Uvas Canyon County Park, Santa Clara County, CA, 4/1/2010
Having found some beautiful photographs of Granuja Falls at Uvas Canyon County Park near Morgan Hill, CA I decided to see the falls for myself. I was expecting to hike a good distance along Waterfall Loop Trail to get there. Instead, I encountered Granuja Falls right at the beginning! This is how it looks from a wooden footbridge over Swanson Creek at the base of Swanson Canyon. After first searching for a better and less obvious vantage point, I finally settled on the bridge as the best place from which to photograph the falls. Though only five feet tall, the falls are a refreshing sight in a lovely setting. Uvas Canyon was once the tribal territory of the Mutsun Ohlone Indians. Swanson Creek flows into Uvas Creek, which flows from the Santa Cruz Mountains through Uvas Canyon County Park into Uvas Reservoir. They are named after the 1842 Rancho Las Uvas Mexican land grant. "Uvas" is the Spanish word for grapes, and in this case refers to the abundance of wild grapes (Vitis californica) along the area's main watercourses. "Granuja" means rascal, ragamuffin, urchin, rogue, or vagabond - mischievously wandering away from the others. It so happens that "granuja" also means a loose grape separate from the bunch - a grape that has wandered away!
