Los Angeles River and the adjoining Long Beach #710 Freeway Hello, The recent systems hitting the Westcoast with waves and tons of water have created a nightmare for some. As long as history is concerned, when the rains did come in those early years, the Los Angeles River was a meandering river. It starts somewhere in deep Northwest Los Angeles mountain ranges and winds down through the city areas as it heads to the Pacific Ocean outlet in Long Beach. Originally, the river was wild and one of many heading out to the ocean. Along the way the vast area of flat lands were the recipients of good soil from the mountain ranges and other inland soil areas that got flooded and took a ride to the ocean. There were people living along the river, but it was a wild river prone to flooding the surrounding area on both sides. As the city grew, flooding was not the best for families and daily jobs. The roads were flooded, as were the places people lived. The city kept growing as did the other smaller cities all along the edges of the river. Finally, the cities got tired of the constant flooding and created a controlled channel of water with tall sides to keep the flow of annual water heading to the ocean without flooding the neighboring cities. Hence, the name, “Flood Control Channel,” was used to describe the 50+ miles of meandering waters in a direct, controlled flow to the final place, the Long Beach harbor shoreline. Jnaki The years we lived in Long Beach, from 1946 to 98, we only saw flooding a couple of times. By the time we were driving, the channel was already in place and controlling the rainy waters and our neighborhoods on both sides were happy about that. There were those times when we were driving through the deep dips in the roads leading to PCH and eastward toward our high school, that we had to go through water that covered half of our wheels. But, our school was higher in elevation and safe from flooding. The problem was the streets all drain into the channels and those drain to the river. When the river is flowing fast, it slows down the drainage, now, making a mess of any street corner, or some of the lower level roads. In the Westside, we only got several known evacuation notices as the flowing waters were within a couple of feet to the actual top. Note: Luckily, it never over flowed the “flood control channel walls” and we were somewhat safe. The plus side was the whole neighborhoods on both side of the L.A. River had the best soils in the whole So Cal area. Throw a seed out and stomp on it. A few days later, a new tree or plant is growing, without any additives, soil amendments or necessary care. Plant it and walk away. Lucky us… The soil in the newer areas of the OC and elsewhere takes tons of soil amendments and lots of care if anything is able to grow in the soil that needs a lot of help to be a fertile ground for healthy plants. YRMV L.A. River origins from early history, emptying out into the Pacific Ocean at the Long Beach Harbor.
The Jalopy Journal
