Los Angeles River

The **Los Angeles River** (also called: **El Rio De Nuestra Senora La Reina De Los Angeles De Porciuncula** or **Porciuncula River**; Spanish: *River of the Angels*; informally **LA River**) is a river flowing through Los Angeles County, California, in the United States. About  long, it flows from Canoga Park south and west to its end at the Long Beach Harbor, in San Pedro Bay, part of the Pacific Ocean. The basin is rimmed by the San Gabriel Mountains, Santa Monica Mountains and Santa Susana Mountains, as well as several smaller mountain ranges. Much of the water that flows in the Los Angeles River flows in from tributaries that come from the mountains.

The river was once free-flowing, winding across a floodplain that occupied much of the Los Angeles Basin. With its frequent floods, it often changed course, causing erosion and depositing silt in other places. When the city of Los Angeles had its first settlers around the 1850s, the river was its main water source. With the opening of the Los Angeles Aqueduct in 1913, the Los Angeles River was no longer needed as a water source. Today, the Los Angeles River runs in a fixed course through a concrete channel for nearly its whole length. It is heavily polluted. The primary source of water during summer and fall is the Donald C. Tillman Water Reclamation Plant in Van Nuys. Plans for restoration of the river are being discussed.

## Watershed 
The watershed of the Los Angeles River covers 834 square miles (2,135 square kilometers). The Santa Monica Mountains and smaller Simi Hills border it on the east side. On the west side lies the San Gabriel Mountains and Santa Susana Mountains. Seven major tributaries flow into the Los Angeles River: Burbank Western Channel, Aliso Wash, Tujunga Wash, Verdugo Wash, Arroyo Seco, Compton Creek, and Rio Hondo. 360 square miles (920 square kilometers) of the watershed are open space, while the remaining 474 square miles (1,215 square kilometers) are highly developed with all kinds of land uses.

The river officially begins in a place called Canoga Park, in the San Fernando Valley. Bell Creek and Calabasas Wash (Arroyo Calabasas or Calabasas Creek; *Calabasa* is Spanish for "pumpkin") flow from opposite sides of the valley to a point () or even  per hour.

Tujunga Wash, Aliso Wash, and Brown's Canyon Wash join the river from the left. The river flows on to a basin called the *Sepulveda basin*, controlled by a dam at its southeastern end. This basin is incredibly rich in wildlife and plants. Normally, there wouldn not be a year-round flow of water here. But because of 75 million gallons of water flowing into the river every day from the Donald C. Tillman Water Reclamation Plant, there is an year-round flow of water. This water is not suitable to be drinking water, but is safe to touch.

, one of the tributaries to the Los Angeles River]]
An important tributary, Verdugo Wash, flows in from the left. The Verdugo Wash begins in the Verdugo Hills and flows west to the Los Angeles River. Uniquely, the intersection of Interstate 5 and Route 134 is located right above this point. The Los Angeles River makes a great bend west around Griffith Park, a big park in the middle of Los Angeles. Here, the river has an earthen bottom, which is unique because most of the river is covered with concrete.  Downstream from this place, the river picks up another important tributary, Arroyo Seco, on the left. (The name "Arroyo Seco" means "dry creek" in Spanish.) The Arroyo Seco begins in the San Gabriel Mountains and flows south to the Los Angeles River. One important feature of the Arroyo Seco is the giant Devil's Gate Dam. The Arroyo Seco is free-flowing in many places.

After flowing a few more miles, the Los Angeles River becomes very wide. The final large tributary, Rio Hondo (Spanish for "deep river") flows in from the left, in the city of South Gate. As the river approaches San Pedro Bay and eventually the Pacific Ocean, it passes by the RMS Queen Mary, a retired ocean liner now a museum and hotel.

## History 
### Original river 
The Los Angeles River was originally a free-flowing river, running across a wide basin that would periodically flood. The river would have heavy flows in the winter and spring (rainy season) and little to no flow in the summer and fall (dry season). However, water being forced out of an aquifer below the Los Angeles Basin gave parts of the river an year-round flow. This phenomenon can still be seen today, most notably in a place called Griffith Park where water rises out of the ground and feeds the river. 15 hours later, another storm hit Southern California, dumping another 6-10 inches (15–25&nbsp;cm) of rain. The soils of the region could not take in any more water from the rains of the past few days. The three major rivers in the region, the Los Angeles, San Gabriel, and the Santa Ana, burst their levees and flooded three California counties.

It was the 5th largest flood in the recorded history of the area. 5,601 houses were destroyed, 1,500 houses were damaged, and 800 cars were trapped in the mud. But Los Angeles County was not as affected as neighboring Riverside County and Orange County, for it was those two counties that suffered the worst floods.

Notably, the City of Los Angeles agreed in 2007, by a 12-0 vote, to spend some $2 billion USD over the next 50 years. The money will be used to fund over 200 separate projects, including parks, walkways, and pedestrian bridges; along a  stretch of the river. Some factories and other buildings near the river will be removed so houses can be built closer to the river. It has also been proposed for a subway station next to the river.

## Riverside communities 
The biggest city beside the Los Angeles River is Los Angeles. There are many other cities and towns that lie beside the river.

* Canoga Park
* Reseda
* Van Nuys
* Sherman Oaks
* Studio City
* Universal City
* Toluca Lake
* Burbank
* Glendale
* Los Feliz

* Atwater Village
* Elysian Valley
* Glassell Park
* Cypress Park
* Chinatown
* Lincoln Heights
* Boyle Heights
* Vernon
* East Los Angeles
* South Los Angeles

* Maywood
* Commerce
* Bell
* Bell Gardens
* Cudahy
* South Gate
* Lynwood
* Paramount
* Compton
* Long Beach

## Crossings 
Bridges that cross the Los Angeles River. Crossings are listed from south to north.

## Nearby rivers 
### North along coast 
* Ballona Creek
### South along coast 
* San Gabriel River

## References 
## Other websites 
* Friends of the Los Angeles River
* Photo Tour of the Los Angeles River (from Canoga Park to South Gate)
* Los Angeles River Revitalization Master Plan Index
* Los Angeles River Railroads