Santa Anita Creek is a 10.4 miles (16.7 km) long stream in Los Angeles County, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

. It flows southwards from its headwaters in the south ridge of 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...

, to form the beginnings 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...

 near Irwindale

Irwindale, California

Irwindale is a city in the San Gabriel Valley, in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 1,422 at the 2010 census, down from 1,446 at the 2000 census....

.

The creek begins on the east slope of Mount Wilson

Mount Wilson (California)

Mount Wilson is one of the better known peaks in the San Gabriel Mountains, part of the Angeles National Forest in Los Angeles County, California. It is the location of the Mount Wilson Observatory and has become the astronomical center of Southern California with and telescopes, and and tall...

, inside 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...

. It flows in a curve southeast through Santa Anita Canyon

Santa Anita Canyon

Santa Anita Canyon is a canyon in the San Gabriel Mountains, within the Angeles National Forest in Los Angeles County, California.-Geography:...

, then drops over the 60 feet (18.3 m) Sturtevant Falls. The North Fork comes in from the left about a quarter-mile above the falls, and the East Fork also from the left about a quarter-mile downstream. The creek then flows south through a group of about 80 historic cabins on the canyon floor, before receiving Winter Creek from the right near Chantry Flat

Chantry Flat

Chantry Flat is a designated "Recreation Area" within the Angeles National Forest, about three miles into Big Santa Anita Canyon, and is closely associated with the towns of Arcadia and Sierra Madre, CA. The flat itself houses a large public picnic area, and is the starting point for several...

. Shortly downstream of there, it drops over Hermit Falls and flows into Santa Anita Reservoir, which is impounded by the 225 feet (68.6 m) 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,...

.

Leaving the foothills the creek continues southwards through Sierra Madre

Sierra Madre, California

The city of Sierra Madre is a municipality in Los Angeles County, California whose population was 10,917 at the 2010 census, up from 10,580 at the time of the 2000 census. The city is located in the Foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains below the southern edge of the Angeles National Forest. ...

, Monrovia

Monrovia, California

Monrovia is a city located in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains in the San Gabriel Valley of Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 36,590 at the 2010 census, down from 36,929 at the 2000 census...

 and Arcadia

Arcadia, California

Arcadia is an affluent city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, and located approximately northeast of downtown Los Angeles in the San Gabriel Valley and at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains....

 as the Santa Anita Wash, flowing in a concrete channel. It turns southeast towards Azusa

Azusa, California

Azusa is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 46,361 at the 2010 census, up from 44,712 at the 2000 census. Though sometimes assumed to be a compaction of the phrase "everything from A to Z in the USA" from an old Jack Benny joke, the place name "Azusa"...

, then south again at Irwindale, where it empties into a small flood control basin. The water continues out of the basin as the Rio Hondo, which flows southwards to junctions with the San Gabriel River

San Gabriel River (California)

The San Gabriel River flows through southern Los Angeles County, California in the United States. Its main stem is about long, while its farthest tributaries extend almost altogether...

 and 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...

.