Editing Walnut Creek, California (section)

== Geography and climate ==

Walnut Creek is located at {{Coord|37|54|23|N|122|03|54|W|type:city}}.<ref>{{Cite GNIS|1660120|Walnut Creek}}</ref> Portions lie in both the [[San Ramon Valley]] and the Ygnacio Valley below the western slopes of [[Mount Diablo]]. According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the city has a total area of {{convert|51.2|km2|abbr=on|order=flip}}, 0.06 percent of which is water. Walnut Creek{{snds}}the actual waterway that runs through the town{{snds}}has been routed underneath downtown through a series of tunnels. These start at the southwest end of Macy's and end just southwest of Bar Camino Restaurant.

=== Neighborhoods ===
Walnut Creek consists of a bustling, upscale downtown with established neighborhoods in its surrounding areas. Neighborhoods range in affordability and feel, with some being exceptionally charming and tight-knit (e.g., Parkmead) while others are more rural and forested with homes on generous lots (e.g., Tice Valley). Not all neighborhoods are incorporated; there are many unincorporated areas that are serviced by Contra Costa County. A non-exhaustive list of neighborhoods in Walnut Creek include:

* Castle Hill
* Carriage Square
* Diablo Shadows
* Lakewood Area
* Larkey Park (Median SFH sold price of $1,205,000 --- Feb 2022)
* Livorna Estates
* Northgate (Median SFH sold price of $1,762,500 --- Feb 2022)
* Overlook
* Parkmead
* Rancho Paraiso (Median SFH sold price of $2,500,000 --- Feb 2022)
* Rossmoor (A 55+ retirement community of approximately 10,000 residents) 
* Rudgear Estates
* Saranap (Median SFH sold price of $1,900,000 --- Feb 2022)
* Summit Ridge
* Tice Valley (Median SFH sold price of $1,879,000 --- Feb 2022)
* Walnut Heights (Median SFH sold price of $1,802,000 --- Feb 2022)
* Walnut Knolls
* Homestead 
* Creekside

Depending on the neighborhood, homes can be assigned to schools in Lafayette, San Ramon Valley, Walnut Creek, or Mt. Diablo Unified School District.

=== Open space ===
[[File:Walnut Creek view from Acalanes Open Space (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|Walnut Creek as seen from Acalanes Open Space]][[File:Walnut Creek view from Shell Ridge Open Space.jpg|thumb|Walnut Creek as seen from Shell Ridge Open Space]]{{Main|Walnut Creek Open Space}}
Walnut Creek owns more open space per capita than any other community in the state of [[California]]. In 1974, Walnut Creek voters approved a $6.7{{nbsp}}million [[bond measure]] to acquire and protect open space: the city purchased {{convert|1800|acre|ha}} of undeveloped hillsides, ridge lines, and park sites. Walnut Creek owns parts of Lime Ridge Open Space, Acalanes Ridge Open Space, Shell Ridge Open Space, and Sugarloaf Open Space.

The East Bay Regional Park District operates [[Diablo Foothills Regional Park]] and Castle Rock Regional Recreation Area, both of which are located in Walnut Creek.

=== Climate ===

Walnut Creek's warm summer [[Mediterranean climate]] ([[Köppen climate classification]] ''Csb'') is typical of California's interior valleys. In summer, high pressure results in almost unbroken sunshine and virtually no precipitation. Days start out cool but quickly warm up, with high temperatures normally in the 80s Fahrenheit (27 to 32{{nbsp}}°C). Temperatures of {{convert|100|F}} or hotter occur numerous times during heatwaves, however. In the winter, the jet stream moves far enough south so that Pacific storms can reach Walnut Creek, bringing much-needed rain{{snds}}average annual rainfall approximates {{convert|26|in|mm}}, with slight variations occurring in microclimates based on elevation and topography. During particularly cold storms, snow falls on the peak of nearby [[Mount Diablo]], but snow in the valley floor is very rare. There are numerous clear, mild days in winter, often with morning frost. The climate allows for the successful cultivation of many plants and crops, being warm enough for citrus yet cold enough for apples. The [[Ruth Bancroft Garden]] is a renowned [[botanical garden]] that showcases the diversity of plants that can be successfully grown.

{{Weather box|width=auto
|single line=y 
|location = Walnut Creek, California
|Jan record high F = 80
|Feb record high F = 83
|Mar record high F = 97
|Apr record high F = 94
|May record high F = 103
|Jun record high F = 109
|Jul record high F = 115
|Aug record high F = 112
|Sep record high F = 114
|Oct record high F = 101
|Nov record high F = 89
|Dec record high F = 76
|Jan record low F = 17
|Feb record low F = 21
|Mar record low F = 24
|Apr record low F = 28
|May record low F = 32
|Jun record low F = 34
|Jul record low F = 38
|Aug record low F = 41
|Sep record low F = 36
|Oct record low F = 27
|Nov record low F = 23
|Dec record low F = 18
|Jan high F = 55.0
|Feb high F = 61.3
|Mar high F = 65.2
|Apr high F = 71.1
|May high F = 75.7
|Jun high F = 82.5
|Jul high F = 88.2
|Aug high F = 87.2
|Sep high F = 84.4
|Oct high F = 76.7
|Nov high F = 65.7
|Dec high F = 56.2
| year high F = 
|Jan mean F = 45.4
|Feb mean F = 49.8
|Mar mean F = 52.5
|Apr mean F = 56.9
|May mean F = 61.3
|Jun mean F = 67.0
|Jul mean F = 71.3
|Aug mean F = 70.7
|Sep mean F = 68.0
|Oct mean F = 61.5
|Nov mean F = 53.2
|Dec mean F = 46.6
| year mean F = 
|Jan low F = 35.8
|Feb low F = 38.2
|Mar low F = 39.8
|Apr low F = 42.8
|May low F = 46.9
|Jun low F = 51.5
|Jul low F = 54.4
|Aug low F = 54.2
|Sep low F = 51.6
|Oct low F = 46.3
|Nov low F = 40.7
|Dec low F = 36.9
| year low F = 
|precipitation colour = green
|Jan precipitation inch = 4.52
|Feb precipitation inch = 3.62
|Mar precipitation inch = 2.47
|Apr precipitation inch = 1.38
|May precipitation inch = 0.56
|Jun precipitation inch = 0.14
|Jul precipitation inch = 0.01
|Aug precipitation inch = 0.04
|Sep precipitation inch = 0.24
|Oct precipitation inch = 1.05
|Nov precipitation inch = 2.26
|Dec precipitation inch = 3.83
|year precipitation inch = 
 | unit precipitation days = 0.01 in
| Jan precipitation days = 10
| Feb precipitation days = 9
| Mar precipitation days = 8
| Apr precipitation days = 5
| May precipitation days = 3
| Jun precipitation days = 1
| Jul precipitation days = 0
| Aug precipitation days = 0
| Sep precipitation days = 1
| Oct precipitation days = 3
| Nov precipitation days = 6
| Dec precipitation days = 9
| year precipitation days =
|Jan snow inch = 0.1
|Feb snow inch = 0.0
|Mar snow inch = 0.0
|Apr snow inch = 0.0
|May snow inch = 0.0
|Jun snow inch = 0.0
|Jul snow inch = 0.0
|Aug snow inch = 0.0
|Sep snow inch = 0.0
|Oct snow inch = 0.0
|Nov snow inch = 0.0
|Dec snow inch = 0.0
|year snow inch = 
|source 1 = Western Regional Climate Center<ref name = WRCC>
{{cite web
|url = https://wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/cliMAIN.pl?ca9423
|title = General Climate Summary Tables - WALNUT CREEK 2 ESE, CALIFORNIA
|publisher= Western Regional Climate Center
|access-date = 31 May 2024}}</ref>
}}