Ballona Creek
Encyclopedia
Ballona Creek is an 8.8 miles (14.2 km) waterway in southwestern Los Angeles County, California
, whose watershed drains the Los Angeles basin, from the Santa Monica Mountains
on the north, the Harbor Freeway (110) on the east, and the Baldwin Hills on the south. It heads in the historical Rancho Las Cienegas
and flows through Culver City
and the Del Rey
district before emptying into Santa Monica Bay
between the Marina del Rey
and Playa del Rey
districts.
, Tongva people existed as hunters and gatherers in small villages throughout the Ballona Creek watershed and other parts of the Los Angeles basin. Native American culture faded with the arrival of Spanish explorers. Around 1820, a mestizo rancher named Augustine Machado began grazing his cattle on the Ballona wetlands and claimed a fourteen-thousand acre Mexican land grant that stretched from modern-day Culver City to Pico Blvd. in Santa Monica. Ballona Creek and Lagoon are named for the Ballona or Paseo de las Carretas land grant, dated November 27, 1839. The Machado and Talamantes families, co-grantees of the rancho, heralded from Baiona
in northern Spain. After the land grant claims were lost, the area then experienced rapid growth, with open land being transformed into agricultural use.
include Centinela Creek, Sepulveda Canyon Channel and Benedict Canyon Channel; most of the creek's minor tributaries have been obliterated by development or paved over and flow into Ballona Creek as a network of underground storm drains
.
At the time of Spanish settlement, the Los Angeles River
turned to the west just south of present-day Bunker Hill
, joining Ballona Creek just to the west of its current channel. However, during a major flood in 1825, the Los Angeles River's course changed to its present channel, and Ballona Creek became a completely distinct waterway. Much of the above-ground section of the creek was lined with concrete as part of the flood-control project undertaken by the United States Army Corps of Engineers
following the Los Angeles Flood of 1938
.
Ballona Creek Watershed climate can be characterized as Mediterranean with average annual rainfall of approximately 15 inches per year over most of the developed portions of the watershed. The flow rate in the Creek varies considerably from a trickle flow of about 14 cubic foot (0.396435858 m³) per second during dry weather to 71400 cubic feet (2,021.8 m³) per second during a 50-year storm event.. Ballona Wetlands
and Del Rey Lagoon are connected to the Ballona Estuary through tide gates.
and despite historic degradation, conditions are improving. Wetland flora includes pickleweed, marsh heather, saltgrass, arrowgrass and glasswort, and a variety of upland and exotic species including brome, iceplant, oxalis, and ryegrass. Bird species of special interest observed in the reserve include nesting pairs of Belding’s Savannah Sparrow
(Passerculus rostratus/sandwichensis beldingi) and foraging use by California Least Tern
s (Sterna antillarum browni).
, and pesticides. Dry weather urban runoff
and storm water, both conveyed by storm drains, are the primary sources of pollutions
in the Creek.
that extends almost seven miles from National Boulevard in Culver City to the end of Ballona Creek Estuary provides opportunities for recreation in the area. Ballona Creek Estuary and Ballona Wetlands provide habitat to many species of waterfowls
, shorebirds, and waders
.
Los Angeles County, California
Los Angeles County is a county in the U.S. state of California. As of 2010 U.S. Census, the county had a population of 9,818,605, making it the most populous county in the United States. Los Angeles County alone is more populous than 42 individual U.S. states...
, whose watershed drains the Los Angeles basin, from the Santa Monica Mountains
Santa Monica Mountains
The Santa Monica Mountains are a Transverse Range in Southern California, along the coast of the Pacific Ocean in the United States.-Geography:...
on the north, the Harbor Freeway (110) on the east, and the Baldwin Hills on the south. It heads in the historical Rancho Las Cienegas
Rancho Las Cienegas
Rancho Las Cienegas was a Mexican land grant in present day Los Angeles County, California given in 1823 to Francisco Avila. "La Cienega" is derived from the Spanish word cienaga, which means swamp or marshland and refers to the natural springs and wetlands in the area between the Baldwin Hills...
and flows through Culver City
Culver City, California
Culver City is a city in western Los Angeles County, California. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 38,883, up from 38,816 at the 2000 census. It is mostly surrounded by the city of Los Angeles, but also shares a border with unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County. Culver...
and the Del Rey
Del Rey, Los Angeles, California
Del Rey is a small district in the Westside of Los Angeles.-Geography and Transportation:Del Rey takes its name from the nearby Del Rey salt marshes, and sits on low ground on the banks of Ballona Creek...
district before emptying into Santa Monica Bay
Santa Monica Bay
Santa Monica Bay is a bight of the Pacific Ocean in southern California, United States. Its boundaries are slightly ambiguous, but it is generally considered to be the part of the Pacific within an imaginary line drawn between Point Dume, in Malibu, and the Palos Verdes Peninsula. Its eastern...
between the Marina del Rey
Marina del Rey, California
-Demographics:-2010:The 2010 United States Census reported that Marina del Rey had a population of 8,866. The population density was 6,094.6 people per square mile...
and Playa del Rey
Playa del Rey, Los Angeles, California
Playa del Rey is a beachside community within the city of Los Angeles, California. It has a ZIP code of 90293 and area codes of 310 and 424...
districts.
History
During the Pre-Columbian eraPre-Columbian era
The pre-Columbian era incorporates all period subdivisions in the history and prehistory of the Americas before the appearance of significant European influences on the American continents, spanning the time of the original settlement in the Upper Paleolithic period to European colonization during...
, Tongva people existed as hunters and gatherers in small villages throughout the Ballona Creek watershed and other parts of the Los Angeles basin. Native American culture faded with the arrival of Spanish explorers. Around 1820, a mestizo rancher named Augustine Machado began grazing his cattle on the Ballona wetlands and claimed a fourteen-thousand acre Mexican land grant that stretched from modern-day Culver City to Pico Blvd. in Santa Monica. Ballona Creek and Lagoon are named for the Ballona or Paseo de las Carretas land grant, dated November 27, 1839. The Machado and Talamantes families, co-grantees of the rancho, heralded from Baiona
Baiona, Pontevedra
Baiona is a municipality in Galicia, Spain, in the province of Pontevedra.Baiona is a tourist town with a medieval historical center situated by the outlet of the Vigo Bay. Its population of just over 11,000 rises to around 45,000 in the summer, if one includes tourists...
in northern Spain. After the land grant claims were lost, the area then experienced rapid growth, with open land being transformed into agricultural use.
Watershed and Course
The Ballona Creek watershed totals about 130 square miles (336.7 km²). Its land use consists of 64% residential, 8% commercial, 4% industrial, and 17% open space. The major tributaries to the Ballona Creek and EstuaryEstuary
An estuary is a partly enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea....
include Centinela Creek, Sepulveda Canyon Channel and Benedict Canyon Channel; most of the creek's minor tributaries have been obliterated by development or paved over and flow into Ballona Creek as a network of underground storm drains
Storm drain
A storm drain, storm sewer , stormwater drain or drainage well system or simply a drain or drain system is designed to drain excess rain and ground water from paved streets, parking lots, sidewalks, and roofs. Storm drains vary in design from small residential dry wells to large municipal systems...
.
At the time of Spanish settlement, the Los Angeles River
Los Angeles River
The Los Angeles River is a river that starts in the San Fernando Valley, in the Simi Hills and Santa Susana Mountains, and flows through Los Angeles County, California, from Canoga Park in the western end of the San Fernando Valley, nearly southeast to its mouth in Long Beach...
turned to the west just south of present-day Bunker Hill
Bunker Hill, Los Angeles, California
Bunker Hill, in the downtown area of Los Angeles, California, is a short, developed hill with its peak located roughly around 3rd Street. It is located directly east of the Harbor Freeway...
, joining Ballona Creek just to the west of its current channel. However, during a major flood in 1825, the Los Angeles River's course changed to its present channel, and Ballona Creek became a completely distinct waterway. Much of the above-ground section of the creek was lined with concrete as part of the flood-control project undertaken by the United States Army Corps of Engineers
United States Army Corps of Engineers
The United States Army Corps of Engineers is a federal agency and a major Army command made up of some 38,000 civilian and military personnel, making it the world's largest public engineering, design and construction management agency...
following the Los Angeles Flood of 1938
Los Angeles Flood of 1938
The Los Angeles Flood of 1938 or 1938 Los Angeles flood was a major flooding event that was responsible for inundating much of Los Angeles, Orange, and Riverside counties, California, during early 1938...
.
Ballona Creek Watershed climate can be characterized as Mediterranean with average annual rainfall of approximately 15 inches per year over most of the developed portions of the watershed. The flow rate in the Creek varies considerably from a trickle flow of about 14 cubic foot (0.396435858 m³) per second during dry weather to 71400 cubic feet (2,021.8 m³) per second during a 50-year storm event.. Ballona Wetlands
Ballona Wetlands
The Ballona Wetlands are located in Southern California, USA south of Marina del Rey and east of Playa del Rey. The wetlands once included the areas now taken up by Marina del Rey, Venice, and Playa Vista, extending north to about present-day Washington Blvd...
and Del Rey Lagoon are connected to the Ballona Estuary through tide gates.
Ecology and Conservation
The historic wetland complex at the mouth of Ballona Creek probably occupied about 2000 acres. Although much of it was drained and developed, much of it is now protected. The State of California owns 600 acres of the former wetlands, the CDFG owns 540 acres, the State Lands Commission owns 60 acres, including a newly created freshwater marsh. Much of these preserved lands are designated as the Ballona Wetlands Ecological ReserveBallona Wetlands
The Ballona Wetlands are located in Southern California, USA south of Marina del Rey and east of Playa del Rey. The wetlands once included the areas now taken up by Marina del Rey, Venice, and Playa Vista, extending north to about present-day Washington Blvd...
and despite historic degradation, conditions are improving. Wetland flora includes pickleweed, marsh heather, saltgrass, arrowgrass and glasswort, and a variety of upland and exotic species including brome, iceplant, oxalis, and ryegrass. Bird species of special interest observed in the reserve include nesting pairs of Belding’s Savannah Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
The Savannah Sparrow is a small American sparrow. It is the only widely accepted member of the genus Passerculus...
(Passerculus rostratus/sandwichensis beldingi) and foraging use by California Least Tern
California Least Tern
The Least Tern is a species of tern that breeds in North America and locally in northern South America. It is closely related to, and was formerly often considered conspecific with, the Little Tern of the Old World...
s (Sterna antillarum browni).
Pollution
The urbanization of the watershed, and associated with it the pollution of urban runoff and stormwater, has degraded the water quality in Ballona Creek and its Estuary. Ballona Creek is listed by the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board impaired for fecal coliform, heavy metalsHeavy metals
A heavy metal is a member of a loosely-defined subset of elements that exhibit metallic properties. It mainly includes the transition metals, some metalloids, lanthanides, and actinides. Many different definitions have been proposed—some based on density, some on atomic number or atomic weight,...
, and pesticides. Dry weather urban runoff
Urban runoff
Urban runoff is surface runoff of rainwater created by urbanization. This runoff is a major source of water pollution in many parts of the United States and other urban communities worldwide.-Overview:...
and storm water, both conveyed by storm drains, are the primary sources of pollutions
Pollution
Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into a natural environment that causes instability, disorder, harm or discomfort to the ecosystem i.e. physical systems or living organisms. Pollution can take the form of chemical substances or energy, such as noise, heat or light...
in the Creek.
Culture
Many national, historical, archeological and cultural landmarks, tourist attractions, educational institutions, businesses and industries exist in Ballona Creek Watershed. With year-round Mediterranean climate, the area attracts immigrants and visitors from all over the world making Ballona Creek Watershed a vibrant melting pot of culture. A bike pathBallona Creek bicycle path
The Ballona Creek bicycle path is a six-mile stretch of Class 1 bicycle path in Los Angeles that parallels Ballona Creek for its entire length. It starts where Jefferson Boulevard veers south to spawn National Boulevard in Culver City, passes through Del Rey and Playa Vista, and ending joining The...
that extends almost seven miles from National Boulevard in Culver City to the end of Ballona Creek Estuary provides opportunities for recreation in the area. Ballona Creek Estuary and Ballona Wetlands provide habitat to many species of waterfowls
Waterfowl
Waterfowl are certain wildfowl of the order Anseriformes, especially members of the family Anatidae, which includes ducks, geese, and swans....
, shorebirds, and waders
Wader
Waders, called shorebirds in North America , are members of the order Charadriiformes, excluding the more marine web-footed seabird groups. The latter are the skuas , gulls , terns , skimmers , and auks...
.
Crossings and tributaries
From northern source to southern mouth (year built in parentheses):- Begins at South Cochran Avenue
- South Burnside Avenue (1974)
- Hauser Boulevard (1974)
- Thurman Avenue (1974)
- South Fairfax AvenueFairfax AvenueFairfax Avenue is a street on north central Los Angeles, California. It runs from La Cienega Boulevard with Culver City at its southern end to Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood on its northern end.Fairfax Avenue forms the western boundary of Hancock Park as well as Park La Brea, an 160 acre ,...
(1962) - Interstate 10Interstate 10 in CaliforniaInterstate 10 , the major east–west Interstate Highway in the Southern United States, runs in the U.S. state of California east from Santa Monica, on the Pacific Ocean, through Los Angeles and San Bernardino to the border with Arizona...
(1964) - La Cienega BoulevardLa Cienega BoulevardLa Cienega Boulevard is a major, well-known north–south arterial road that runs between El Segundo Boulevard in El Segundo, California on the south and the Sunset Strip/Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood....
(1937) - Washington BoulevardWashington Boulevard (Los Angeles)Washington Boulevard is the longest continuous east-west arterial road in Los Angeles, California. It starts by the Pacific Ocean just west of Pacific Avenue in Marina del Rey, and ends far to the east in the city of Whittier, on Whittier Boulevard. It is south of Venice Boulevard for most of its...
(1938) - National Boulevard north (1967)
- Railroad
- National Boulevard south (1967)
- Higuera Street (1938)
- Duquesne Avenue (1938)
- Overland Avenue (1938)
- Westwood Boulevard [Pedestrian Bridge to Bike Path]
- Sepulveda BoulevardSepulveda BoulevardSepulveda Boulevard is a street in Los Angeles, California, which stretches some 42.8 miles from Rinaldi Street at the north end of the San Fernando Valley to the city limits of Hermosa Beach, where it "jumps" east and continues on to Long Beach. It generally runs north-south, passing underneath...
(1985) - Sawtelle Boulevard (1988)
- Interstate 405Interstate 405 (California)Interstate 405 is a major north–south Interstate Highway in Southern California. It is a bypass of Interstate 5, running along the western areas of the Greater Los Angeles Area from Irvine in the south to near San Fernando in the north...
- San Diego Freeway (1960) - Sepulveda Channel enters
- Inglewood Boulevard (1937)
- South Centinela Avenue (1938)
- State Route 90California State Route 90State Route 90 is a state highway in Southern California, United States. It consists of two unconnected pieces in Greater Los Angeles....
(1972) - Centinela Creek enters
- Lincoln Boulevard/State Route 1California State Route 1State Route 1 , more often called Highway 1, is a state highway that runs along much of the Pacific coast of the U.S. state of California. It is famous for running along some of the most beautiful coastlines in the world, leading to its designation as an All-American Road.Highway 1 does not run...
(1937) - Culver Boulevard (1937)
- Pacific Avenue [Bridge to Bike Path]