Ballona Creek

Ballona Creek
stream
As seen from Baldwin Hills, the eastern end of Ballona creek near La Cienega Boulevard.
Country United States
State California
Region Los Angeles County
Tributaries
 - left Centinela Creek
 - right Sepulveda Channel
Cities Los Angeles, Culver City, Marina Del Rey
Source
 - location Los Angeles, California
 - elevation 110 ft (34 m)
 - coordinates 34°02′39″N 118°21′12″W / 34.04417°N 118.35333°W / 34.04417; -118.35333 [1]
Mouth
 - location Marina Del Rey, California
 - elevation 0 ft (0 m) [1]
 - coordinates 33°57′37″N 118°27′33″W / 33.96028°N 118.45917°W / 33.96028; -118.45917Coordinates: 33°57′37″N 118°27′33″W / 33.96028°N 118.45917°W / 33.96028; -118.45917 [1]

Ballona Creek is an 8.8-mile-long (14.2 km)[2] 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 (I-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 Marina del Rey and the Playa del Rey district.[3]

History

Duck hunting on the Ballona lowlands, 1890.

During the Pre-Columbian era, 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.

In 1769, the Tongva met their first Europeans when Portola expedition came through on its way north. Continuing west after crossing the Los Angeles River, diarist Fray Juan Crespi noted that the party "came across a grove of very large alders...from which flows a stream of water...The water flowed afterwards in a deep channel towards the southwest". Researchers identified the place as the headwaters of Ballona Creek. The explorers made camp nearby on August 3.[4]

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 Boulevard in Santa Monica, California. 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.[5][6] After the land grant claims were lost, the area then experienced rapid growth, with open land being transformed into agricultural use.

Watershed and course

Map of Ballona Creek watershed, 2010.

The Ballona Creek watershed totals about 130 square miles (340 km2). Its land use consists of 64% residential, 8% commercial, 4% industrial, and 17% open space.[3] The major tributaries to the Ballona Creek and Estuary include Centinela Creek, Sepulveda Canyon Channel and Benedict Canyon Channel; most of the creek's minor tributaries have been destroyed 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.[7]

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 feet (0.40 m3) per second during dry weather to 71,400 cubic feet (2,020 m3) per second during a 50-year storm event.[3] Ballona Wetlands and Del Rey Lagoon are connected to the Ballona Estuary through tide gates.

Crossings and tributaries

From northern source to southern mouth (year built in parentheses):[8]

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 (California Department of Fish and Game) owns 540 acres, and 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 Reserve 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 terns (Sterna antillarum browni).[9]

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 metals, and pesticides. Dry weather urban runoff and storm water, both conveyed by storm drains, are the primary sources of pollutions 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 path 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.

In popular culture

In the movie Volcano, Tommy Lee Jones will have a 20-story apartment building dropped in a controlled demolition in order to divert a flowing river of lava into Ballona Creek, and thus into the Pacific Ocean.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Ballona Creek
  2. ↑ U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map, accessed 2011-10-04
  3. 1 2 3 EIP Associates (2004). http://ladpw.org/wmd/watershed/bc/ Ballona Creek Watershed Management Plan Check |url= value (help) (Report). Retrieved 2011-10-04.
  4. ↑ Bolton, Herbert E. (1927). Fray Juan Crespi: Missionary Explorer on the Pacific Coast, 1769-1774. HathiTrust Digital Library. pp. 148–149. Retrieved April 2014.
  5. ↑ Erwin G. Gudde, William Bright (2004). California Place Names: The Origin and Etymology of Current Geographical Names. University of California Press. p. 25. ISBN 978-0-520-24217-3. Retrieved 2011-10-04.
  6. ↑ "Early History". Friends of Ballona Wetlands. Retrieved 2011-10-04.
  7. ↑ Coastal Conservancy Report (PDF) (Report). 2007-07-16. p. 2. Retrieved 2011-10-04.
  8. ↑ "National Bridge Inventory Database". Retrieved 2009-08-07.
  9. ↑ Mary Small (2010-07-21). Ballona Wetland Public Access Improvements (PDF) (Report). California Coastal Commission. p. 3. Retrieved 2011-10-04.

External links

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