Santa Susana Pass

Last updated
Santa Susana Pass
Santa Susana Pass Rd west from Topanga.jpg
Santa Susana Pass Road looking west from Topanga Canyon Boulevard.
Elevation 1,200 feet (370 m)
Traversed byCalifornia 118.svg SR 118
Location Simi Valley / Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California, United States
Range Santa Susana Mountains/Simi Hills
Coordinates 34°16′05″N118°37′59″W / 34.26806°N 118.63306°W / 34.26806; -118.63306

The Santa Susana Pass, originally Simi Pass, is a low mountain pass in the Simi Hills of Southern California, connecting the San Fernando Valley and Los Angeles neighborhood of Chatsworth, to the city of Simi Valley and eponymous valley. [1]

Contents

It has been featured in numerous movies, including Shooting High (1940), Man's Genesis (1912), Judith of Bethulia (1914), Jack and the Beanstalk (1917) and Range Warfare (1935). [2]

Natural history

The pass is the division between the Simi Hills to the south and Santa Susana Mountains to the north, and forms the most critical wildlife corridor and habitat linkage between them. [3] The scenery is made up of sandstone formations in massive outcroppings and numerous boulders, with California chaparral and woodlands ecoregion, with oak savannahs, chaparral shrub forest, and native bunchgrass plant communities in between. The perennial water sources provide diverse habitat for birds, mammals, and reptiles. [3]

History

Native American

The Santa Susana Pass was at the juncture of the Native American Tongva-Fernandeño, Chumash-Venturaño, and Tataviam-Fernandeño tribal lands and was first crossed by their trail route, and used for an estimated 8,000 years. [4] [5]

Under Spain and Mexico

The first Europeans to use the pass were members of the Spanish Portolà expedition (1769–1770), the first European land entry and exploration of the present-day state of California. The expedition traversed the pass on January 15, 1770, heading east to a campground that later became part of Mission San Fernando Rey de España. [6] After secularization of the mission in 1834, San Fernando Valley rancheros used the trail. A rough wagon road evolved.

Early statehood

American newspapers in California first referred to the pass as Simi Pass from 1857 when the Los Angeles Star wrote of the capture of the outlaw Juan Flores there. [7] That name continued in use, declining from the late 1880s until 1911 in the Eagle Rock Sentinel. [8] It began to be referred to as Santa Susana Pass in the Los Angeles Herald 18 September 1887, being used with increasing frequency thereafter. [9] [10]

In 1859, the California Legislature appropriated $15,000 (with additional funding provided by Los Angeles and Santa Barbara Counties) towards improving the old wagon road into a new stagecoach road, now known as the Old Santa Susana Stage Road. [11] [12] [13] The precipitous portion of the route down from the summit on the San Fernando Valley side was called the Devil's Slide; horses were usually blindfolded and chains were used to augment brakes on the steep descent. Passengers debarked and walked. [11]

The outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861 disrupted mail service along the Butterfield Overland Mail's southern stagecoach route from St. Louis, Missouri via El Paso, Fort Yuma and Los Angeles and on to San Francisco via the Tejon Pass, which had begun its run in 1858. To compensate, the government contracted the Butterfield Company to carry mail between Los Angeles and San Francisco via the new wagon road over the Santa Susana Pass. The first overland mail stage run through the pass took place on April 6, 1861. [11] [12] [13] The main route climbs through what is now Santa Susana Pass State Historic Park, with a branch in L.A. City Park 'Chatsworth Park South.' It was an important artery linking the Los Angeles Basin and inland Ventura County, and was part of the main route for travel by stagecoach between Los Angeles and San Francisco from 1861 until the opening of rail traffic between the cities in 1876. The Old Santa Susana Stage Road is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Part of the stage road is also a Historic-Cultural Monument of Ventura County and of the City of Los Angeles under the name 'Old Stagecoach Trail.'

Late 19th and 20th century

A new wagon route bypassing the deteriorating Devil's Slide was opened in 1895 to the north . Initially called El Camino Nuevo (the New Road), it was later named the Chatsworth Grade Road, which continued in use until Santa Susana Pass Road (now Old Santa Susana Pass Road) was built in 1917. [11] This was the first automobile route between the San Fernando and Simi Valleys. It also was the main northbound 'coast road' to Santa Barbara and San Francisco, until the Conejo Grade in Ventura County between Conejo Valley and the Oxnard Plain on "Camino Real Viejo" (the Old Royal Road, now U.S. Route 101), was improved. In 1968 State Route 118, the "Simi Valley–San Fernando Valley Freeway" opened, north of the old auto road as the latest route across the Pass. In 1994 it was renamed the "Ronald Reagan Freeway".

The pass area became famous from being seen in many movies, primarily Westerns, filmed from the 1920s to the 1950s here at the Spahn, Iverson, Bell Moving Picture, and Corriganville Movie Ranches. The area became infamous in the late 1960s with the Manson Family headquartered at the Spahn Ranch, near the top of the stage road's Devil's Slide. To the south of the old stage road is Sage Ranch Park and the Santa Susana Field Laboratory. Immediately to the north of Route 118 at the pass top is Rocky Peak Park, a part of the Rim of the Valley Trail Corridor. [3] [14] The old wagon road and rocky hill environs are part of the Santa Susana Pass State Historic Park, for public exploration. [15] [16] The Southern Pacific Railroad began construction of three railroad tunnels through the pass in 1900 and opened the route in 1904. The railroad built the Santa Susana Depot in Rancho Simi on Los Angeles Avenue at Tapo Street in 1903.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Fernando Valley</span> Valley in Los Angeles County, California, US

The San Fernando Valley, known locally as the Valley, is an urbanized valley in Los Angeles County, California. Situated to the north of the Los Angeles Basin, it contains a large portion of the city of Los Angeles, as well as several unincorporated areas; and the incorporated cities of Burbank, Calabasas, Glendale, Hidden Hills, and San Fernando. The valley is well known for its film studios such as Warner Bros. Studios and Walt Disney Studios. In addition, it is home to the Universal Studios Hollywood theme park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chatsworth, Los Angeles</span> Neighborhood of Los Angeles in California, United States

Chatsworth is a suburban neighborhood in Los Angeles, California, in the San Fernando Valley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Santa Susana Mountains</span> Mountain range of the Transverse Ranges in California, United States

The Santa Susana Mountains are a transverse range of mountains in Southern California, north of the city of Los Angeles, in the United States. The range runs east-west, separating the San Fernando and Simi valleys on its south from the Santa Clara River Valley to the north and the Santa Clarita Valley to the northeast. The Oxnard Plain is to the west of the Santa Susana Mountains.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California State Route 118</span> Highway in California

State Route 118 is a state highway in the U.S. state of California that runs west to east through Ventura and Los Angeles counties. It travels from State Route 126 at the eastern edge of Ventura immediately northwest of Saticoy, then through Saticoy, in Ventura County east to Interstate 210 near Lake View Terrace in Los Angeles. SR 118 crosses the Santa Susana Pass and the northern rim of the San Fernando Valley along its route.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">El Escorpión Park</span> Park in the American state of California

El Escorpión Park is a three-acre park located in the Simi Hills of the western San Fernando Valley, in the West Hills district of Los Angeles, California. The park contains the geographic landmark known as Escorpión Peak or Castle Peak, a 1,475-foot-tall rocky peak seen from most parts of the park and the surrounding community.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rocky Peak</span> Mountain in southern California, United States

Rocky Peak, located in Rocky Peak Park, is the fourth-highest point in the Santa Susana Mountains, and overlooks the San Fernando Valley and Chatsworth, the Simi Hills, and the Simi Valley in Southern California. The peak, which is 2,715 feet (828 m) in elevation, sits on the Los Angeles County–Ventura County line.

Chatsworth Peak is a peak in the Simi Hills overlooking Chatsworth and the western San Fernando Valley, in Los Angeles, Southern California. It is southwest of Santa Susana Pass and north of the Chatsworth Reservoir.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Simi Hills</span> Mountain range of the Transverse Ranges in California, United States

The Simi Hills are a low rocky mountain range of the Transverse Ranges in eastern Ventura County and western Los Angeles County, of southern California, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spahn Ranch</span> Ranch in California, United States

Spahn Ranch, also known as the Spahn Movie Ranch, was a 55-acre movie ranch in Los Angeles, California. For a period it was used as a ranch, dairy farm and later movie set during the era of westerns. After a decline in use for filming by the 1950s, its owner George Spahn established a stable for renting horses for riding on the varied acres. It became known in the late 20th century as the primary headquarters of Charles Manson and his cult followers, the "Manson Family", for much of 1967 and 1968. They were notorious for the Tate-LaBianca murders of August 1969.

A movie ranch is a ranch that is at least partially dedicated for use as a set in the creation and production of motion pictures and television shows. These were developed in the United States in southern California, because of the climate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rancho Los Encinos</span> Historic land grant rancho in San Fernando Valley, California

Rancho Los Encinos was a Spanish grazing concession, and later Mexican land granted cattle and sheep rancho and travelers way-station on the El Camino Real in the San Fernando Valley, in present-day Encino, Los Angeles County, California. The original 19th-century adobe and limestone structures and natural Encino Springs are now within the Los Encinos State Historic Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Santa Susana Pass State Historic Park</span> State historic park in Los Angeles County, California, United States

Santa Susana Pass State Historic Park is a California State Park of 670.68 acres (2.7141 km2) located in the city of Los Angeles, in Los Angeles County on the boundary between Ventura and Los Angeles counties, between the communities of Chatsworth and Simi Valley. Geologically, the park is located where the Simi Hills meet the Santa Susana Mountains. Here in the western part of the Transverse Ranges, the land is dominated by high, narrow ridges and deep canyons covered with an abundant variety of plant life. The park offers panoramic views of the rugged natural landscape as a striking contrast to the developed communities nearby. The park is also rich in archaeological, historical, and cultural significance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old Santa Susana Stage Road</span> Historic road between San Fernando and Simi valleys in southern California, US

The Old Santa Susana Stage Road, or Santa Susana Wagon Road, is a route taken by early travelers between the San Fernando Valley and Simi Valley near Chatsworth, California, via the Santa Susana Pass. The main route climbs through what is now the Santa Susana Pass State Historic Park, with a branch in Chatsworth Park South.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Simi Valley, California</span> City in California, United States

Simi Valley is a city in the valley of the same name in the southeast region of Ventura County, California, United States. Simi Valley is 40 miles (65 km) from Downtown Los Angeles, making it part of the Greater Los Angeles Area. The city sits next to Thousand Oaks, Moorpark, and Chatsworth. As of the 2020 U.S. Census the population was 126,356, up from 124,243 in 2010. The city of Simi Valley is surrounded by the Santa Susana Mountains and the Simi Hills, west of the San Fernando Valley, and northeast of the Conejo Valley. It grew as a commuter bedroom community for the cities in the Los Angeles area, and the San Fernando Valley when a freeway was built over the Santa Susana Pass.

Aliso Creek is a major tributary of the Upper Los Angeles River in the Santa Susana Mountains in Los Angeles County and western San Fernando Valley in the City of Los Angeles, California.

The history of the San Fernando Valley from its exploration by the 1769 Portola expedition to the annexation of much of it by the City of Los Angeles in 1915 is a story of booms and busts, as cattle ranching, sheep ranching, large-scale wheat farming, and fruit orchards flourished and faded. Throughout its history, settlement in the San Fernando Valley was shaped by availability of reliable water supplies and by proximity to the major transportation routes through the surrounding mountains.

Browns Canyon Wash, also known as Browns Canyon Creek, is a 10.3-mile-long (16.6 km) tributary of the Los Angeles River in the Santa Susana Mountains of Los Angeles County and across the western San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corriganville Movie Ranch</span> Film studio and movie ranch in California, US

Corriganville Movie Ranch was a working film studio and movie ranch for outdoor location shooting, as well as a Western-themed tourist attraction. The ranch, owned by actor and stuntman Ray "Crash" Corrigan, was located in the foothills of the Santa Susana Mountains in the Santa Susana Pass area of Simi Valley in eastern Ventura County, California. It was destroyed by wildfires in 1970 and 1979. The site is currently a public park in the City of Simi Valley, called Corriganville Park, and operated by Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Santa Susana, California</span> Place in California, United States

Santa Susana is a former railroad town located mostly within the City of Simi Valley. A small portion of the community, outside the Simi Valley city limits to the south of the Ventura County Metrolink rail line, is an unincorporated area and census-designated place (CDP). The community is in the eastern part of the Simi Valley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sage Ranch Park</span> Public park and nature preserve in Ventura County, California

Sage Ranch Park is a 625-acre park (253 ha) and wildlife corridor located at a 2,000 feet (610 m) height in the northwestern Simi Hills on the northwestern plateau of the Simi Valley, bordering Los Angeles County and its San Fernando Valley. The campground area used to be a cattle ranch and later a filmset for Western movies. Sage Ranch Park is today an intermountain wildlife corridor, which links the Simi Hills with the Santa Susana- and Santa Monica Mountains. The mountainous park is mostly known for its unique sandstone rock formations, maybe particularly on its western side where the Sandstone Ridge and Turtle Rock are situated. On its northern side, there are great panoramic rural and metropolitan views of the Simi Valley, as well as surrounding Simi Hills, Santa Susana Mountains and beyond. It is home to numerous sandstone formations, caves, outcroppings, tilted rock formations, several hiking trails, a camping ground, as well as native flora and wildlife. The area is lined with coastal sage scrub and other flora includes chaparral, bush lupine, California poppy, sunflowers, Cream Cups, bracken, sword fern, prickly pear cactus, eucalyptus trees, oak woodland of ceanothus, coffee berry, California buckwheat, sycamore, Walnut Tree, ferns, orange- and avocado trees. It is a critical cross-mountain wildlife corridor and is home to fauna such as mountain lions, bobcats, eagles, vultures, owls, rattle snakes, coyotes, hawks, grey fox, king snakes, and more. Bordering Sage Ranch to the south is the Rocketdyne Santa Susana Field Laboratory, in which the nearby Burro Flats Painted Cave is located.

References

  1. ↑ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Santa Susana Pass
  2. ↑ Schneider, Jerry L. (2014). Western Movie Making Locations Volume 1 Southern California. Lulu Press, Inc. Pages 65–67. ISBN   9781312711556.
  3. 1 2 3 "Lamountains".
  4. ↑ USA Today article
  5. ↑ Mercury News article
  6. ↑ Bolton, Herbert E. (1927). Fray Juan Crespi: Missionary Explorer on the Pacific Coast, 1769–1774. HathiTrust Digital Library. pp. 268–269.
  7. ↑ Los Angeles Star, Number 39, 7 February 1857, p.2, col.4
  8. ↑ Eagle Rock Sentinel, Number 17, 27 December 1911, p.1, col.1–3
  9. ↑ Los Angeles Herald, Volume 27, Number 166, 18 September 1887, p.8, col.2
  10. ↑ Use of the terms Simi Pass and Santa Susana Pass from search of California newspaper articles on cdnc.ucr.edu, accessed April 22, 2017.
  11. 1 2 3 4 Bevill, Arthur D. (2007). Santa Susana Pass State Historic Park Cultural Resource Survey Historic Overview (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-10-27.
  12. 1 2 Old Stagecoach Trail at www.trails.com
  13. 1 2 Link, Tom: Universal City – North Hollywood, a Centenniel Portrait, Windsor Publications, 1991, ISBN   0-89781-393-6, p. 25
  14. ↑ Kamal, Sameea (March 4, 2015). "Three lawmakers urge Park Service action on Rim of the Valley study". Los Angeles Times.
  15. ↑ http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=611 California State Parks Dept. – Santa Susana Pass State Historic Park. access date: 4/4/2010.
  16. ↑ http://www.lamountains.com/parks.asp?parkid=123 LAMountains.com – Santa Susana Pass State Historic Park. access date: 4/4/2010.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.