Peak.

East Foothills is a census-designated place (CDP) in Santa Clara County, California, United States and a neighborhood of San Jose. The population was 8,269 at the 2010 census and it is located about 4 miles east of downtown San Jose.

Miguelita Creek, originating in East Foothills, California, above the San Jose Country Club, is a tributary of Lower Silver Creek, which is a tributary of Coyote Creek, a river in Santa Clara County, California.

Calaveras Reservoir is located primarily in Santa Clara County, California, with a small portion and its dam in Alameda County, California. In Spanish, Calaveras means "skulls". The reservoir is fed mainly by Arroyo Hondo and Calaveras Creek. Lying in the Calaveras Valley, the region is geologically active with the Calaveras Fault parallel to and to the west of the dam site. The seismic hazard forced replacement of the original dam. The replacement dam began construction in 2011 and was completed in 2019. The Calaveras Valley has diverse wildlife including deer, coyotes, squirrels, turkey vultures, red-winged blackbirds, yellow-billed magpies, red-tailed hawks, brewer's blackbirds, purple martins, barn swallows, bullock's orioles, and warblers. Since at least 2008, a pair of bald eagles has nested regularly.

Rancho Pala was a 4,454-acre (18.02 km2) Mexican land grant in present day Santa Clara County, California given in 1835 by Governor José Castro to José Joaquín Higuera. The origin of the name is the subject of debate. The word "pala" translates as "shovel" in Spanish, but means "water", in many native American dialects. The grant was a narrow strip of land east of San Jose, and extending southward along the foothills from Penitencia Creek to Norwood Avenue.