Las Llajas Canyon

Las Llajas (pronounced YAH huhs)[1] Canyon within the Marr Ranch Parkland contains the 1920s residential subdivision called Marrland and the surrounding open space area administrated by the Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District (RSRPD) and is located in northeastern Simi Valley, CA.[2][3][4][5] The Las Llajas and nearby Chivo Canyons are parts of the Marr Ranch Parkland, Marrland residential subdivision, and are situated at the foothills on the south side of the Santa Susana Mountains.[6][7] It contains panoramic mountain and city views, large oak trees, stream and stream bed, rock formations, barren hillsides and rolling hills.[8] The canyon is visited for recreational activities as rock climbing, biking, hiking, wildlife observation, photography, running, picnicking, and horseback riding. It has smooth footing with many sandy sections and a green creek-bed. It also includes a 46-acre dam that was intended for creation a recreational lake in the 1970s. Now called the Las Llajas Canyon Debris Basin.[9]

Las Llajas Canyon
Sign at the main entrance.
TypePublic open space, residential subdivision
LocationSimi Valley, CA
Coordinates34°17′49″N 118°40′49″W
Area1,740 acres (700 ha) (i.e. open to public)
Operated byRancho Simi Recreation and Park District
StatusOpen

The place name was first used in 1931.[10][11] It is likely a misspelling of the Spanish las llagas, which translates to "the wounds", and referred to the stigmata of a Roman Catholic saint.[12]

Pisgah Grande was a Christian sect who created a secluded colony in the Llajas Canyon. At one time, the cult had thirty buildings and 150 residents.[13][14]

Wildlife

Llajas Canyon is home to fauna such as the Mountain lion, California badger, Red-tailed hawk, Ring-tailed cat, Virginia opossum, Gray fox, Coyote, Bobcat, Mule deer, Southern Pacific rattlesnake, and Barn owl.[15] The area was open for Mountain lion hunting as late as in 1934.[16] The flora consists of native shrubs, grasses, California sycamore, numerous oak trees, brush, vines, wildflowers, wild celery, watercress, cactus, palm trees, and more.

Geography

To get to its main entrance, follow the 118 highway to Simi Valley and exit on Yosemite Avenue. Head north on Yosemite Ave. until you get to Evening Sky Drive, where you are going to make a right turn. Continue on Evening Sky Dr. for a quarter mile until you arrive at its main entrance at 5715 Evening Sky Road.[17] There are also numerous other entrances to the trail, for instance 0.5 miles down the street at 3446 Yosemite Avenue. Its trail connects to the Chumash Park, Rocky Peak, Chivo Canyon, and various other trails and public lands, and is also accessible through hiking trails from Chatsworth, Los Angeles.[18]

The canyon dates back to the Eocene Epoch, and there have been many fossil-findings in the area.[19][20] Llajas Canyon is an arroyo incised in silty and sandy salt-rich marine sediment.[21] The area is vulnerable for landslides[22] and flooding.[23][24] The term "Llajas" was first used informally for series of fine, conglomerate sand and sandy siltstone underlying the Sespe Formation and outcropping by the end of what is now the mouth of Las Llajas Canyon.

Panoramic view of Simi Valley from Las Llajas Canyon in the northeastern end of town.

See also
  • Santa Susana Mountains topics

References
  1. Bright, William (1998). 1500 California Place Names: Their Origin and Meaning. University of California Press. Page 81. ISBN 9780520920545.
  2. "RSRPD las Llajas Trail". Archived from the original on 2015-06-12. Retrieved 2015-06-07.
  3. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-06-07.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. Wilmarth, M. Grace (1938). Lexicon of Geologic Names of the United States. U.S. Government Printing Office. Page 1202.
  5. Stone, Robert (1998). Day Hikes in Ventura County, California: 43 of the Best. Day Hike Books. Page 39. ISBN 9781573420198.
  6. "Honey Bee Sanctuary". Archived from the original on 2014-10-20. Retrieved 2015-06-07.
  7. Scientific Publishing Company (1920). The Mineral Industry, Volume 28. University of Michigan. Page 493.
  8. Stone, Robert (2011). Day Hikes Around Ventura County: 116 Great Hikes. Day Hike Books. Page 113. ISBN 9781573420624.
  9. Murphy, Kelly (2012). Local Multi-Use Trails. Multi Use Trails. Page 134. ISBN 9781479165599.
  10. Keroher, Grace C. (1966). Lexicon of geologic names of the United States for 1936-1960. U.S. Govt. Print. Off. Page 2204.
  11. "Las Llajas Canyon". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
  12. Bright, William (1998). 1500 California Place Names: Their Origin and Meaning. University of California Press. Page 81. ISBN 9780520920545.
  13. Appleton, Bill (2009). Santa Susana. Arcadia Publishing. Pages 115-116. ISBN 9780738570495.
  14. Hoover, Mildred and Hero Eugene Rensch (1966). Historic Spots in California, Third Edition. Stanford University Press. Page 169. ISBN 9780804740203.
  15. U.S. Congressional House Committee on Government Operations. Environment, Energy, and Natural Resources Subcommittee (1991). Intrastate Land Exchanges: The Jordan Ranch exchange. U.S. Government Printing Office. Page 38. ISBN 9780160353628.
  16. Varble, Wendy (2012). The Summer of 1934. AuthorHouse. Pages 63-66. ISBN 9781477276983.
  17. "RSRPD las Llajas Trail". Archived from the original on 2015-06-12. Retrieved 2015-06-07.
  18. http://www.parks.ca.gov/pages/21299/files/2%20Visitor%20use%20pages%2025-34.pdf (Page 32).
  19. Nilsen, Tor H. and Samuel H. Clarke, Jr. (1949). Sedimentation and Tectonics in the Early Tertiary Continental Borderland Of Central California. United States Department of the Interior. Page 41 and 44.
  20. Wilmarth, M. Grace (1938). Lexicon of Geologic Names of the United States. U.S. Government Printing Office. Page 1202.
  21. Welby, Charles W. and Monica E. Gowan (1998). A Paradox of Power: Voices of Warning and Reason in the Geosciences. Geological Society of America. Page 60. ISBN 9780813741123.
  22. Welby, Charles W. and Monica E. Gowan (1998). A Paradox of Power: Voices of Warning and Reason in the Geosciences. Geological Society of America. Page 60. ISBN 9780813741123.
  23. National Research Council (2004). Flash Flood Forecasting Over Complex Terrain: With an Assessment of the Sulphur Mountain NEXRAD in Southern California. Page 84. ISBN 9780309181327.
  24. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-06-07.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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