Santa Susana Field Laboratory

The Energy Technology Engineering Center (ETEC), was a government-owned, contractor-operated complex of industrial facilities located within the 2,850-acre (11.5 km2) Santa Susana Field Laboratory (SSFL), Ventura County, California. The ETEC specialized in non-nuclear testing of components which were designed to transfer heat from a nuclear reactor using liquid metals instead of water or gas. The center operated from 1966 to 1998. The ETEC site has been closed and is now undergoing building removal and environmental remediation by the U.S. Department of Energy.

The Sodium Reactor Experiment was a pioneering nuclear power plant built by Atomics International at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory near Simi Valley, California. The reactor operated from 1957 to 1964. On July 12, 1957 the Sodium Reactor Experiment became the first nuclear reactor in California to produce electrical power for a commercial power grid by powering the nearby city of Moorpark. In July 1959, the reactor experienced a partial meltdown when 13 of the reactor's 43 fuel elements partially melted, and a controlled release of radioactive gas into the atmosphere occurred. The reactor was repaired and restarted in September 1960. In February 1964, the Sodium Reactor Experiment was in operation for the last time. Removal of the deactivated reactor was completed in 1981. Technical analyses of the 1959 incident have produced contrasting conclusions regarding the types and quantities of radioactive materials released. Members of the neighboring communities have expressed concerns about the possible impacts on their health and environment from the incident. In August 2009, 50 years after the occurrence, the Department of Energy hosted a community workshop to discuss the 1959 incident.

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.

The Simi Hills are a low rocky mountain range of the Transverse Ranges in eastern Ventura County and western Los Angeles County, of southern California, United States.

Sage Ranch Park is a 625-acre park (253 ha) and wildlife corridor located at a 2,000 feet (610 m) height in the northwestern Simi Hills on the northwestern plateau of the Simi Valley, bordering Los Angeles County and its San Fernando Valley. The campground area used to be a cattle ranch and later a filmset for Western movies. Sage Ranch Park is today an intermountain wildlife corridor, which links the Simi Hills with the Santa Susana- and Santa Monica Mountains. The mountainous park is mostly known for its unique sandstone rock formations, maybe particularly on its western side where the Sandstone Ridge and Turtle Rock are situated. On its northern side, there are great panoramic rural and metropolitan views of the Simi Valley, as well as surrounding Simi Hills, Santa Susana Mountains and beyond. It is home to numerous sandstone formations, caves, outcroppings, tilted rock formations, several hiking trails, a camping ground, as well as native flora and wildlife. The area is lined with coastal sage scrub and other flora includes chaparral, bush lupine, California poppy, sunflowers, Cream Cups, bracken, sword fern, prickly pear cactus, eucalyptus trees, oak woodland of ceanothus, coffee berry, California buckwheat, sycamore, Walnut Tree, ferns, orange- and avocado trees. It is a critical cross-mountain wildlife corridor and is home to fauna such as mountain lions, bobcats, eagles, vultures, owls, rattle snakes, coyotes, hawks, grey fox, king snakes, and more. Bordering Sage Ranch to the south is the Rocketdyne Santa Susana Field Laboratory, in which the nearby Burro Flats Painted Cave is located. It is an area for a wide variety of recreational activities such as running, mountain biking, hiking, wildlife viewing, photographing, rock climbing, and is also open for camping. Because of its high elevation, you can see as far as the Channel Islands, the Santa Monica Mountains, the Pacific Ocean, and the San Gabriel Mountains on clear days. To get here from Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, follow the Ventura Freeway (U.S. 101) in Woodland Hills, exit on Valley Circle Boulevard and drive north six miles to Woolsey Canyon Road. Turn left (west) and proceed 2.7 miles to Sage Ranch Park. The park entrance is on the left, a short distance past the Rockwell International Santa Susana Field Laboratory, where Woolsey Canyon Road bends north and continues as Black Canyon Road. From Chatsworth, Los Angeles, take the 118 to Topanga Canyon Boulevard, south to Plummer, and then turn right. Follow Plummer to the intersection with Box Canyon and turn left into Valley Circle and then turn right at Woolsey Canyon Road. The entrance to Sage Ranch Park is 200 yards north of the intersection between Woolsey Canyon and Black Canyon Road. From Simi Valley, take Kuehner south and turn right at Katherine Road in eastern Simi Valley. Follow Katherine and turn right after crossing the railroad tracks. At Black Canyon Road, turn left and follow the uphill winding road up to Sage Ranch Park. It is situated in the most eastern part of Ventura County and the Simi Valley city limits. The address is 1 Black Canyon Rd, Simi Valley, CA 93065.

Bell Canyon is an unincorporated community in eastern Ventura County, California, United States. Bell Canyon is a gated community in the Simi Hills with the main access through the Los Angeles community of West Hills and the western San Fernando Valley. Bell Canyon sits at an elevation of 1,368 feet (417 m). The 2020 census reported Bell Canyon's population was 1,946. For statistical purposes, the Census Bureau has defined Bell Canyon as a census-designated place (CDP). According to a 2016 study, Bell Canyon is the seventh wealthiest community in the state of California with an annual median income of $230,000.

The Brandeis-Bardin Campus of American Jewish University is a Jewish retreat located since 1947 in the northeastern Simi Hills, in the city of Simi Valley, California. Formerly known as the Brandeis-Bardin Institute, it is used for nondenominational summer programs for children, teens, and young adults.

Simi Valley station is a passenger rail station in the city of Simi Valley, California. Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner from San Luis Obispo to San Diego and Metrolink's Ventura County Line from Los Angeles Union Station to East Ventura stop here. Simi Valley station is served by ten Amtrak Pacific Surfliner trains (five in each direction) every day and two Coast Starlight trains (one in each direction), with departures evenly spaced throughout the day. Sixteen Metrolink Ventura County Line trains (eight in each direction) serve the station each weekday, running during peak hours in the peak direction of travel. On weekends, four Metrolink Ventura County Line trains (two in each direction) serve the station. Metrolink passengers also have access to all Pacific Surfliner trains through a codesharing arrangement with Amtrak.In Fiscal Year 2022, 26,689 passengers boarded or detrained at Simi Valley station.

Santa Susana (Spanish for "St. Susan") is a former railroad town located mostly within the City of Simi Valley. A small portion of the community, outside the Simi Valley city limits to the south of the Ventura County Metrolink rail line, is an unincorporated area and census-designated place (CDP). The community is in the eastern part of the Simi Valley. The town by the Santa Susana Mountains in the Simi Valley was founded in 1903, shortly after the Southern Pacific Company built the Santa Susana Depot. It is also spelled Santa Susanna, while it is currently more commonly referred to as the Santa Susana Knolls, which is the officially designated name, or the Simi Knolls. The name of Santa Susana is now more generally applied to a larger area at the very east end of the Simi Valley (often called east of East Simi Valley) in easternmost Ventura County, which was the name of the early settlement located at Tapo Street and East Los Angeles Avenue that is now within the city limits. The historic Santa Susana Depot was located there before being moved farther east along the coast route railroad and made into a museum. The Simi Valley train station opened in 1993 about midway between the historic site and the museum location next to Santa Susana Knolls. The 2010 United States census reported the Santa Susana CDP's population as 1,037. It is a sparsely populated rural area with rustic housing and no set-houses, in a hilly and relatively forested part of the valley.The area was inhabited by the Chumash Indians as early as 500 AD and there have been numerous Chumash artifacts found in the area, in addition to the pictographs in Burro Flats Painted Cave. In the 1920s, the Knolls became home to brothels and also a religious cult. During the late 1960s Charles Manson and the Manson Family partially lived at Spahn's Movie Ranch. During the 1950s and '60s, the Corriganville Movie Ranch and other areas was utilized as movie sets for Western movies. Films and TV-series filmed here includes Gunsmoke, Bonanza, The Lone Ranger, Adventures of Superman, The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), The Three Musketeers, Tales of the Texas Rangers, Billy the Kid Versus Dracula, Fort Apache, Star Trek, Wagon Train, and hundreds of other mostly Western-inspired movies and TV-shows.The rural Santa Susana is home to numerous species of native wildlife, including large amounts of snakes, coyotes, hawks and mountain lions.

Bell Canyon Park is a large open-space regional park located in the Simi Hills at the western end of the San Fernando Valley in West Hills, Los Angeles and Bell Canyon, California. Bell Creek, a primary tributary to the Los Angeles River, flows through the park with riparian zone vegetation along its natural banks. The geographic landmark Escorpión Peak (Castle Peak) is high above it to the south in adjacent El Escorpión Park.

Oak Park Unified School District (OPUSD) is a K-12 school district in southeast Ventura County, California, USA. It consists of seven public schools in the community of Oak Park.

Eternity Bible College (EBC) is a private Bible college in Simi Valley, California. It was founded by Francis Chan, former pastor of Cornerstone Community Church. The college is accredited by the Association for Biblical Higher Education.