The Rio Hondo ( Spanish : Río Hondo , meaning "Deep River") is a tributary of the Los Angeles River in Los Angeles County, California , approximately 16.4 miles (26.4 km) long. As a named river, it begins in Irwindale and flows southwest to its confluence in South Gate , passing through several cities (though not the city of Los Angeles ). Above Irwindale its main stem is known as Santa Anita Creek , which extends another 10 miles (16 km) northwards into the San Gabriel Mountains where the source, or headwaters , of the river are found.
19-674: Santa Fe Trail Historical Park , also called Pioneer Park , is located on the bank of the Rio Hondo River in El Monte, California . The location was designated a California Historic Landmark (No. 975) on Aug. 13, 1987. This was originally an encampment on the Old Spanish Trail. The Old Spanish Trail was an extension of the trail from Missouri to Santa Fe, New Mexico . The Gila River trail also ended in El Monte. By
38-704: A ceremony to dedicate the Santa Fe Trail Historical Park on June 2, 1989. El Monte built the (now closed) Santa Fe Trail Historical Park in 1989, near Valley Blvd and Santa Anita Ave. The one-acre park has two historic structures and a covered wagon. The park is on the west side of Santa Anita Avenue, just a few blocks north of the Interstate 10 in California freeway and south of the El Monte City Hall. Soon after it opened,
57-565: A rifle and pistol shooting range, numerous softball and soccer fields with picnic tables, a paved airstrip for radio-controlled hobby aircraft, a tether car race track, a USA BMX race track, and a connector trail between the Class I Rio Hondo bicycle path and the San Gabriel River bicycle path . The park is roughly bordered by Garvey Avenue and San Gabriel Blvd to the north and west and Durfee Avenue and Santa Anita/Merced Avenues to
76-1076: Is a narrows or water gap in the San Gabriel Valley of Los Angeles County, California , United States, between the Puente Hills to the east and the Montebello Hills to the west. The gap is located at the southern boundary of the San Gabriel Valley, through which the Rio Hondo and the San Gabriel River flow to enter the Los Angeles Basin . The Narrows is located near the convergence of Interstate 605 (the San Gabriel River Freeway) and California State Route 60 (the Pomona Freeway). The Tongva village of Shevaanga
95-570: The Greater Los Angeles Area with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII ( Severe ). In October 2008, a proposed new interpretive center drew controversy over the potential destruction of a large amount of existing wildlife habitat. The Whittier Narrows Recreation Area is a 1,500-acre (6.1 km ) multi-use facility, mostly in an unincorporated part of Los Angeles County , containing North Lake, Center Lake, and Legg Lake (where radio-controlled model speedboats may be operated),
114-791: The 1850s, those in El Monte started to call the town the `End of the Santa Fe Trail." This claim is disputed by some, such as the Santa Fe in New Mexico . In the 1800s permanent settlements were established by immigrants from Texas and Arkansas , the first settlement in Southern California founded by citizens of the United States. The state marker for the Santa Fe Trail Historical Park is located at 3564 Santa Anita Ave, El Monte, CA 91731. The City of El Monte held
133-582: The San Gabriel River north of the Narrows. Franciscan missionary Juan Crespi noted in his diary, "We started out in the morning through the gap of the valley of San Miguel [now San Gabriel], which is very full of trees. We traveled a long while to the southwest on the edge of the stream, which, rising from a copious spring of water in the same gap, merits now the name of river; its plain is covered with willows and some slender cotton woods." From
152-605: The San Gabriel to change course, which it retains at present. The old San Gabriel was renamed the Rio Hondo after this flood. In Downey, California , the Rio Hondo was once known as the "Old River", because it was the old course of the San Gabriel River. The Old River School was named for it, and Old River School Road was named for the school. The "New River" is the present course of the San Gabriel River. The Rio Hondo College and Rio Hondo Preparatory School were named after
171-733: The appearance of a necklace if viewed from above. The project garnered broad support from organizations such as the Sierra Club along with the governments of the many cities the rivers pass through. Most of the Rio Hondo is a concrete-lined channel to serve its primary flood control function, but in two places the river flows over open ground: the Peck Road Water Conservation Park, and the Whittier Narrows Recreation Area. Large spreading grounds for water conservation surround much of
190-566: The exploration Mission Vieja was built at Whittier Narrows in 1771. A flood in 1776 caused Mission Vieja to move to Mission San Gabriel Arcángel in San Gabriel. Whittier Narrows was the meeting point for boundary corners of several land-grant ranchos , created during the Spanish-Mexican era, including the Rancho Paso de Bartolo . On October 1, 1987 at 7:42 a.m. PDT, the 5.9 M w Whittier Narrows earthquake affected
209-534: The outlet works at Whittier Narrows Dam can direct water to either channel, or runoff can be stored. The Rio Hondo and San Gabriel River have both been part of a revitalization program called the Emerald Necklace. The goal of this program is to create a "necklace" of parks and reclaimed wild spaces with the two rivers. They are connected by a narrow strip in Irwindale and by Whittier Narrows to give them
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#1732779547683228-400: The park closed. The land was cleared in 2023 to begin construction on a new park. The El Monte Historical Museum at 3150 Tyler Avenue showcases the Santa Fe Trail and El Monte's Historical importance to Southern California. The state marker reads: Rio Hondo (California) The Rio Hondo has sometimes been described as a second channel of the San Gabriel River . For much of its length,
247-409: The reservoir at the Peck Road Water Conservation Park and continues along the channel to Whittier Narrows Recreation Area. The trail is 15.6 miles long. Allowed uses include hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding and walking dogs on leash. There is also bird and wildlife watching. From mouth to source (year built in parentheses): Bosque del Rio Hondo Natural Area The Whittier Narrows
266-490: The river, and its bike paths are very popular. The river passes through the location of the Battle of Rio San Gabriel , fought on January 8, 1847, and which resulted in a U.S. victory. Although the battle was actually fought on the west bank of the present-day Rio Hondo near where it is crossed by Washington Boulevard, the battle is named after the San Gabriel, which at that time flowed along these banks. A flood in 1867 caused
285-527: The river. In what is now the Bosque del Rio Hondo Natural Area , Marrano Beach was born on the riverfront property of El Rancho de Don Daniel, a Mexican land grant from the nineteenth century that had belonged the Repetto-Alvarado family, a prominent family of California land owners. El Rancho de Don Daniel encompassed riparian wetlands and ponds surrounding the Rio Hondo, which flowed year-round, and
304-720: The rivers flow parallel to each other about two miles (3 km) apart. Both rivers pass through the Whittier Narrows , a natural gap in the hills which form the southern boundary of the San Gabriel Valley . Here, both rivers are impounded by the Whittier Narrows Dam , which the Army Corps of Engineers describes as, "the central element of the Los Angeles County Drainage Area (LACDA) flood control system". During major storms,
323-429: The seasonal Mission Creek. With few opportunities for respite after toiling in the fields, Mexican-American residents of the local barrios cultivated recreational lifestyles around this section of the river and embraced it as a bucolic resource for community and family activities. The Rio Hondo River Trail is a multi-use trail that runs parallel to Rio Hondo through the San Gabriel Valley. The northern end starts along
342-890: The south and east. A convenient point of access is the Rosemead Blvd ( State Route 19 ) exit south from the Pomona (60) Freeway . Within the Recreation Area is the Whittier Narrows Nature Center, which contains exhibits about the plants and animals of the river environment, including live displays. The center offers public programs, lectures, ranger tours and education programs. Dragon sculptures by Benjamin Dominquez can be seen here; others are at Laguna de San Gabriel Nautical Playground at Vincent Lugo Park in San Gabriel. The Whittier Narrows Dam
361-546: Was located in the northern areas of the Whittier Narrows. The first European land exploration of Alta California , the Spanish Portolá expedition , traversed Whittier Narrows on its return journey to San Diego . He wrote that the natives "presented us fish, hare, nuts, pine nuts, acorns, and other seeds prepared after their fashion". On the outbound journey, the party had followed San Jose Creek, reaching
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