What the San Gabriel Mountains Look like w/out Buildings

This image was stitched and smoothed (sky only) from 6 photos taken on the top of the ridge of the Whittier Narrows Dam. The sky was breathtaking. Most of the buildings and the cities that fill the Valley from the Natural Area to the Foothills were obscured by the vegetation in the Natural Area and in the Flood Zone (Liquefaction Zone) of the Whittier Narrows.

This is where I was standing... on top of the dam which has been paved for bicycles....

See that Edison tower in the middle of the picture? .... I was to the right of it... The street is Rosemeade Boulevard (19).

This is what it looks like after a rain INSIDE of the dam..... (sure is a good thing there is a Dam there.... because... well, I will show you in a bit...)

There is a whole community RIGHT UNDERNEATH THE DAM!

If anything should compromise the Dam these people would be in danger.

Route 19 is where I was standing when I took the panorama shot. The Whittier Narrows Dam is what is between a lot of people and their homes and their families AND a lot of water.

Better, that the Flood Plain not be tampered with, don't ya think?

Whittier Narrows Trash Bolus - the Dam of the Forgotten River

Ed Barajas is the 'birder' who has documented the Federally Endangered birds in the Whittier Narrows. He has been documenting when the birds come in and when they nest and when they leave, for 10 years. The Los Angeles County Parks and Recreation which is part of the Los Angeles County Public Works collects Ed's work for their records of the Endangered animals in their jurisdiction. It is also the County's job to clean up the trash.

This years rain brought more then the usual trash - it brought tons of plastic and balls. It has filled the area behind the Whittier Narrows Dam - as usual, but his year it has spilled over the dam and into San Gabriel River where people boat and fish.

The Whittier Narrows Dam next to the Whittier Narrows Nature Center is halfway down the San Gabriel River - between the mountains and the ocean.

Trash in the San Gabriel River

Go here for Whittier Narrows Dam trash photos...