Eaton Canyon, on the front range of the San Gabriel Mountains above Pasadena and Altadena, has long linked mountain wilderness, water systems, and human history. Part of Tongva homelands for thousands of years, it supported the village of Puntitavjatngna before later being renamed for Judge Benjamin S. Eaton, who worked on local water development in 1865. Visitors have long used the canyon for scenery and mountain access, including John Muir in 1877 and travelers on the Mount Wilson Toll Road after 1891. Its lower park and Nature Center became important public spaces, though fire repeatedly damaged them, while the canyon and Eaton Wash also remained central to regional flood control and water management.

Pasadena, California · USA