Santa Anita Canyon
Encyclopedia
Santa Anita Canyon is a canyon
in the San Gabriel Mountains
, within the Angeles National Forest
in Los Angeles County, California
.
of the Rio Hondo
, which flows from the mountains through the San Gabriel Valley
and passes through the Whittier Narrows
, a natural gap in the hills which form the southern boundary of the San Gabriel Valley.
The Santa Anita Dam
and Santa Anita reservoir-flood control basin lies near the mouth of the canyon. The community of Big Santa Anita Canyon is below.
Canyon
A canyon or gorge is a deep ravine between cliffs often carved from the landscape by a river. Rivers have a natural tendency to reach a baseline elevation, which is the same elevation as the body of water it will eventually drain into. This forms a canyon. Most canyons were formed by a process of...
in the San Gabriel Mountains
San Gabriel Mountains
The San Gabriel Mountains Range is located in northern Los Angeles County and western San Bernardino County, California, United States. The mountain range lies between the Los Angeles Basin and the Mojave Desert, with Interstate 5 to the west and Interstate 15 to the east...
, within the Angeles National Forest
Angeles National Forest
The Angeles National Forest of the U.S. National Forest Service is located in the San Gabriel Mountains of Los Angeles County, southern California. It was established on July 1, 1908, incorporating the first San Bernardino National Forest and parts of the former Santa Barbara and San Gabriel...
in Los Angeles County, California
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...
.
Geography
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 headwaters of the river are found. The 'Big Santa Anita Canyon' with Santa Anita Creek is part of the watershedDrainage basin
A drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...
of the Rio Hondo
Rio Hondo (California)
The Rio Hondo is a tributary of the Los Angeles River in Los Angeles County, California, approximately long. As a named river, it begins in Irwindale and flows southwest to its confluence in South Gate, passing through several cities...
, which flows from the mountains through the San Gabriel Valley
San Gabriel Valley
The San Gabriel Valley is one of the principal valleys of Southern California, United States. It lies to the east of Los Angeles, to the north of the Puente Hills, to the south of the San Gabriel Mountains, and west of the Inland Empire. It derives its name from the San Gabriel River that flows...
and passes through the Whittier Narrows
Whittier Narrows
The Whittier Narrows is located at the southern boundary of the San Gabriel Valley, in Los Angeles County, California. It is a gap in the Puente Hills where the Rio Hondo and the San Gabriel River diverge....
, a natural gap in the hills which form the southern boundary of the San Gabriel Valley.
The Santa Anita Dam
Santa Anita Dam
Santa Anita Dam is a concrete thin-arch dam on Santa Anita Creek in the San Gabriel Mountains of Los Angeles County, California. The dam, owned by the Los Angeles County Flood Control District, serves for flood, water conservation and sedimentation control purposes. It stands high and long,...
and Santa Anita reservoir-flood control basin lies near the mouth of the canyon. The community of Big Santa Anita Canyon is below.