Don Edwards National Wildlife Refuge's by el2995

San Jose - United States, California The Don Edwards National Wildlife Refuge, which is situated near the south end of the San Francisco Bay in the north San Jose / Alviso area of Silicon Valley (Santa Clara County). The refuge contains protected wetlands, and is now being expanded with the acquisition of salt evaporation ponds formerly owned by the Cargill Corporation. I visit the refuge via the San Jose entrance (take the Zanker Road exit of Hwy 237), which features an ecology education center. As the salt ponds are currently being drained and later properly refilled so as to avoid creating a massive mud flat (per the knowledgeable park ranger, a former paleontologist), there are a lot of interesting mud crack and sediment formations, and some colorful patches of algae (due to the water and soil chemistry), to be seen from the levy. The ranger / paleontologist enthusiastically mentioned that the area now kind of resembles what a prehistoric primordial swamp would be like. : )

Uploaded: Oct, 09 2012 | Taken: Aug, 21 2012| Viewed: 10 times  | 1 vote Camera: NIKON | Model: COOLPIX S6200 | Exposure 10/12500s, ISO 80 | FLength: 5mm | SW: COOLPIX S6200V1.0