Sunol and Crystal Springs

A large monument of Father Junipero Serra, founder of the California Missions, looms over the I-280 Freeway and the Crystal Springs reservoir, artificial lagoons holding San Francisco's drinking water right over the San Andreas Fault.

Photo: Chris Carlsson

San Francisco Water Department's Sunol Water Temple.

Photo: Chris Carlsson

This stone temple has a twin on the peninsula called Pulgas; both are dedicated to the completion of San Francisco's publicly owned water system which brings fresh water from Hetch Hetchy in Yosemite 280-odd miles to the city and its suburbs.

Photo: Chris Carlsson

Sunol Water Temple, straddling the Hetch Hetchy system and Alameda Creek, one of the original waterways owned by the private Spring Valley Water Company before municipalization. Spring Valley Water Company built this temple in 1910, as seen in the inscription on the next image.