(left) and
Bell Creek (right) join to form the Los Angeles River The Los Angeles River's official beginning is at the confluence of two
channelized streams –
Bell Creek and
Arroyo Calabasas – in the
Canoga Park section of the city of Los Angeles, just east of
California State Route 27 (Topanga Canyon Boulevard), at (the east side of
Canoga Park High School). Bell Creek flows east from the
Simi Hills, and Arroyo Calabasas flows north from the
Santa Monica Mountains. From there the river flows east through a concrete
flood control channel and very soon receives
Browns Canyon Wash, which flows south from the
Santa Susana Mountains. The river then bends slightly south and receives
Aliso Canyon Wash, whose watershed adjoins that of Browns Canyon. The river then flows through the district of
Winnetka, then
Reseda and enters the Sepulveda Basin, a flood-control reservoir formed by the
Sepulveda Dam. As the river proceeds into the usually-dry reservoir, it spills out into a channel that is similar to its historical, non-channeled form. It crosses under Balboa Boulevard and then receives
Bull Creek. The river then passes through the
outlet works of Sepulveda Dam, from the mouth. It flows again into a concrete channel and crosses under the
San Diego (405) Freeway as it passes through
Van Nuys,
Sherman Oaks, and
Studio City, still flowing east. Paralleling
U.S. Highway 101 briefly, it then veers southeast, away from the highway, and receives from the left the
Tujunga Wash, one of its largest tributaries, which flows southwest and south from the
Angeles National Forest in the
San Gabriel Mountains. The river then rounds a bend to the northeast, now in a concrete box culvert, and crosses under the
Hollywood (170) Freeway and Highway 101, and receives
Burbank Western Channel on the left bank, from the mouth. The river then begins to parallel the
Ventura (134) Freeway as it winds through
North Hollywood and the city of
Burbank. It then crosses under the
Golden State (5) Freeway and makes a sharp bend to the south-southeast as it curves around
Griffith Park. It receives from the left
Verdugo Wash, which drains much of
La Cañada Flintridge and
Glendale as it flows from the San Gabriel Mountains south through a
water gap in the
Verdugo Mountains, and crosses under the Ventura Freeway. Here, the river begins to flow over a natural riverbed, but enters another concrete section soon after. Paralleling the Golden State Freeway for the next few miles, the river runs by the eastern side of Griffith Park and the Harding-Wilson Golf Course. It passes
Silver Lake Reservoir, which is to the right, and crosses under the
Glendale (2) Freeway, from the mouth. Making two meanders as it flows in a southeasterly direction, the river parallels the interstate and
Riverside Drive then crosses under the interstate and
Arroyo Seco (110) Parkway as it flows east of
Elysian Park. It then receives the
Arroyo Seco, another major tributary, from the left. The river flows south past the Mission Junction, a large railroad yard on the left. It enters a wider concrete channel with sloped sides, and crosses under Cesar Chavez Avenue, the
Hollywood (101) Freeway, and the
San Bernardino (10) Freeway as it passes east of
downtown Los Angeles, flowing past the
East Los Angeles Interchange of the
Santa Ana (101) Freeway,
Pomona (60) Freeway, and Interstates 5 and 10 on the left. It then makes a gradual turn east and then turns southeast, flowing a few miles before it begins to parallel the
Long Beach (710) Freeway near
Maywood,
Bell,
Cudahy, and
Commerce, from the mouth. that appeared in 2008 and was buffed in September 2009 Paralleling the Long Beach Freeway south-southwest, the river then crosses under former
California State Route 42 and the interstate as it receives the
Rio Hondo from the left, from the mouth. The Rio Hondo ("deep river") now serves as a
distributary for the
San Gabriel River to the east via the
Whittier Narrows Reservoir. The river then crosses under the
Century (105) Freeway and shifts slightly southwest, then flows east of
Compton and west of
Bellflower. After crossing under the
Artesia (91) Freeway, it receives
Compton Creek from the right, from the mouth. After crossing under Interstate 405 for the second time, from the mouth, it draws close to the
Dominguez Channel to the west and flows due south to its outlet in
Long Beach, under Interstate 710, past the
RMS Queen Mary, and into the
Port of Long Beach. ==History== Until the opening of the
Los Angeles Aqueduct in 1913, the Los Angeles River was the main water source for the
Los Angeles Basin. The river ran dry during the summers and flooded during winter months. Indigenous communities adapted to the climate surrounding the river, maximizing agricultural yields by rerouting the natural flow of the river and constructing water wheels along the river. After the Spanish established
Mission San Gabriel in 1771, they referred to the Tongva living in that mission's vicinity as
Gabrieleño.
Alta California In 1769, members of the
Portolá expedition to explore
Alta California were the first Europeans to see the river. On August 15, the party camped near the river, somewhere along the stretch just to the north of what is now the
Interstate 10 crossing near downtown Los Angeles. Fray
Juan Crespi, one of two
Franciscan missionaries traveling with Portolá, named it
el río de Nuestra Señora La Reina de Los Ángeles de Porciúncula. Crespi chose that name, because August 15 is the date of the yearly Catholic
feast day in honor of the
Virgin Mary's Assumption into Heaven and assuming the
role as Queen of the Angels, to which the small
Portiuncula chapel, where the Franciscan Order began in
Assisi, Italy, is dedicated. The river was thereafter referred to as the "Porciuncula River". In later years, the "Los Angeles" part of Crespi's lengthy name won out.
Possession by the United States Control of California, along with the rest of the northern part of the republic of Mexico, was wrested by the United States in the
Mexican-American War (1846-1848). California became a state in 1850, and the Los Angeles area began to boom the following year. Generations of settlers and city managers drained, rerouted, polluted and overpopulated the river and its watershed. The river was originally an
alluvial river that ran freely across a
flood plain that is now occupied by Los Angeles, Long Beach, and other townships in
Southern California. Its path was unstable and unpredictable, and the mouth of the river moved frequently from one place to another between Long Beach and Ballona Creek. Floods damaged extensive amounts of farmland, destroying houses and killing people and livestock. Severe flooding encouraged those living near the river to adapt and construct further away from the river in order to prevent loss from flooding. In the early 19th century, the river turned southwest after leaving the
Glendale Narrows, where it joined
Ballona Creek and discharged into
Santa Monica Bay in present Marina del Rey. However, this account is challenged by Col. J. J. Warner, in his
Historical Sketch of Los Angeles County:"...until 1825 it was seldom, if in any year, that the river discharged even during the rainy season its waters into the sea. Instead of having a river way to the sea, the waters spread over the country, filling the depressions in the surface and forming lakes, ponds and marshes. The river water, if any, that reached the ocean drained off from the land at so many places, and in such small volumes, that no channel existed until the flood of 1825, which, by cutting a river way to tide water, drained the marsh land and caused the forests to disappear."The river was long joined by the
San Gabriel River in present-day
Long Beach, but in the
Great Flood of 1862, the San Gabriel carved out a new course to the east, and has discharged into
Alamitos Bay ever since. The arrival of the railroad accelerated the advancement in urbanization, as various government bodies subdued the river by reducing its flow. Until the 1900s the river was known to supply enough water to incorporate a system of wells to be built in order to supply freshwater to the city.
20th century The
Los Angeles Aqueduct was opened in 1913. The heavy flow of the Los Angeles River presented many issues, as it began to get exploited as a sewer system. Along with these uses, populations surrounding the river often tossed feces and waste into the river, along with dead dogs and horses (and the occasional dead human), in hopes that they would get washed down stream and released to the open ocean waters.
War on Water Rights In the early 1920s, the
Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (led by the Los Angeles Board of Water and Power Commissioners) negotiated and gradually purchased almost all of
Owens Valley farms and their corresponding water rights. The farmers with the most water banded together to form the Owens Valley Irrigation District in order to try to secure a better deal. When the Owens Valley Irrigation District did not succeed, they created three smaller groups in order to try to bargain. These groups were turbulent in their efforts; resorting to violence, trying to get the attention of state and national press, and calling for politician interference to support their demands for more compensation. This conflict was so highly disputed that the national press referred to it as "California's Little Civil War." The
St. Francis Dam was built starting in 1924 (and through 1926), leading to the creation of a large reservoir in
San Francisquito Canyon, and provided water for Los Angeles. The dam collapsed in 1928. The 1930s in particular saw rapid urban development in areas prone to river flooding. The only portions of the river that are not paved over are in the flood-control basin behind the
Sepulveda Dam near
Van Nuys; an 11-mile (17.7-km) stretch east of
Griffith Park known as the
Glendale Narrows; and along its last few miles in Long Beach.
After World War II The river was dry for nine months of the year as late as the 1950s. According to an August 2013 article in the
Los Angeles Times, the water in the river today is largely "industrial and residential discharge," which originates from the "two giant pipes that collect the sewage from the homes of 800,000 San Fernando Valley residents" that lead to the
Tillman Water Reclamation Plant, "before crashing over a man-made waterfall into Lake Balboa. That body of water, along with two smaller ones, puts 23 million gallons of water a day into the river at Sepulveda Basin." ==Points of interest==