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68-545: The first competition the "Banjo Pickers and Open Fiddling Contest", created jointly by Margot Slocum and Margaret Jean "Peg" Engwall Benepe, was a music-only event held in 1961. Twenty-six Five-String Banjo Pickers, five Fiddlers, four Judges and five hundred fans attended that first gathering amid the California Scrub Oak of the Santa Monica Mountains . For the next eight years it was held on

136-483: A Pacific Electric car directly to the summit, but Henry E. Huntington did not approve of this scheme. The railway was to have four or five stations along the incline and a large visitor's center at the summit. Several months after the initial proposal, the route was altered to run up the west side of Verdugo Canyon from a hoped-for extension of the Pacific Electric up Verdugo Canyon to Montrose. Interest in

204-577: A barrier in the wildlife corridor between the Simi Hills to the north and the Santa Monica Mountains to the south. The National Park Service has recorded a dozen mountain lions struck and killed by motorists on this section of freeway since 2002 when they began a study. Mountain lions approach this particular area and turn back without attempting the hazardous crossing of the freeway as shown by GPS tracking collars fitted to them by

272-453: A fire frequency at a given site of no shorter than several decades, or perhaps longer, although there is variability in the tolerance of different species. Repeated shorter intervals between fires promote so-called "type conversion", in which the shrubby species are replaced by grasses, particularly non-native grasses, and other weedy species. The Verdugo Mountains have been subject to repeated wildfires in historical times. Major occurrences in

340-409: A particular fire regime , which is characterized by intensity and seasonality, but most importantly, by the frequency of fires. In the southern California chaparral, natural frequencies of 30 to 40 years are typical, with some areas going as long as 100 years without fires and others burning more frequently. It has been estimated the chaparral plant community can persist over the long term only with

408-790: A power line downed by high winds, burned from the northern edge of the range southward over to crest to consume homes in Glendale. A fire in November, 1980, also called the La Tuna Canyon Fire, burned 10,000 acres (4,000 ha) in the northern and western portions of the range. Since 2000, three major fires have occurred in the Verdugo Mountains. In September, 2002, the Mountain Fire burned over two days approximately 750 acres (300 ha) above Glendale, largely on

476-671: A westward extension of the Santa Monicas into the Pacific Ocean . The range was created by repeated episodes of uplifting and submergence by the Raymond Fault , which created complex layers of sedimentary rock, some containing fossils of invertebrates and fish. Volcanic intrusions have been exposed, including the poorly named andesitic "Sandstone Peak", which is the highest point in the range at 3,111 feet (948 m). Malibu Creek , which eroded its own channel while

544-400: Is a rare species of succulent plant known by the common name "Verity's liveforever". This species is endemic to Ventura County and is found only on one edge of the Santa Monica Mountains, where it occurs in coastal sage scrub habitat. The most common trees in the mountains are oak and sycamore. The California black walnut , endemic to California, grows on the northern side of the mountains in

612-626: Is an invasive species found in the Santa Monica Mountains, that pose a serious threat to native species, complicating efforts to improve stream-water quality for the endangered steelhead . Within a period of four years, the snails expanded from their first known population in Medea Creek in Agoura Hills to nearly 30 other stream sites. Researchers at the Santa Monica Bay Restoration Commission believe

680-642: Is approximately 8 miles (13 km) long by 3.25 miles (5.23 km) wide, and roughly parallels the southern front of the San Gabriel Mountains at a distance of 1 mile (1.6 km) to 2 miles (3.2 km), with the Crescenta Valley lying between the two. The southern front of the range forms part of the northeastern boundary of the San Fernando Valley ; at their southeastern end the Verdugo Mountains are separated from

748-477: Is challenged because the Santa Monica Mountains are isolated and not big enough for weaned cubs to find their own territory. The primary cause of the decline is due to a combination of traffic-related mortality, anti-coagulants ingested from human poisoned prey, and attacks by other, more dominant mountain lions. The Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing will bridge the Ventura Freeway which acts as

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816-484: Is home to the southern steelhead trout , which is an endangered species. Snakes are common but only occasionally seen: the Southern Pacific rattlesnake (the only venomous species), mountain kingsnake, California kingsnake , gopher snake , and garter snake . The mountains are also home to the western fence lizard and the coastal whiptail . The population of red-legged frogs is small and isolated, and

884-583: Is located within the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area . The area was purchased by the U.S. National Park Service in 1980. The Rosewood Trail near Stagecoach Inn , which leads to Angel Vista is an access point in Newbury Park. At the eastern end of the Santa Monica Mountains are Griffith Park and Elysian Park . Griffith Park is separated from the rest of the Santa Monica Mountains to

952-645: Is now the Verdugo Hills Golf Course. The Verdugo Mountains were named for Jose Maria Verdugo , holder of the Rancho San Rafael land grant , which covered the mountains during California's Spanish and Mexican periods . On October 20, 1784 Pedro Fages , the military governor of Alta California , granted Jose Maria Verdugo permission to use the rancho, known officially by the name San Rafael but informally called "La Zanja" by Verdugo. The rancho's boundaries were primarily defined by

1020-770: Is one of the most visited natural areas in California. The range extends approximately 40 miles (64 km) east-west from the Hollywood Hills in Los Angeles to Point Mugu in Ventura County . The western mountains, separating the Conejo Valley from Malibu , suddenly end at Mugu Peak as the rugged, nearly impassible shoreline gives way to tidal lagoons and coastal sand dunes of the alluvial Oxnard Plain . The mountain range contributed to

1088-590: The Californian Native American cultures of the Tongva and Chumash people. The mountains were part of their regional homelands for over eight thousand years before the arrival of the Spanish . The Spanish mission system had a dramatic impact on their culture, and by 1831 their population had dropped from over 22,000 to under 3,000. Geologists consider the northern Channel Islands to be

1156-690: The Los Angeles County Fire Department began a county-wide program of building fire breaks (or more properly, fuel breaks ) to slow the spread of fire, and by 1923 the initial breaks had been constructed in the Verdugos. In 1934, the City of Glendale built a 60-foot lookout tower on Verdugo Peak, which was staffed with an observer until it closed in the mid-1950s. In order to conduct the work necessary to build fire breaks and roads, temporary construction camps were located throughout

1224-705: The National Park Service , the California State Parks , and County and Municipal agencies. The Santa Monica Mountains face pressure from local populations as a desirable residential area, and in the parks as a recreational retreat and wild place that's increasingly rare in urban Los Angeles . In 2014 the California Coastal Commission and the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved

1292-715: The San Rafael Hills by the Verdugo Wash . The highest summit is the informally named Verdugo Peak (3,126 feet (953 m)), located near the center of the range and rising to approximately 2,200 feet (670 m) above its southern base. Other peaks include Tongva Peak (2,656 feet ), recently named in honor of the Tongva (Gabrielino) people, the original inhabitants of much of the Los Angeles Basin , Santa Monica Mountains , and San Gabriel Valley areas. Other informally named peaks are Mount La Tuna on

1360-467: The Shadow Hills neighborhood at the extreme northwestern end of the Verdugos are typically marine sedimentary rocks of Miocene age, predominantly sandstone and shale . The Verdugo Mountains are part of the western Transverse Ranges , which have risen in the last 7 million years as the result of contractional deformation resulting from transpressional motion and rotation of crustal blocks in

1428-744: The chaparral plant community, as defined by Munz and later authors, including Sawyer et al. This dense, shrub-dominated community of the California chaparral and woodlands is more highly developed on the north-facing slopes than on the drier, hotter south-facing slopes. Among the shrub species that characterize this community, prominent in the Verdugos are laurel sumac ( Malosma laurina ), toyon ( Heteromeles arbutifolia ), poison oak ( Toxicodendron diversilobum ), chamise ( Adenostoma fasciculatum ) and two species of California-lilac ( Ceanothus crassifolius and Ceanothus oliganthus ). Native trees are restricted to protected canyons, especially on

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1496-627: The "Big Bend" region of the San Andreas Fault . The amount of crustal shortening since the beginning of the Pliocene has been estimated to be on the order of 7 kilometers (4.3 mi). The Verdugo fault and Sierra Madre thrust are part of a complex system of faults that accommodate some of this shortening and generally become younger to the south, with the Verdugo Fault possibly being the youngest member of this system and forming

1564-595: The 1955 La Tuna Canyon fire, however, indicates that at least some of these roads were in place by that date. The Verdugo Mountains are being considered as part of the proposed Rim of the Valley Corridor National Park . Other than the Foothill Freeway (I-210) and the nearly parallel La Tuna Canyon Road, both of which traverse only the northwestern tip of the range, the Verdugo Mountains are crossed by no paved roads. By contrast,

1632-597: The Los Angeles neighborhoods of Tujunga, Sunland , Shadow Hills , and Sun Valley (the last of which includes La Tuna Canyon). The Verdugo Mountains consist of an east-west-trending antiformal fault block , bounded on the south by the Verdugo Fault, a north-dipping reverse fault , and on the north by the Sierra Madre thrust fault near the front of the San Gabriel Mountains, thus including

1700-1070: The Santa Monica Mountains Local Coastal Program, a land-use plan that will distinguish between the private lands that need strict protection and property that could be developed in strict conformance with this detailed plan. Over twenty individual state and municipal parks are in the Santa Monica Mountains, including: Topanga State Park , Leo Carrillo State Park , Malibu Creek State Park , Point Mugu State Park , Will Rogers State Historic Park , Point Dume State Beach , Griffith Park , Marvin Braude Mulholland Gateway Park , Charmlee Wilderness Park , Franklin Canyon Park , Runyon Canyon Park , King Gillette Ranch Park , and Paramount Ranch Park . The Satwiwa Native American Indian Culture Center in Newbury Park, California

1768-561: The Santa Monica Mountains are part of the Los Angeles River watershed. Beginning at the western end of the San Fernando Valley , the river runs to the north of the mountains. After passing between the range and the Verdugo Mountains it flows south around Elysian Park , defining the easternmost extent of the mountains. The Santa Monica Mountains have more than 1,000 archeology sites of significance, primarily from

1836-471: The Santa Monica Mountains, when the fuels, seasonal drought, wind, and terrain combine with an ignition, a major wildfire occurs. These fires are large, wind-driven canopy fires that consume the above ground vegetation and often cause major property damage and home losses. In 2018, the Woolsey Fire burned through 88% of the federal parkland resulting in trails being closed for months. The fire, which

1904-463: The Valley and Griffith Park. Other species include willow and alder (along stream courses) and bay laurel. Several species of ferns (including large sword ferns) are found in wetter, shady areas throughout the range, especially near streams. Many invasive weeds have colonized the mountain habitats which can bring about significant changes in the ecosystems by altering the native plant communities and

1972-537: The Verdugo Mountains, the Arroyo Seco and the Los Angeles River , with the boundary following north along the east bank of the river and wrapping westerly around Griffith Park to a point near the Travel Town Museum in the park. One of the earliest attempts to access and develop the interior of the Verdugo Mountains was the 1912 proposal by Colonel Lewis Ginger to build a cable incline railroad to

2040-569: The area. White-tailed kites , Bald Eagles , Golden Eagles , and Burrowing Owls have also been sighted. In addition to these residential species, many bird species pass through the Santa Monica Mountains as they travel along the Pacific Flyway including Brown Pelicans , Rufous Hummingbirds , Canada Geese , Bonaparte's Gulls , and Elegant Terns . Native fish found in the Santa Monica Mountains include tidewater gobies, arroyo chub , and pacific lamprey . Additionally, Malibu creek

2108-483: The cable railway continued for about a year, but the project was abandoned before a company could be formed, largely as the result of the Pacific Electric's decision not to build the Montrose extension. Fire is a natural component of the chaparral ecosystem, and the plants that comprise it are largely adapted to survive fire or to reproduce after it. More specifically, the members of this plant community are adapted to

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2176-480: The crest. Annual rainfall totals are highly variable from year to year, with the higher totals usually in El Nino years. Most of the rain falls between November and March during periodic frontal passages. The mountains were part of the indigenous Tongva people 's homelands for over 7,000 years, with villages at some springs in the canyons. The village of Wikangna was located in the area, possibly located at what

2244-640: The current boundary between this portion of the western Transverse Ranges and the Los Angeles basin. Uplift along the Verdugo fault may total approximately 2.5 km (1.6 mi), at a minimum rate of 1.1 km (0.68 mi) per million years since 2.3 million years ago, moving the crystalline rocks of the Verdugo Mountains up and over younger Tertiary and Quaternary sediments to the south. The Verdugo Mountains are, therefore, young and rapidly rising, reflected in their steep topography and rapid rates of erosion. The Verdugo Mountains lie almost entirely within

2312-656: The east to Leo Carrillo State Park in the west. Communities along the north slope of the mountains include (from east to west): Communities along the south slope of the mountains include (from east to west): Verdugo Mountains The Verdugo Mountains , also known as the Verdugo Hills or simply The Verdugos , are a small, rugged mountain range of the Transverse Ranges system in Los Angeles County, California . Located just south of

2380-459: The eastern part of the range, where trees are usually restricted to the stream courses. On January 17, 2007, an unusually cold storm brought snow in the Santa Monica Mountains. The hills above Malibu picked up three inches (eight centimeters) of snow - the first measurable snow in fifty years. Snow was reported on Boney Peak in the winter of 2005; and in March 2006, snow also fell on the summit of

2448-422: The federal parkland. The fire, which was three times larger than the biggest fire ever before in the mountains, burned over 40% of the natural area in the Santa Monicas. The fire created a challenge to native plants as black mustard with bright yellow flowers quickly established itself as a wet winter followed the fire. The mustard plants will also provide fuel for the next fires. The New Zealand mud snail

2516-492: The fire roads and, most notably, in the Fire Warden's Grove, established in the wake of a wildfire in 1927. Except for a tenuous link to the large wild area in the San Gabriel Mountains through Big Tujunga Wash at their northwestern end, the Verdugo Mountains are an urban wildlife island completely surrounded by development. Among the large mammals, coyote ( Canis latrans ) and mule deer ( Odocoileus hemionus ) are

2584-401: The fire-prone areas of the county. In the Verdugo Mountains, Construction Camp #2 was located in the lower reaches of Deer Canyon, at the end of present-day Beaudry Blvd, for a period during the late 1930s and early 1940s. It is difficult to determine from published sources the dates of construction for the fire roads so important to present-day recreational use of the mountains. The report of

2652-460: The form of undeveloped parkland. The mountains are used primarily for recreation in the form of hiking and mountain biking, and as the site of communications installations on the highest peaks. The mountains arise directly from the eastern floor of the San Fernando Valley , exaggerating their height from some vantages. Beginning with foothills, they rapidly rise to rugged sections, with the highest peaks topping 3,000'. The northwest-trending range

2720-794: The grounds of the 1920s-era "Camp Wildwood" until a 1969 city ordinance forced a move to large venues. The next nineteen years saw the festival move around Southern California until finally landing at its current location at the Paramount Ranch near Agoura Hills, California , near its origins. The Topanga Banjo•Fiddle Contest was the forerunner of many folk art festivals. Many of Topanga's contestants have gone on to become professional musicians. Numerous stars and musicians have participated, including Jackson Browne , David Lindley , Taj Mahal , John Hartford , Byron Berline , Dan Crary , Frank Hamilton , Erik Darling , John Hickman , Stuart Duncan , Peter Tork and Steve Martin . A virtual contest

2788-756: The highway. Sepulveda Pass is the main north–south pass to the west, connecting the Westside to Sherman Oaks via the San Diego Freeway ( I-405 ) and Sepulveda Boulevard . Other passes between the Sepulveda and Cahuenga passes include: Laurel Canyon Boulevard , Coldwater Canyon Avenue , and Beverly Glen Boulevard . West of the Sepulveda Pass are Topanga Canyon Boulevard ( SR 27 ), Malibu Canyon Road , Kanan Road/Kanan Dume Road , and Decker Canyon Road . Mulholland Drive runs much of

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2856-461: The inland ranges. The range is host to a variety of wildlife. Common mammals in the range include mule deer , coyotes , bobcats , striped skunks , raccoons , several native bat species, brush rabbits , and many rodents including California voles , western gray squirrels , dusky-footed and desert woodrats , western harvest and California pocket mice , Botta's pocket gophers , and pacific kangaroo rats. The mountain lions population

2924-476: The isolation of this vast coastal plain before regular transportation routes reached western Ventura County. The eastern mountains form a barrier between the San Fernando Valley and the Los Angeles Basin , separating "the Valley" on the north and west-central Los Angeles on the south. The Santa Monica Mountains are parallel to the Santa Susana Mountains , which are located directly north of

2992-448: The length of the Santa Monica Mountains, from Cahuenga Pass to Woodland Hills , although it is not open to motor vehicles west of Encino . The Mulholland Highway runs from Woodland Hills to Sequit Point at the Pacific Ocean . The eastern end of the range, located in the City of Los Angeles, is more intensively developed than the western end. The city of Malibu runs between the coast and the leading mountain ridge, from Topanga Canyon in

3060-594: The more dominant, older males. P-22 was a wild mountain lion residing in Griffith Park in the eastern end of the range, until his death in 2022. A three to four year old black bear was captured, examined, and collared in 2023. Designated BB-12, he was probably the only bear in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area and it was estimated that he has been living there for two years. In July 2023, BB-12

3128-496: The most common; mountain lions ( Puma concolor ) and black bears ( Ursus americanus ) have occasionally been reported. The many rodent species support a population of western rattlesnakes ( Crotalus viridis ). Of the numerous bird species present, the most characteristic of the chaparral here, and throughout California, is the small, seldom seen but often heard wrentit ( Chamaea fasciata ). With its call of three or four chirps followed by an accelerating trill, often likened to

3196-529: The mountain. Snow also fell on the peak of Boney Peak in late December 2008. The latest recorded snowfall in the area was in February 2019, when an unusual amount of snowfall accumulated in low passes in the mountains. That storm system also brought rare snowfall to the Los Angeles area. Heavy graupel was recorded in Malibu Canyon on January 23, 2021. It accumulated as low as 400 feet in elevation. In

3264-542: The mountains across the San Fernando Valley. The range is of moderate height, with no particularly craggy or prominent peaks outside the Sandstone Peak and Boney Mountains area. While often rugged and wild, the range hosts a substantial amount of human activity and development. Houses, roads, businesses, and recreational centers are dotted throughout the Santa Monica Mountains. A number of creeks in

3332-479: The mountains surrounding the Conejo , San Fernando , Simi , and Crescenta Valleys . With trailheads in the mountains and valleys, it would link them through existing and new: walking, hiking, equestrian, and mountain biking trails; parklands; and conservation easements . The Rim of the Valley project also has the goal to protect flora and fauna habitats and wildlife corridors between the Santa Monica Mountains and

3400-443: The mountains were slowly uplifted, bisects the mountain range. The Santa Monica Mountains have dry summers with frequent coastal fog on the ocean (south) side of the range and rainy, cooler winters. In the summer, the climate is quite dry (except for the coastal fog), which makes the range prone to wildfires , especially during dry "Santa Ana" wind events. Snow is unusual in the Santa Monica Mountains, since they are not as high as

3468-502: The nearby San Gabriel Mountains . The lower slopes of the range average between 15 and 20 inches (380 and 510 mm) of rain per year, while the higher slopes of the central and western Santa Monica Mountains average 22 to 27 inches (560 to 690 mm) of rain per year. The bulk of the rain falls between November and March. The higher rainfall in the central and western parts of the range results in more widespread woodlands (with oak, sycamore, walnut, bay laurel, alder and other trees) than

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3536-421: The north end and Mount Thom on the south end of the range. With the exception of Mount La Tuna, all these summits, as well as several others, are occupied by communications towers. The Verdugo Mountains lie within the corporate boundaries of the cities of Glendale , Burbank , and Los Angeles . The neighborhood of La Crescenta , most of which lies within Glendale, is adjacent to the range's northern end, as are

3604-494: The processes that support them. These non-native plants include annual Mediterranean grasses , Spanish broom ( Genista juncea ), and yellow starthistle ( Centaurea solstitialis ). In creekside riparian habitats are found plants such as giant cane ( Arundo donax ), German ivy ( Delairea odorata ), blue periwinkle ( Vinca major ), and ivy ( Hedera spp. ). More frequent fires have created conditions favorable to invasive plants. The 2018 Woolsey Fire burned through 88% of

3672-411: The range contains more than 25 miles (40 km) of graded and well maintained fire roads that are used extensively by hikers and mountain bike riders. Several abandoned and overgrown fire roads and ridge-top fire breaks are used recreationally as well. Trails, in the sense of engineered and maintained footpaths, are few, the most notable being the 2.2 mile (3.5 km)-long La Tuna Canyon Trail, which

3740-412: The researchers. In 2020, wildlife biologists found the first evidence of physical abnormalities in the isolated population. Newcomers would bring new genetic material into the mountains where the lack of genetic diversity is a serious threat to their long-term survival. It would allow young mountain lions, born in the Santa Monicas, a chance to find a new territory before possibly being killed by one of

3808-804: The sediment-covered Crescenta Valley within the Verdugo Mountains Block. The Verdugo Fault lies slightly south of the topographic range front and is completely covered by sediments. The rocks within the Verdugo Mountains block are almost entirely igneous and metamorphic similar to the crystalline basement rocks exposed to the north in that portion of the San Gabriel Mountains south of the San Gabriel Fault. These consist of gneiss , and gneissic diorite and quartz diorite , intruded by irregular bodies of equigranular granitic rocks, predominantly quartz diorite and granodiorite , with accompanying pegmatite and aplite . Exposed rocks in

3876-541: The shadier north slope of the range, where soil moisture levels are higher. Coast live oak ( Quercus agrifolia ), California bay laurel ( Umbellularia californica ), California sycamore ( Platanus racemosa ), California walnut ( Juglans californica ), and several species of willow ( Salix spp.) are the most common native trees. Non-native trees, particularly pines ( Pinus spp.), cypress ( Cupressus spp.), locust ( Robinia pseudoacacia ), and Australian eucalyptus ( Eucalyptus spp.) have been planted locally along

3944-519: The snails' expansion may have been expedited after the mollusks traveled from stream to stream on the gear of contractors and volunteers. Cahuenga Pass , present-day site of U.S. Route 101 , is the easiest pass through the range connecting the Los Angeles Basin to the San Fernando Valley . In the 1800s, two battles were fought there, and the Treaty of Cahuenga was signed nearby. In Hollywood's heyday, movie studios were found clustered on both sides of

4012-417: The sound of a dropped ping-pong ball, the wrentit provides the most characteristic sound of the chaparral. The Verdugo Mountains have warm, dry summers and cool wet winters. Snow infrequently falls along the crest during the coldest winter storms, but melts rapidly. Annual average precipitation increases with elevation (due to the orographic lift effect), from 17-21 inches at the base to about 24–28 inches at

4080-535: The southern side of the range. The Harvard Fire started on September 29, 2005, and consumed 1,024 acres (414 ha) both north and south sides of the range north of Burbank during a six-day period. In September, 2017, the La Tuna fire started north of the Verdugos, jumping Interstate 210 forcing the closure of it, burning both the north and south face of the ranges. The fire ultimately destroyed four homes and 7,003 acres (2,834 ha) of land. Beginning in 1921,

4148-553: The summit of Mount Verdugo, now known as Mount Thom. The proposed Glendale & Verdugo Mountain Railway was to run in a straight line from the Pacific Electric's Casa Verdugo station at the top of Brand Boulevard to the summit of Mount Verdugo, employing cars with stepped seating similar to those of Angels Flight on Bunker Hill in Los Angeles. Initially, Colonel Ginger had proposed that his cable railway would lift

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4216-617: The twentieth century include the December, 1927 Burbank Canyon Fire, which started in Haines Canyon in the San Gabriel Mountains and burned south into the range, consuming approximately 100 homes in Burbank's Sunset Canyon. The La Tuna Canyon Fire of November, 1955 burned over almost the entire western portion of the range, ultimately destroying approximately 4,500 acres (1,800 ha). The Whiting Woods Fire of March, 1964, started by

4284-624: The west by the Cahuenga Pass , over which the 101 Freeway (also called the Hollywood Freeway) passes from the San Fernando Valley into Hollywood . Elysian Park is in the easternmost part of the mountains and is bordered by the Los Angeles River to the east and Downtown Los Angeles nearby to the south. The Rim of the Valley Trail is a plan in progress for accessing and connecting the parkland and recreational areas of

4352-504: The western San Gabriel Mountains , the Verdugo Mountains region incorporates the cities of Burbank , Glendale , Pasadena , and La Cañada Flintridge ; the unincorporated communities of Altadena and La Crescenta-Montrose ; as well as the City of Los Angeles neighborhood of Sunland-Tujunga . Surrounded entirely by urban development, the Verdugo Mountains represent an isolated wildlife island and are in large part under public ownership in

4420-635: Was held in 2020. 34°06′17″N 118°42′33″W  /  34.1047°N 118.7091°W  / 34.1047; -118.7091 This music festival-related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Santa Monica Mountains The Santa Monica Mountains are a coastal mountain range in Southern California , next to the Pacific Ocean . It is part of the Transverse Ranges . The Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area encompasses this mountain range. Because of its proximity to densely populated regions, it

4488-461: Was impacted by the Woolsey Fire that swept through the area in November 2018. The Santa Monica Mountains are in the California chaparral and woodlands ecoregion , and includes the California oak woodland and southern coastal sage scrub plant community , and are covered by hundreds of local plant species, some of which are very rare or endemic , and others which are widespread and have become popular horticultural ornamentals. Dudleya verityi

4556-782: Was killed while crossing the 101 Freeway. This is not uncommon for animals living in and around the Santa Monica Mountains; a common cause of bobcat and mountain lion fatalities is being struck by vehicles. Over 380 native bird species call the Santa Monica Mountains home. Abundant native song birds species include the Bushtit , California Scrub Jay , House Finch , Lesser Goldfinch , Cliff Swallow , Red-winged Blackbird , Oak Titmouse , Song Sparrow , California Towhee , Spotted Towhee , House Wren , and Black Phoebe . Red-Tailed Hawks , Sharp-shinned Hawks , Red-shouldered Hawks , Northern Harriers , American Kestrels , Great Horned Owls , and Western Screech-Owls are among common raptors in

4624-431: Was three times larger than the biggest fire ever before in the mountains, burned over 40% of the natural area in the Santa Monicas. A restoration plan was developed to plant 100,000 trees, shrubs and grasses of 25 different species. Much of the mountains are located within the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area . Preservation of lands within the region are managed by the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy ,

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