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Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve

2003 establishments in CaliforniaCalabasas, CaliforniaHidden Hills, CaliforniaHistory of the San Fernando ValleyMovie ranches
Nature reserves in CaliforniaParks in Los Angeles County, CaliforniaParks in Ventura County, CaliforniaParks in the San Fernando ValleyProtected areas established in 2003Regional parks in CaliforniaSanta Monica Mountains National Recreation AreaSimi HillsUse mdy dates from April 2022West Hills, Los AngelesWoodland Hills, Los Angeles
Oak at Upper Las Virgenes Canyon
Oak at Upper Las Virgenes Canyon

The Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve is a large open space nature preserve owned and operated by the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy spanning nearly 3,000 acres (1,200 ha) in the Simi Hills of western Los Angeles County and eastern Ventura County. Originally part of Ahmanson Ranch, this area was sold by Seattle-based Washington Mutual to the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy in late 2003 after lengthy issues concerning development in the chaparral shrub forest and oak savanna understory and overstory Plant communities. It was previously called Ahmanson Ranch Park.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve

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N 34.184187 ° E -118.701538 °
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Ventura County



California, United States
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Oak at Upper Las Virgenes Canyon
Oak at Upper Las Virgenes Canyon
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Atomics International
Atomics International

Atomics International was a division of the North American Aviation company (later acquired by the Rockwell International company) which engaged principally in the early development of nuclear technology and nuclear reactors for both commercial and government applications. Atomics International was responsible for a number of accomplishments relating to nuclear energy: design, construction and operation of the first nuclear reactor in California (1952), the first nuclear reactor to produce power for a commercial power grid in the United States (1957) and the first nuclear reactor launched into outer space by the United States (1965).Atomics International undertook the development of nuclear reactors soon after being established: a series of commercial nuclear power reactors beginning with the Sodium Reactor Experiment (SRE) and a range of compact nuclear reactors culminating with the Systems for Auxiliary Nuclear Power SNAP-10A system. Both efforts were successful, despite nuclear accidents at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory, but overall interest in nuclear power steadily declined. The division transitioned to non-nuclear energy-related projects such as coal gasification and gradually ceased designing and testing nuclear reactors. Atomics International was eventually merged with another division (Rocketdyne division) of the same parent company (Rockwell International). As of 2010, all of the Atomics International facilities, except for the few remaining facilities located in the Area IV test area at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory (SSFL), have been demolished, cleaned and reused, or awaiting final cleanup.

Santa Susana Field Laboratory
Santa Susana Field Laboratory

The Santa Susana Field Laboratory (SSFL), formerly known as Rocketdyne, is a complex of industrial research and development facilities located on a 2,668-acre (1,080 ha) portion of Southern California in an unincorporated area of Ventura County in the Simi Hills between Simi Valley and Los Angeles. The site is located approximately 18 miles (29 km) northwest of Hollywood and approximately 30 miles (48 km) northwest of Downtown Los Angeles. Sage Ranch Park is adjacent on part of the northern boundary and the community of Bell Canyon is along the entire southern boundary.SSFL was used mainly for the development and testing of liquid-propellant rocket engines for the United States space program from 1949 to 2006, nuclear reactors from 1953 to 1980 and the operation of a U.S. government-sponsored liquid metals research center from 1966 to 1998. Throughout the years, about ten low-power nuclear reactors operated at SSFL, (including the Sodium Reactor Experiment, the first reactor in the United States to generate electrical power for a commercial grid, and the first commercial power plant in the world to experience a partial core meltdown) in addition to several "critical facilities" that helped develop nuclear science and applications. At least four of the ten nuclear reactors had accidents during their operation. The reactors located on the grounds of SSFL were considered experimental, and therefore had no containment structures. The site ceased research and development operations in 2006. The years of rocket testing, nuclear reactor testing, and liquid metal research have left the site "significantly contaminated". Environmental cleanup is ongoing. The public who live near the site have strongly urged a thorough cleanup of the site, citing cases of long term illnesses, including cancer cases at rates they claim are higher than normal. On 30 March 2018, a seven-year-old girl living in Simi Valley died of neuroblastoma, prompting public urging to thoroughly clean up the site. Experts have said, however, that there is insufficient evidence to identify an explicit link between cancer rates and radioactive contamination in the area.