Owens Valley

Coordinates: 36°48′09″N 118°11′59″W / 36.80250°N 118.19972°W / 36.80250; -118.19972
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Owens Valley
U.S. Route 395
RiversOwens River

Owens Valley (

alkali flat
, sits on the southern end of the valley.

The current arid nature of the valley is mostly due to the

California Water Wars.[5] Owens Lake was completely emptied by 1926, only 13 years after Los Angeles began diverting water. The water diversions inspired aspects of the 1974 film Chinatown
.

Towns in the Owens Valley include

U.S. Route 395
.

Geology

Owens Valley, photographed from Sawmill Pass by Ansel Adams, circa 1936.

About three million years ago, the Sierra Nevada Fault and the White Mountains Fault systems became active with repeated episodes of slip earthquakes gradually producing the impressive relief of the eastern Sierra Nevada and White Mountain escarpments that bound the northern Owens Valley-Mono Basin region.

Owens Valley is a graben—a down-dropped block of land between two vertical faults—the westernmost in the Basin and Range Province. It is also part of a trough which extends from Oregon to Death Valley called the Walker Lane.[6]

The western flank of much of the valley has large

Buttermilk Country.[6]

This graben was formed by a long series of earthquakes, such as the

1872 Lone Pine earthquake, that have moved the graben down and helped move the Sierra Nevada up. The graben is much larger than the depth of the valley suggests; gravity studies suggest that 10,000 feet (3,048 m) of sedimentary rock mostly fills the graben and that a very steep escarpment is buried under the western length of the valley. The topmost part of this escarpment is exposed at Alabama Hills
.

The Owens Valley has many mini-volcanoes, such as Crater Mountain in the Big Pine volcanic field. Smaller versions of the Devils Postpile, can be found, for example, by Little Lake.

Ecology

The valley is split between four different

ecoregions, as defined by the United States Environmental Protection Agency: "Upper Owens Valley" and "Tonopah Sagebrush Foothills" (as part of the Great Basin Desert), and "Western Mojave Basins" and "Mojave Playas" (as part of the Mojave Desert).[2]

The floor of the valley, roughly north of the town of

desert needlegrass. Along the Owens River, some restoration of cottonwoods, willows, and wetlands has occurred.[8]

The eastern slopes of the valley lie in the "Tonopah Sagebrush Foothills" ecoregion.

ephemeral and flow during and immediately after storms. Storm events can be of sufficient magnitude to move large quantities of sediment in streambeds Because of the arid conditions, this ecoregion has low carrying capacity for cattle.[8]

The southern part of the valley, except for the bed of Owens Lake, lies in the "Western Mojave Basins" ecoregion.[2] The ecoregion is typically dominated by

big galleta.[8]

Alkaline dust blowing off the dry bed of Owens Lake

Finally, the lakebed of Owens Lake is considered to be a "Mojave Playa".[2] The high salt and clay content of playa surface mud, and the hot, dry conditions inhibit plant growth. This ecoregion is largely barren and only sparse saltbush vegetation typically is found on the margins. Playas are dynamic environments with surface channels, playa margins, alluvial materials, and biota changing with each flooding event. Physical and biological crusts on soil surfaces are important, stabilizing soil and reducing erosion from wind and water.[8]

The valley contains plants adapted to alkali flat habitat. One of these, the Owens Valley checkerbloom (Sidalcea covillei), is endemic to Owens Valley.

Tule Elk
grazing in Owens Valley.

Tule elk were introduced into the Owens Valley by the State of California in 1933. From the original 56 introduced elk, the herd grew to 300 individuals by 1952, which precipitated conflicts with ranchers due to destruction of property by the elk. Currently, the total elk population is managed to be approximately 490.[7]

History

lanscape painting of the valley with mountains in the distance
Albert Bierstadt, Owens Valley, California

The valley was inhabited in late prehistoric times by the

Eastern Mono live in several colonies from Lone Pine to Bishop. Trade between Native Americans of the Owens Valley and coastal tribes such as the Chumash has been indicated by the archaeological record.[9]

On May 1, 1834, Joseph R. Walker entered Owens Valley from the south, having crossed the Sierra Nevada at Walker Pass. Walker and his group of 52 men traveled up the valley on their way back to the Humboldt Sink, and back up the Humboldt River to the Rocky Mountains.[10]

In 1845,

John C. Fremont named the Owens valley, river, and lake for Richard Owens, one of his guides. Camp Independence was established on Oak Creek near modern Independence, California, on July 4, 1862,[11] during the Owens Valley Indian War.[12]

Farmworkers in the Manzanar Relocation Camp

From 1942 to 1945, during

Japanese American Internment camp operated in the valley at Manzanar near Independence, California
.

Water diversion to Los Angeles

Further information:
California Water Wars

In the early 20th century, the valley became the scene of a struggle between local residents and the city of Los Angeles over water rights. William Mulholland, superintendent of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP), planned the 223-mile (359 km) Los Angeles Aqueduct, completed in 1913, which diverted water from the Owens River. The water rights were acquired deceitfully, often splitting water cooperatives and pitting neighbors against one another. In 1924, local farmers were fed up with the purchases and erupted in violence, sabotaging parts of the water system.[3]

Eventually, Los Angeles acquired a large portion of the water rights to over 300,000 acres (121,000 ha) of land in the valley, almost completely diverting the water inflows away from Owens Lake. Gary Libecap of the University of California, Santa Barbara, observed that the price Los Angeles was willing to pay to other water sources per volume of water was far higher than what the farmers received.[13]: 89  Farmers who resisted the pressure from Los Angeles until 1930 received the highest price for their land; most farmers sold their land from 1905 to 1925, and received less than Los Angeles was willing to pay.[13] The sale of their land brought the farmers substantially more income than if they had kept the land for farming and ranching.[13]: 90  None of the sales were made under threat of eminent domain.[14] As a result of these acquisitions, the lake subsequently dried up completely, leaving the present alkali flat which plagues the southern valley with alkali dust storms.[15]

In 1970, LADWP completed a second aqueduct from Owens Valley. More surface water was diverted, and groundwater was pumped to feed the aqueduct. Owens Valley springs and seeps dried and disappeared, and groundwater-dependent vegetation began to die.[3]

Years of litigation followed. In 1997, Inyo County, Los Angeles, the Owens Valley Committee, the Sierra Club, and other concerned parties signed a

State of California, Los Angeles promised to rewater the lower Owens River by September 2005. In July 2004, Los Angeles mayor James Hahn proposed barring all future development on its Owens Valley holdings by proposing a conservation easement for all LADWP land.[17] They did not meet this extended deadline. In 2008, Los Angeles fulfilled its promise and rewatered the lower Owens River.[18]

Pursuant to a 2014 agreement between the city and Great Basin Unified Air Pollution Control District (GBUAPCD, the Owens Valley air quality regulators), LADWP began using a new method of suppressing airborne dust from the dry bed of Owens Lake.

California Superior Court ruled that the 2014 agreement doesn't cover the dispute and the fines levied by GBUAPCD are unenforceable.[20]

Owens Valley, and the Sierra Escarpment (Tinemaha Reservoir in the foreground)

Radio observatory

The Owens Valley Radio Observatory located near Westgard Pass is one of ten dishes making up the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA).

See also

  • Owens River
  • Bibliography of the Sierra Nevada
    — for further reading.

Notes

  1. ^ "Owens Valley". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved May 3, 2009.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Ecoregions of California" (PDF). US Environmental Protection Agency. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
  3. ^
    ISBN 0-931378-14-1
    .
  4. ISBN 0-8263-0358-7
    .
  5. ^ "Los Angeles Aqueduct". Archived from the original on July 10, 2011. Retrieved October 17, 2010. LADWP
  6. ^
    ISBN 0-87842-409-1
    .
  7. ^ a b "Tule Elk History in the Owens Valley". California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
  8. ^ a b c d Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from Descriptions of the Level IV Ecoregions of California (PDF). United States Environmental Protection Agency. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
  9. ^ Hogan, C. Michael (2008). Andy Burnham (ed.). "Los Osos Back Bay". Megalithic Portal. Archived from the original on December 9, 2020. Retrieved September 2, 2008.
  10. ISBN 0-8061-1934-9. Archived
    from the original on November 8, 2023. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
  11. ^ Hart, Herbert M. "Camp Independence (Inyo County)". Digital Desert. Archived from the original on September 29, 2010. Retrieved October 20, 2009.
  12. ^ Key, V., John W. (1979). The Owens Valley Indian War, 1861-1865 (Thesis). Fort Leavenworth, Kansas: U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. Archived from the original on August 8, 2011. Retrieved October 20, 2009.
  13. ^
    ISBN 978-0-8047-5379-1
    .
  14. ISBN 978-0-8047-5140-7
    .
  15. ^ Reheis, Marith C (December 9, 2016). "Owens (Dry) Lake, California: A Human-Induced Dust Problem". U.S. Geological Survey. Archived from the original on August 19, 2023. Retrieved July 5, 2023.
  16. ^ "The 1997 MOU". Archived from the original on October 1, 2011. Inyo County Water Department
  17. ^ Broder, John M. (August 8, 2004). "Los Angeles Mayor Seeks To Freeze Valley Growth". The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 4, 2023. Retrieved May 20, 2010.
  18. ^ "L.A. Returns Water to the Owens Valley". NPR News. Archived from the original on February 25, 2018. Retrieved April 3, 2018. NPR
  19. ^ Sahagun, Louis (November 14, 2014). "New dust-busting method ends L.A.'s longtime feud with Owens Valley". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on November 18, 2014. Retrieved November 18, 2014.
  20. ^ a b City of Los Angeles v. California Air Resources Board (Cal. Super. Sacramento Sep 27, 2022), Text.
  21. ^ Sahagun, Louis (November 8, 2022). "L.A.'s quest for water leaves costly bill: Higher rates for customers, choking air pollution". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on November 8, 2022. Retrieved November 8, 2022.

References

Further reading

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Owens Valley.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Owens_Valley&oldid=1215525075"