Nature
Arroyo Seco is a 24.9-mile seasonal watercourse and canyon in Los Angeles County, running from the San Gabriel Mountains to the Los Angeles River and shaping communities from the foothills through Pasadena to northeast Los Angeles. Named by Gaspar de Portolà in 1770, it also holds Tongva-Gabrieliño cultural significance and figured in the early settlement of the Pasadena area through Rancho San Pascual and the Indiana Colony. Over time it became a major transportation corridor, carrying rail lines, the California Cycleway, the Colorado Street Bridge, and the Arroyo Seco Parkway. Repeated flooding led to Devil’s Gate Dam, concrete channelization, and continuing debates over water, habitat, recreation, and preservation.
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Los Angeles, California · United States
