Conejo Valley

The '''Conejo Valley''' is a region spanning both southeastern [[Ventura County, California|Ventura County]] and northwestern [[Los Angeles County, California|Los Angeles County]] in [[Southern California]], [[United States]]. It was discovered in 1542 by [[Portuguese people|Portuguese]] explorer [[Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo]], and eventually became part of the [[Rancho El Conejo]] land grant by the Spanish government (in [[Spanish language|Spanish]] ''conejo'' means "[[rabbit]]", and refers to the rabbits common to the region, specifically the [[Desert Cottontail]] and [[Brush Rabbit]] species). It is located in the northwestern part of the [[Greater Los Angeles Area]]. ==Geography== [[File:Westlake Village from Sandstone Peak.jpg|thumb|Lake Sherwood with Westlake Village in distance.]] The area is bordered by the [[San Fernando Valley]] and the city of [[Los Angeles]] to the east, [[Simi Hills]] to the north, Las Posas Hills and the [[Santa Rosa Valley]] to the northwest, Conejo Mountain (also known as Conejo Hills) and [[Oxnard Plain]] to the west, and the [[Santa Monica Mountains]] and [[Malibu, California|Malibu]] to the south, the [[West Los Angeles (region)|Westside]], and [[Pacific Ocean]] beyond it. The valley is located in the Santa Monica Mountains on an elevated area. ==Economy== Many high-tech companies, particularly those in [[biotechnology]], including [[Amgen]], [[Baxter International|Baxter]], [[General Dynamics Corporation]], and [[Rockwell International]] are prevalent in the area. It also includes many other tech corporations, especially dot com companies and telecommunications like [[Verizon]] and [[Verizon Wireless]]. It also is home to many healthcare and other various companies like [[WellPoint]], [[J.D. Power and Associates]], [[Volkswagen]], [[Audi]], [[THQ]], and cosmetics leader [[Vorwerk|Jafra Cosmetics]]. Although the region is predominantly white with a large [[Hispanic]] minority, there is a small, but growing, [[Asian people|Asian]] minority in the region. ==Plantation== Harold and Edwin Janss purchased ten thousand acres (40 km²) of land of what is now central Thousand Oaks from the heir of John Edwards, who had purchased the land from the de la Guerra heirs (all of the land was originally a portion of the [[Rancho El Conejo]] land grant) in 1910. A ranch, named the Janss Conejo Ranch, was utilized as a farm and to raise thoroughbred horses with the Santa Susanna Mountains and Simi Hills framing it. Television Westerns such as ''[[The Rifleman]]'', ''[[Gunsmoke]]'', and ''[[Bonanza]]'' were filmed in Janss Conejo between the 1950s and 1960s. It was also used as the filming locations for Disney's ''[[Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier]]'' and ''[[Westward Ho, the Wagons!]]'' both starring [[Fess Parker]]. ==Communities== Cities and communities: * [[Agoura Hills, California|Agoura Hills]] * [[Calabasas, California|Calabasas]] (Partial) * [[Newbury Park, California|Newbury Park]] * [[Oak Park, California|Oak Park]] * [[Thousand Oaks, California|Thousand Oaks]] * [[Westlake Village, California|Westlake Village]] * [[Lake Sherwood, California|Lake Sherwood]] == External links == * [http://www.conejopost.com - Conejo Post - News, Issues, History and Outdoors in the Conejo Valley] * [http://www.conejovalley.com Official Conejo Valley Website] * [http://www.conejovalleyguide.com Conejo Valley Guide - Activities and Events in the Conejo Valley] * [http://www.conejovalley411.com Conejo Valley's Business Directory Website] {{California}} {{Greater Los Angeles Area}} {{coord missing|Ventura County, California}}