Lytle Creek Canyon

Lytle Creek Canyon in the San Gabriel Mountains has a long history. It is named for Andrew Lytle, a company commander in the Mormon Battalion during the Mexican War and an early settler of San Bernardino who later served as mayor there. The canyon contains the North, Middle, and South Forks of Lytle Creek, a major tributary of the Santa Ana River, and is home to Bonita Falls, whose three separate drops make it the second highest cataract in Southern California. Just east lies the San Andreas Fault, where a major earthquake occurred in 1857. The earliest recorded visitors to the canyon were nearby Serrano Indians. During the Mission Period from 1771 to 1846, the area was home to vast Spanish and Mexican land grants. Mormon colonists camped at the mouth of the canyon in 1851 while negotiating to purchase a site for the City of San Bernardino, which remained a Mormon colony until the settlers were called home to Salt Lake City in 1857. In the 1860s, gold discoveries in the San Gabriel and San Bernardino ranges brought an influx of miners. Tremendous floods ravaged the canyon in 1862 and again in 1938. Today the canyon is home to the historic communities of Scotland, Happy Jack, and Tally's, and the 2010 Census showed a total population of 701.

California · United States