Black Diamond Mines

Regional Preserve RPRES http://www.ebparks.org/parks/black_diamond/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Diamond_Mines_Regional_Preserve The Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve is located north of Mount Diablo in Contra Costa County, California. The preserve contains relics of 3 mining towns, former coal and sand mines, and offers guided tours of a former sand mine. The 60 miles (97 km) of trails in the Preserve cross rolling foothill terrain covered with grassland, California oak woodland, California mixed evergreen forest, and chaparral.

Black Diamond Mines Wildflowers A photographic guide to showy wildflowers of Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve Sorted by Flower Color Photographs by Wilde Legard Botanist, East Bay Regional Park District Revision: February 23, 2007 More than 2,000 species of native and naturalized plants grow wild in the San Francisco Bay Area. Most are very difficult to identify without the help of good illustrations. This is designed to be a simple, color photo guide to help you identify some of these plants. The selection of showy wildflowers displayed in this guide is by no means complete. The intent is to expand the quality and quantity of photos over time. The revision date is shown on the cover and on the header of each photo page. A comprehensive plant list for this area (including the many species not found in this publication) can be downloaded at the East Bay Regional Park District’s wild plant download page at: http://www.ebparks.org. This guide is published electronically in Adobe Acrobat® format to accommodate these planned updates. You have permission to freely download and distribute, and print this pdf for individual use. You are not allowed to sell the electronic or printed versions. In this version of the guide, only showy wildflowers are included. These wildflowers are sorted first by flower color, then by plant family (similar flower types), and finally by scientific name within each family. Under each photograph are four lines of information, based on the current standard wild plant reference for California: The Jepson Manual: Higher Plants of California, 1993. Common Name These non-standard names are based on Jepson and other local references. Scientific Name Scientific names revised since 1993 are NOT included in this edition. Origin & Longevity Native or Introduced. Annual, Biennial, Perennial, or a combination. Family Name The common plant family name according to Jepson. For readers that prefer a more comprehensive guide, sorted by scientific name, please download the “wild plants” version of this guide. Readers are encouraged to email any suggestions or corrections to wlegard@ebparks.org. All photographs are © 2006 Wilde Legard, all rights reserved. revision 2/23/2007 Wildflowers of Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve White Seaside Heliotrope Heliotropium curassavicum Native Perennial Borage Family Valley Popcorn Flower Plagiobothrys canescens Native Annual Borage Family Nievitas Popcorn Flower Plagiobothrys nothofulvus Native Annual Borage Family California Buckeye Aesculus californica Native Perennial Buckeye Family Buckbrush Ceanothus cuneatus var. cuneatus Native Perennial Buckthorn Family Common Yard Knotweed Polygonum arenastrum Introduced Annual Buckwheat Family Poison Hemlock Conium maculatum Introduced Biennial Carrot Family Shepherd's Needle Scandix pecten-veneris Introduced Annual Carrot Family Page 1 of 24 revision 2/23/2007 Wildflowers of Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve White Page 2 of 24 Hillside Gooseberry Ribes californicum var. californicum Native Perennial Gooseberry Family Canyon Gooseberry Ribes menziesii Native Perennial Gooseberry Family Common / California Manroot Marah fabaceus Native Perennial Gourd Family Mt. Diablo Manzanita Arctostaphylos auriculata Native Perennial Heath Family Common / Giant Manzanita Arctostaphylos manzanita ssp. manzanita Native Perennial Heath Family Blue Elderberry Sambucus mexicana Native Perennial Honeysuckle Family White Fairy Lantern Calochortus albus Native Perennial Lily Family White Butterfly Mariposa Lily Calochortus venustus Native Perennial Lily Family revision 2/23/2007 Wildflowers of Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve White Common Soap Plant Chlorogalum pomeridianum var. pomeridianum Native Perennial Lily Family Common Star Lily Zigadenus fremontii Native Perennial Lily Family Hidden-flower Cheeseweed Malva parviflora Introduced Annual Mallow Family Alkali Mallow Malvella leprosa Native Perennial Mallow Family Common Horehound Marrubium vulgare Introduced Perennial Mint Family Black Sage Salvia mellifera Native Perennial Mint Family Shortstem Morning Glory Calystegia subacaulis ssp. subacaulis Native Perennial Morning-Glory Family Field Bindweed Convolvulus arvensis Introduced Perennial Morning-Glory Family Page 3 of 24 revision 2/23/2007 Wildflowers of Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve White Milkmaids Cardamine californica Native Perennial Mustard Family White Water Cress Rorippa nasturtium-aquaticum Native Perennial Mustard Family Hairy Fringepod Thysanocarpus curvipes Native Annual Mustard Family Blue Gum Eucalyptus globulus Introduced Perennial Myrtle Family White Clover Trifolium repens Introduced Perennial Pea Family Pinklobe Linanthus Linanthus androsaceus Native Annual Phlox Family Bicolor Linanthus Linanthus bicolor Native Annual Phlox Family Mouse-ear Chickweed Cerastium glomeratum Introduced Annual Pink Family Page 4 of 24 revision 2/23/2007

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What Else Will Interest Me? Park Questions? Greathouse Visitor Center is located in an underground room excavated by the silica-sand miners in the mid1920s. Displays interpret the area’s mining, cultural, and geologic history. General park information, maps, brochures, and souvenirs are also available. The visitor center is open from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekends and some holidays from March through November. Admission is free and all ages are welcome. Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve is over 6,000 acres of land and contains three historic townsites: Nortonville, Somersville, and Stewartville. In addition to Hazel-Atlas Mine, the park contains historic Rose Hill Cemetery, several mine openings to explore, and 65 miles of trails. Park Naturalists conduct a variety of programs relating to the park’s natural and historic resources. Call or email a Park District naturalist at one of the Visitor Centers below. Dogs Dogs are welcome in Greathouse Visitor Center but must be on a leash. Dogs are not allowed on mine tours. BDM webpage East Bay Regional Park District Visitor Centers Ardenwood Historic Farm......................... Fremont 510-544-2797, awvisit@ebparks.org Big Break Visitor Center at the Delta Big Break Regional Shoreline......................Oakley 510-544-3050, bigbreakvisit@ebparks.org Coyote Hills Visitor Center Coyote Hills Regional Park........................ Fremont 510-544-3220, chvisit@ebparks.org Crab Cove Visitor Center Crab Cove.........................................................Alameda 510-544-3187, ccove@ebparks.org Rocky Ridge Visitor Center Del Valle Regional Park............................Livermore 510-544-3249, www.ebparks.org/parks/del_valle Garin Barn Visitor Center/Dry Creek Garden Garin Regional Park.................................... Hayward 510-544-3220, www.nativeplants.org Old Green Barn Visitor Center Sunol-Ohlone Regional Wilderness.............Sunol 510-544-3249, svisit@ebparks.org Tilden Regional Park–Botanic Garden Berkeley..........510-544-3169, www.nativeplants.org Brochure text: Traci Parent Environmental Education Center/Little Farm Tilden Nature Area.......................................Berkeley 510-544-2233, tnarea@ebparks.org ED CHLORIN E n Co 12/14 r 100% me su East Bay Regional Park District 2950 Peralta Oaks Court P.O. Box 5381 Oakland, CA 94605-0381 1-888-EBPARKS; Dial 711 for Telecommunications Relay Service www.ebparks.org PROCES S Take HWY 4 to the Somersville Road exit in Antioch. Drive south on Somersville Road (into the hills) to the parking lot at the end of the road. Po st Directions Mine Tours Greathouse and Sidney Flat Visitor Centers Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve..Antioch 510-544-2750, bdvisit@ebparks.org EE FR The mine crew identified in this photograph at the Hazel-Atlas upper workings include Earl Bell, powder man, first row, left; Art Latham, mine foreman, first row, right; George Dossey, miner, second row, left; and Oscar Peterson, sand mill foreman, second row, right. The others are unidentified, circa 1930s. Stands of Coulter pine and black sage are at the northernmost limit of their distribution and several rare and/or endangered plant species have been found among the valley grassland, oak woodland, and chaparral plant communities. Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve 10 0% Dorothy Greathouse Collection, EBRPD Greathouse Visitor Center Hazel Atlas Mine Rick Yarborough Collection, EBRPD When Can I Visit? From the mid 1850s to the early 1900s, a dozen mines supplied nearly four million tons of coal to the rapidly expanding urban and industrial centers of the San Francisco Bay Area. Rising production costs and the advent of oil as an energy source eventually ended production and turned five mining communities into ghost towns. Later, from the 1920s through the late 1940s, silica-rich sand was mined by the HazelAtlas Glass Company for the production of glass products and by the Roberts Sand Company for use in the Columbia Steel foundry. The museum and visitor center in Hazel-Atlas Mine help preserve the history of these important mining operations. Weekend tours are available for the general public from March through November. Reservations are highly recommended. Weekday programs are available for organizations and school groups (minimum 10 participants). Reservations are required. Tickets for the noon and 3 p.m. first-come/firstserved mine tours can be purchased on Saturdays and Sundays from March–November at Greathouse Visitor Center. Hazel-Atlas Mine A 950-foot section of Hazel-Atlas Mine has been restored to appear as it did when the mine was active. On a guided walk, visitors see mining methods, equipment, and tools typical of the 1940s. Plant and animal fossils in the tunnel walls provide evidence of the area’s climate and appearance 50 million years ago when the sand and coal deposits were formed. Greathouse Portal sand bunker, circa 1948 Dorothy Greathouse Collection, EBRP