Placerita Canyon State Park
Welcome sign of Placerita Canyon State Park
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Location	19152 Placerita Canyon Road Newhall, California 91321 United States
Coordinates	34°22′33″N 118°26′45″W / 34.37583°N 118.44583°W / 34.37583; -118.44583
Established	1950
Governing body	California Department of Parks and Recreation

Placerita Canyon State Park is a California State Park located on the north slope of the western San Gabriel Mountains, in an unincorporated rural area of Los Angeles County, near the city of Santa Clarita.^[1] The park hosts a variety of historic and natural sites, as well as serving as a trailhead for several hiking trails leading into the San Gabriel Mountains.

Cultural history

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The area of Placerita Canyon, in addition to the Santa Clarita Valley and the surrounding mountains, have been inhabited by the native Tataviam since time immemorial.

In 1842, the region was annexed under Rancho San Francisco, part of the larger Mexican land grant system that was dissolved 8 years later with California statehood inside the United States. The park preserves the site of the first documented discovery of gold in California where in 1842, Francisco Lopez found gold flakes on wild onion roots under the "Oak of the Golden Dream".^[2]

In 1900, oil was discovered within the valley.

The park is near several movie ranches, all historic and active, including the Monogram Movie Ranch—Melody Ranch and the Disney—Golden Oak Ranch.^[3]^[4]^[5]

The "Oak of the Golden Dream" is California Historical Landmark #168.^[6]

Geography

[edit]

Placerita Canyon State Park is located along Placerita Creek in the southeastern Santa Clarita Valley, just outside the city limits of Santa Clarita but within its sphere of influence.^[1] It lies between the Santa Clarita neighborhoods of Newhall and Sand Canyon.

The park, under the name Placerita Canyon Natural Area, is currently managed by the Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation.^[2] The Placerita Canyon Nature Center is the park's visitor center and museum. The park also contains the Walker Cabin (a restored and furnished 1920s cabin of the Walker family), and hiking and nature trails.^[2]^[7]

Geology

[edit]

The park is also notable for a seepage of 'white' oil - unknown anywhere else in the world. This late 19th century discovery of oil surprised the prospectors because it is naturally filtered so that it is not black but transparent. A small pool of it continues to be active by the trailside leading up from the Nature Center to the Walker Ranch.

Ecology

[edit]

Located in the transition zone between the San Gabriel Mountains' California montane chaparral and woodlands ecoregion, and the Mojave's Deserts and xeric shrublands Biome in the California Floristic Province, the Placerita Canyon Flora is complex. Placerita Canyon State Park is in the east-west trending Placerita Canyon on the Placerita Fault and contains sandstone and metamorphic formations, and seasonal streams. Chaparral and Coast Live Oak woodland plant communities are represented.

Riparian woodlands at the park include three species of native trees including arroyo willow, cottonwood, and native California sycamore.^[8]

Gallery

[edit]

The restored Walker Cabin
Exterior of the nature center, featuring live animal exhibits
Interior of the nature center, featuring a variety of interactive nature exhibits
A mural depicting the valley's diverse history (left), Tataviam life prior to European settlement (center), and the discovery of gold by Francisco Lopez (not pictured)

References

[edit]

^ ^a ^b "Completed Annexations". City of Santa Clarita. Retrieved December 25, 2020.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Placerita Canyon State Park". Retrieved May 31, 2009.
^ [1] www.melodyranchstudio. 'Melody Ranch Studio Museum.' Retrieved 5/15/2010.
^ "Placeritos Ranch - Monogram Ranch - Melody Ranch". Archived from the original on June 8, 2011. Retrieved September 8, 2010. oxy.edu Monogram-Melody Ranch. Retrieved 5/15/2010
^ Leon Worden. "'Melody Ranch: Movie Magic in Placerita Canyon'". Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society. Retrieved March 29, 2003.
^ "Oak of the Golden Dream". California Department of Parks and Recreation. State of California. Retrieved August 26, 2014.
^ "Placerita Canyon Natural Area and Nature Center". Retrieved May 31, 2009.
^ http://www.placerita.org/ www.placerita.org "Placerita Canyon Nature Center." Retrieved 5/11/2010.

External links

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Placerita Canyon State Park.

v t e Santa Clarita Valley
City	Santa Clarita
Neighborhoods	Agua Dulce Canyon Country Sand Canyon Castaic Newhall Saugus Stevenson Ranch Valencia unincorporated residential villages Val Verde
Public schools	Acton-Agua Dulce Unified School District Castaic Union School District Newhall School District Saugus Union School District Sulphur Springs School District William S. Hart Union High School District Academy of the Canyons Canyon HS Castaic HS Golden Valley HS Hart HS Saugus HS Valencia HS West Ranch HS Foothill League
Private schools	Santa Clarita Christian School
Colleges and universities	California Institute of the Arts College of the Canyons The Master's University
Points of interest	Beale's Cut Castaic Junction Castaic Lake Central Park Gibbon Conservation Center Golden Oak Ranch Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital Mentryville Newhall Pass Pitchess Detention Center Placerita Canyon State Park Pioneer Oil Refinery Santa Clarita Woodlands Park Saugus Speedway Six Flags Magic Mountain Valencia Country Club Valencia Town Center Vasquez Rocks William S. Hart Ranch and Museum
Services	Los Angeles County Fire Department Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department
Media	KHTS (AM) The Santa Clarita Valley Signal
Transportation	City of Santa Clarita Transit McBean Regional Transit Center Metrolink: Antelope Valley Line Stations: Newhall Santa Clarita Via Princessa Vista Canyon Lang Southern Pacific Station (historic)
History	St. Francis Dam disaster United Airlines Trip 34 Newhall incident 1971 San Fernando earthquake Twilight Zone accident 1994 Northridge earthquake 2001 Stevenson Ranch shootout Sand Fire Rye Fire Tick Fire 2019 Saugus High School shooting
Companies	condomman.com Honda Performance Development Mechanix Wear Newhall Land and Farming Company Princess Cruises Precision Dynamics Corporation Remo WayForward

Protected areas of California

National Park System

Parks	Channel Islands Death Valley Joshua Tree Kings Canyon Lassen Volcanic Pinnacles Redwood Sequoia Yosemite
Preserves	Mojave
Monuments	Cabrillo Castle Mountains César E. Chávez Devils Postpile Lava Beds Muir Woods Tule Lake
Seashores	Point Reyes
Historical Parks	Rosie the Riveter World War II Home Front San Francisco Maritime
Historic Sites	Eugene O'Neill Fort Point John Muir Manzanar
Memorials	Port Chicago Naval Magazine
Recreation Areas	Golden Gate Santa Monica Mountains Whiskeytown–Shasta–Trinity

California State Parks

Parks	Ahjumawi Lava Springs Andrew Molera Angel Island Año Nuevo Anza-Borrego Desert Arthur B. Ripley Desert Woodland Bidwell–Sacramento River Big Basin Redwoods Border Field Bothe-Napa Valley Burton Creek Butano Calaveras Big Trees Castle Crags Castle Rock Caswell Memorial China Camp Chino Hills Clear Lake Coast Dairies Crystal Cove Cuyamaca Rancho D. L. Bliss Del Norte Coast Redwoods Donner Memorial Dos Rios Ranch Ed Z'berg Sugar Pine Point Emerald Bay The Forest of Nisene Marks Fort Ord Dunes Fremont Peak Garrapata Gaviota Great Valley Grasslands Grizzly Creek Redwoods Grover Hot Springs Hearst San Simeon Hendy Woods Henry Cowell Redwoods Henry W. Coe Humboldt Lagoons Humboldt Redwoods Jedediah Smith Redwoods Julia Pfeiffer Burns Leo Carrillo Limekiln MacKerricher Malibu Creek Manchester McArthur–Burney Falls Memorial McLaughlin Eastshore Mendocino Headlands Mendocino Woodlands Montaña de Oro Morro Bay Mount Diablo Mount San Jacinto Mount Tamalpais Navarro River Redwoods Pacheco Palomar Mountain Pfeiffer Big Sur Placerita Canyon Plumas-Eureka Point Mugu Portola Redwoods Prairie Creek Redwoods Red Rock Canyon Richardson Grove Rio de Los Angeles Robert Louis Stevenson Russian Gulch Saddleback Butte Salt Point Samuel P. Taylor San Bruno Mountain Sinkyone Wilderness South Yuba River Sue-meg Sugarloaf Ridge Sutter Buttes Tolowa Dunes Tomales Bay Topanga Trione-Annadel Van Damme Washoe Meadows Wilder Ranch
Natural Reserves	Antelope Valley California Poppy Armstrong Redwoods Azalea Caspar Headlands John B. Dewitt John Little Jug Handle Kruse Rhododendron Los Osos Oaks Mailliard Redwoods Mono Lake Tufa Montgomery Woods Point Lobos Smithe Redwoods Torrey Pines Tule Elk
Marine Reserves	Albany Anacapa Island SMR Asilomar Begg Rock Big Creek Bodega Head Cabrillo Carmel Pinnacles Carrington Point Del Mar Landing Elkhorn Slough Emeryville Crescent Estero de Limantour and Drakes Estero Fitzgerald Gerstle Cove Gull Island Harris Point Judith Rock Laguna Beach Long Point Lovers Point Montara and Pillar Point Moro Cojo Slough Morro Bay Natural Bridges Piedras Blancas Point Arena Point Buchon Point Cabrillo Point Dume Point Lobos Point Reyes Point Sur Richardson Rock Russian River Santa Barbara Island Scorpion Sea Lion Gulch Skunk Point South Cape Mendocino Stewarts Point Vandenberg
Historic Parks	Anderson Marsh Antelope Valley Indian Museum Bale Grist Mill Benicia Capitol Bidwell Mansion Bodie California Citrus California State Indian Museum Chumash Painted Cave Colonel Allensworth Columbia El Presidio de Santa Barbara Empire Mine Folsom Powerhouse Fort Humboldt Fort Ross Fort Tejon Governor's Mansion Hearst Castle Indian Grinding Rock Jack London La Purísima Mission Leland Stanford Mansion Los Angeles Los Encinos Malakoff Diggins Marconi Conference Center Marsh Creek Marshall Gold Discovery Monterey Old Sacramento Old Town San Diego Olompali Pigeon Point Light Station Pío Pico Point Sur Railtown 1897 Rancho Petaluma Adobe San Juan Bautista San Pasqual Battlefield Santa Cruz Mission Santa Susana Pass Shasta Sonoma Sutter's Fort Tomo-Kahni Wassama Round House Watts Towers Weaverville Joss House Will Rogers William B. Ide Adobe Woodland Opera House
Beaches	Asilomar Bean Hollow Bolsa Chica Cardiff Carlsbad Carmel River Carpinteria Caspar Headlands Cayucos Corona del Mar Crown Memorial Dockweiler Doheny El Capitán Emma Wood Gray Whale Cove Greenwood Half Moon Bay Huntington Leucadia Lighthouse Field Little River Malibu Lagoon Mandalay Manresa Marina McGrath Montara Monterey Moonlight Morro Strand Moss Landing Natural Bridges New Brighton Pacifica Pelican Pescadero Pismo Point Dume Point Sal Pomponio Refugio Robert H. Meyer Memorial Salinas River San Buenaventura San Clemente San Elijo San Gregorio San Onofre Santa Monica Schooner Gulch Seacliff Silver Strand Sonoma Coast South Carlsbad Sunset Thornton Torrey Pines Trinidad Twin Lakes Westport-Union Landing Will Rogers William Randolph Hearst Memorial Zmudowski
Recreation Areas	Admiral William Standley Auburn Austin Creek Benbow Benicia Bethany Reservoir Brannan Island Candlestick Point Castaic Lake Colusa-Sacramento River Folsom Lake Franks Tract George J. Hatfield Harry A. Merlo Kenneth Hahn Kings Beach Lake Del Valle Lake Oroville Lake Perris Lake Valley Martial Cottle McConnell Millerton Lake Picacho Providence Mountains Salton Sea San Luis Reservoir Silverwood Lake Standish-Hickey Tahoe Turlock Lake Woodson Bridge
Vehicular Recreation Areas	Carnegie Clay Pit Heber Dunes Hollister Hills Hungry Valley Oceano Dunes Ocotillo Wells Prairie City
Other	Burleigh H. Murray Ranch California State Capitol Museum California State Mining and Mineral Museum California State Railroad Museum Castro Adobe Delta Meadows Estero Bay Hatton Canyon Indio Hills Palms Point Cabrillo Light Ishxenta State Park Point Montara Light Reynolds Wayside Campground San Timoteo Canyon Stone Lake Verdugo Mountains Ward Creek Wildwood Canyon

National Forests and Grasslands

National Forests and Grasslands	Angeles Butte Valley NG Cleveland Eldorado Humboldt–Toiyabe Inyo Klamath Lake Tahoe Basin Lassen Los Padres Mendocino Modoc Plumas Rogue River–Siskiyou San Bernardino Sequoia Shasta–Trinity Sierra Six Rivers Stanislaus Tahoe
National Wilderness Preservation System	Agua Tibia Ansel Adams Bucks Lake Caribou Carson–Iceberg Castle Crags Cucamonga Desolation Dick Smith Dinkey Lakes Emigrant Golden Trout Hoover Inyo Mountains Ishi Jennie Lakes John Muir Kaiser Marble Mountain Mokelumne Mount Shasta Wilderness North Fork Pine Creek San Gabriel San Jacinto San Rafael Sanhedrin Sespe Siskiyou Snow Mountain South Fork Eel River South Sierra South Warner Thousand Lakes Trinity Alps Ventana Yolla Bolly–Middle Eel Yuki
National Monuments and Recreation Areas	Giant Sequoia National Monument San Gabriel Mountains National Monument Sand to Snow National Monument Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument Smith River National Recreation Area Whiskeytown–Shasta–Trinity National Recreation Area

State Forests
Boggs Mountain Demonstration Ellen Pickett Jackson Demonstration Las Posadas LaTour Demonstration Mount Zion Demonstration Mountain Home Demonstration Soquel Demonstration

National Wildlife Refuges

State Wildlife Areas

Wildlife Areas	Antelope Valley Ash Creek Bass Hill Battle Creek Big Lagoon Big Sandy Biscar Butte Valley Buttermilk Country Cache Creek Camp Cady Cantara/Ney Springs Cedar Roughs Cinder Flats Collins Eddy Colusa Bypass Coon Hollow Cottonwood Creek Crescent City Marsh Crocker Meadows Daugherty Hill Decker Island Doyle Dutch Flat Eastlker River Eel River Elk Creek Wetlands Elk River Fay Slough Feather River Fitzhugh Creek Fremont Weir Grass Lake Gray Lodge Green Creek Grizzly Island Hallelujah Junction Heenan Lake Hill Slough Hollenbeck Canyon Honey Lake Hope Valley Horseshoe Ranch Imperial Indian Valley Kelso Peak and Old Dad Mountains Kinsman Flat Knoxville Laguna Lake Berryessa Lake Earl Lake Sonoma Little Panoche Reservoir Los Banos Lower Sherman Island Mad River Slough Marble Mountains Mendota Merrill's Landing Miner Slough Monache Meadows Morro Bay Moss Landing Mouth of Cottonwood Creek Napa-Sonoma Marshes North Grasslands O'Neill Forebay Oroville Petaluma Marsh Pickel Meadow Pine Creek Point Edith Putah Creek Rector Reservoir Red Lake Rhode Island Sacramento River San Felipe Valley San Jacinto San Luis Obispo San Luis Reservoir San Pablo Bay Santa Rosa Shasta Valley Silver Creek Slinkard/Little Antelope Smithneck Creek South Fork Spenceville Surprise Valley Sutter Bypass Tehama Truckee River Upper Butte Basin Volta Warner Valley Waukell Creek West Hilmar Westlker River White Slough Willow Creek Yolo Bypass
Ecological Reserves	Albany Mudflats Alkali Sink Allensworth Atascadero Creek Marsh Bair Island Baldwin Lake Batiquitos Lagoon Blue Sky Boden Canyon Boggs Lake Bolsa Chica Bonny Doon Buena Vista Lagoon Butler Slough Butte Creek Canyon Butte Creek House Buttonwillow By Day Creek Calhoun Cut Canebrake Carlsbad Highlands Carmel Bay Carrizo Canyon Carrizo Plains China Point Clover Creek Coachella Valley Coal Canyon Corte Madera Marsh Crestridge Dairy Mart Ponds Dales Lake Del Mar Landing Eden Landing Elkhorn Slough Estelle Mountain Fall River Mills Fish Slough Fremont Valley Goleta Slough Indian Joe Spring Kaweah Kerman King Clone Laguna Laurel Loch Lomond Vernal Pool Lokern Magnesia Spring Marin Islands Mattole River McGinty Mountain Morro Dunes Morro Rock Napa River North Table Mountain Oasis Spring Panoche Hills Peytonia Slough Phoenix Vernal Pools Pine Hill Piute Creek Pleasant Valley Rancho Jamul Redwood Shores River Springs Lakes Saline Valley San Dieguito Lagoon San Elijo Lagoon San Felipe Creek San Joaquin River Santa Rosa Plateau Springville Stone Corral Sycamore Canyon Sycuan Peak Thomes Creek Tomales Bay Upper Newport Bay Watsonville Slough West Mojave Desert Woodbridge Yaudanchi
Marine Protected Areas	Abalone Cove and Point Vicente Anacapa Island SMCA Año Nuevo Arrow Point to Lion Head Point Batiquitos Lagoon Big Creek Bodega Head Bolsa Chica Cambria Campus Point Carmel Bay Cat Harbor Crystal Cove Dana Point Duxbury Reef Edward F. Ricketts Elkhorn Slough Estero Americano Estero de Limantour and Drakes Estero Estero de San Antonio Fagan Marsh Famosa Slough Farnsworth Onshore and Offshore Goleta Slough Greyhound Rock Lovers Cove and Casino Point MacKerricher Marin Islands Morro Bay Naples Pacific Grove Marine Gardens Painted Cave Piedras Blancas Point Arena Point Buchon Point Dume Point Reyes Point Sur Portuguese Ledge Pyramid Point Robert E. Badham Robert W. Crown Russian Gulch Russian River Salt Point San Diego-Scripps San Dieguito Lagoon San Elijo Lagoon Saunders Reef Sea Lion Cove Sonoma Coast Soquel Canyon South La Jolla South Point Southeast Farallon Island Stewarts Point Swami's Tijuana River Mouth Upper Newport Bay Van Damme Vandenberg White Rock (Cambria)

Bureau of Land Management National Conservation Lands

National Monuments	Berryessa Snow Mountain California Coastal Carrizo Plain Cascade–Siskiyou Fort Ord Mojave Trails Sand to Snow Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains
National Conservation Areas	California Desert King Range
Wilderness Areas	Argus Range Big Maria Mountains Bigelow Cholla Garden Bighorn Mountain Black Mountain Bright Star Bristol Mountains Cadiz Dunes Carrizo Gorge Chemehuevi Mountains Chimney Peak Chuckwalla Mountains Chumash Cleghorn Lakes Clipper Mountain Coso Range Coyote Mountains Darwin Falls Dead Mountains Dick Smith El Paso Mountains Fish Creek Mountains Funeral Mountains Garcia Golden Valley Grass Valley Headwaters Forest Reserve Hollow Hills Ibex Indian Pass Inyo Mountains Jacumba Kelso Dunes Kiavah Kingston Range Little Chuckwalla Mountains Little Picacho Machesna Mountain Malpais Mesa Manly Peak Matilija Mecca Hills Mesquite Newberry Mountains Nopah Range North Algodones Dunes North Mesquite Mountains Old Woman Mountains Orocopia Mountains Otay Mountain Owens Peak Pahrump Valley Palen/McCoy Palo Verde Mountains Picacho Peak Piper Mountain Piute Mountains Red Buttes Resting Spring Range Rice Valley Riverside Mountains Rodman Mountains Sacatar Trail Saddle Peak Hills San Gorgonio Santa Lucia Santa Rosa Sawtooth Mountains Sespe Sheephole Valley South Nopah Range Stateline Stepladder Mountains Surprise Canyon Sylvania Mountains Trilobite Turtle Mountains Whipple Mountains

National Marine Sanctuaries
Channel Islands Cordell Bank Greater Farallones Monterey Bay

National Estuarine Research Reserves
Elkhorn Slough San Francisco Bay Tijuana River

University of California Natural Reserve System

Angelo Coast Range
Año Nuevo Island
Blue Oak Ranch
Bodega Marine
Box Springs
Burns Piñon Ridge
Carpinteria Salt Marsh
Chickering American River
Coal Oil Point
Dawson Los Monos Canyon
Eagle Lake Field Station
Elliott Chaparral
Emerson Oaks
Fort Ord
Hans Jenny Pygmy Forest
Hastings
James San Jacinto Mountains
Jepson Prairie
Kendall-Frost Mission Bay Marsh
Landels-Hill Big Creek
Lassen Field Station
McLaughlin
Merced Vernal Pools and Grassland
Motte Rimrock
Philip L. Boyd Deep Canyon Desert
Point Reyes Field Station
Quail Ridge
Rancho Marino
Sagehen Creek Field Station
San Joaquin Marsh
Santa Cruz Island
Scripps Coastal
Sedgwick
Stebbins Cold Canyon
Steele Burnand Anza-Borrego Desert
Stunt Ranch Santa Monica Mountains
Sweeney Granite Mountains Desert
Valentine Eastern Sierra
White Mountain
Younger Lagoon

Private Conservation Land Trusts

Heritage registers: National Natural Landmarks

History of California

Before 1900	Native Californian Precontact First explorations Later explorations Genocide of indigenous population Spanish colonization Mexican rule California Trail Mexican–American War Californios California Republic Conquest of California Interim government of California United States rule Gold Rush Civil War
Since 1900	Labor Engineering Water wars Industrial growth Postwar culture Development Legal revolution Tech boom Present day
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v t e Santa Clara River Watershed
Tributaries	Castaic Creek Piru Creek San Francisquito Creek Sespe Creek
Communities	Acton Agua Dulce Bardsdale Castaic Castaic Junction El Rio Elizabeth Lake Fillmore Green Valley Lake Hughes Oxnard Piru Sand Canyon Santa Clarita Santa Paula Saticoy Stevenson Ranch Val Verde Valencia Ventura
Landmarks	Angeles National Forest Bouquet Reservoir California State Route 126 Castaic Lake Castaic Lake State Recreation Area Dry Canyon Reservoir Elizabeth Lake Hughes Lake Lake Piru Los Angeles Aqueduct Los Padres National Forest McGrath State Beach Mentryville Mint Canyon Formation Munz Lakes Oxnard Plain Placerita Canyon State Park Pyramid Dam Pyramid Lake Rancho Camulos Rancho El Rio de Santa Clara o la Colonia Rancho San Francisco Rancho Santa Clara del Norte Rancho Santa Paula y Saticoy Rancho Sespe Santa Clara River Trail Santa Clara River Valley Santa Clarita Valley San Emigdio Mountains San Francisquito Canyon St. Francis Dam San Gabriel Mountains Santa Susana Mountains Saticoy Oil Field Sespe Wilderness Sierra Madre Mountains Sierra Pelona Ridge Six Flags Magic Mountain Soledad Canyon Topatopa Mountains Vasquez Rocks

Cultural history

Geography

Geology

Ecology

Gallery

See also

References

External links