EATON CANYON

'Eaton Canyon' is a major canyon beginning at the Eaton Saddle near Mount Markham and San Gabriel Peak in the San Gabriel Mountains in the Angeles National Forest, USA. Its drainage flows into the Rio Hondo river and then into the Los Angeles River. ^[1] It is named after Judge Benjamin Eaton, who built the first Fair Oaks Ranch House in 1865 not far from Eaton Creek. ^[2]
The most well-known portion of the canyon is the Eaton Canyon Nature Center in Altadena, California. The trailhead of the Mount Wilson Toll Road is in the canyon.^[3]ContentsHistoryLandmarksEaton Canyon Natural Area ParkEaton Canyon FallsGolf courseMount Wilson Toll RoadEaton WashEaton Canyon Reservoir and DamSee alsoExternal linksReferences

History

The canyon is one of the east-west canyons that separate the steep southern ridge and the taller northern ridge of the San Gabriel Mountains. The canyons run along the San Gabriel Fault^[4], once a main part of the San Andreas Fault. ^[2]
Eaton Canyon is in the foothills of these mountains. Originally called "El Precipicio" by the Spanish settlers because of its steep gorges, the canyon falls under several governmental jurisdictions. ^[2]
Benjamin Eaton was hired by Don Benito Wilson to bring water to the Fair Oaks Ranch.^[7] In August 1877, naturalist John Muir set out from Pasadena for an expedition into the San Gabriels. He writes: "On the first day of my excursion I went only as far as the mouth of Eaton Canyon, because the heat was oppressive, and a pair of new shoes were chafing my feet to such an extent that walking began to be painful."^[8]
[9]
[10]
On October 27, 1993, the floor of Eaton Canyon, along with 118 surrounding homes, was devastated by a wildfire. ^[11]

Landmarks

Eaton Canyon Natural Area Park

The 'Eaton Canyon Natural Area Park' is located where the mountain stream into the foothill wash at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains. The park is administered by the Los Angeles County Parks and Recreation. The county administers the lower two-thirds of the area below the toll road bridge. Most of the 190 acres (0.8 km²) that comprises the natural area lie on the northern boundaries of the old Rancho San Pascual and Rancho Santa Anita on land designated for the Southern Pacific Railroad. Once the railroad gave up the land, it was opened for homesteading.^[2] The nature center is unique in the area because it houses exhibits that educate on the flora and fauna local to the San Gabriel Valley Southern California. The center was rebuilt in 1998 after the 1993 fire destroyed the previous facility. ^{[7] [14]}
Pasadena and parts of Altadena receive about 40% of their water from local sources.
^[2] The upper third is controlled by the Water Department of the City of Pasadena.^{[7] [14]}

★ - Eaton Canyon Park

Eaton Canyon Falls

Eaton Canyon Falls

The falls are where the Eaton Creek has a fifty foot drop and are located north of the bridge in the part of the canyon administered by the US Forest Service.^[18] John Muir once described the waterfall as "a charming little thing, with a low, sweet voice, singing like a bird, as it pours from a notch in a short ledge, some thirty or forty feet into a round mirror-pool."^[19]

★ - Eaton Canyon falls

Golf course

The 'Eaton Canyon Golf Course' is administered by the Los Angeles County Parks and Recreation^[20]

★ - Eaton Canyon Park Golf Course

Mount Wilson Toll Road

Mt. Wilson Toll Road trail head

Main articles: Mount Wilson Toll Road

The Mt. Wilson Toll Road to Henninger Flats is controlled by the Forester and Fire Warden of the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

★ - Mt. Wilson Toll Road trail head

Eaton Wash

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Emerging from the foothills and flowing south, the Eaton Creek becomes the Eaton Wash, whose drainage flows into the Rio Hondo river and then into the Los Angeles River. The wash is one of the Altadena streams that helps to feed to Raymond Basin. Rubio, Las Flores and others all flow to the east eventually to join the Rio Hondo. Millard Canyon on the west flows to the Arroyo Seco. Eaton Wash it is one of the two major streams that channels storm water in Pasadena, the other is the Arroyo Seco on the western side of the city. ^[21]
On it way to the Rio Hondo, the Eaton Wash is joined by the combined drainages from Pasadena Glen and Hastings Canyons. These channels have all been modified by flood control dams near the base of the mountains, and both have been confined to manmade channels or storm drains in their lower reaches. Typically the Eaton Wash and Arroyo Seco carry very little water. Peak discharges are typically less than 1,000 ft³/s (30 m³/s) for Arroyo Seco and less than 500 ft³/s (15 m³/s) for Eaton Wash.

★ - Eaton Wash, USGS El Monte (CA)

Eaton Canyon Reservoir and Dam

'Eaton Wash Reservoir' and the 'Eaton Wash Dam' were built in 1937 and are controlled by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works. The dam is a rock fill, 63 feet (19 m) in height, and is 1545 feet (471 m) in length. Normal storage for the reservoir is 721 acre feet (889,000 m³). It has a surface area of 54 acres (220,000 m²) and drains an area of 9.47 square miles (25 km²). Its primary usage is for flood control and debris storage. http://ladpw.org/wrd/report/0102/resv/facility.cfm EATON CANYON RESERVOIR EPA Water Assessment

★ - Eaton Canyon Reservoir

★ - Eaton Wash Dam

See also

★ Angeles National Forest Fire Lookout Association

★ California chaparral and woodlands

External links

★ Altadena Historical Society

★ Adventure Hikes and Canyoneering in the San Gabriels

★ Chronology of Eaton Canyon

★ Flora of Lower Eaton Canyon

References

1. Eaton Canyon Nature Center Associates
2. Eaton Canyon Nature Center Associates history
3. What a washout Joe Robinson
4. http://quake.usgs.gov/info/faultmaps/fault213.html
5. Eaton Canyon Nature Center Associates history
6. Eaton Canyon Nature Center Associates history
7. http://tchester.org/sgm/places/eaton_canyon.html
8. http://www.thetrailmaster.com/articles/eatoncanyon.html
9. http://www.yosemite.ca.us/john_muir_writings/steep_trails/chapter_11.html
10. http://www.simpsoncity.com/hiking/eaton.html
11. http://www.trails.com/tcatalog_trail.asp?trailid=HGS241-021

12. Eaton Canyon Nature Center Associates history
13. http://tchester.org/sgm/places/eaton_canyon.html
14. http://www.laep.org/catalog/providers/193.html
15. Eaton Canyon Nature Center Associates history
16. http://tchester.org/sgm/places/eaton_canyon.html
17. http://www.laep.org/catalog/providers/193.html
18. http://www.ecnca.org/Information/HikingTrails/Falls.htm
19. http://www.gocitykids.com/browse/attraction.jsp?id=11816
20.
http://lacountyparks.org/Parkinfo.asp?URL=cms1_033040.asp&Title=Eaton%20Canyon
21. http://www.arroyoseco.org/FinalReport/WaterResources.pdf