Soka University of America

The Sheep Hills are a mountain range in Orange County, California.

Wood Canyon Creek is a 2.8 mi (4.5 km) perennial stream in Aliso and Wood Canyons Wilderness Park, Orange County, California. A tributary of Aliso Creek, it drains a deep undeveloped valley to the west of Aliso Viejo. The Wood Canyon was populated by the Acjachemen tribe hundreds of years ago; many archaeological sites along the creek provide evidence of their habitation. Spanish explorers and colonists arrived in the mid-18th century, establishing missions and a rancho that extended around the Aliso Creek watershed. Wood Canyon was used first as a cattle grazing area; after California became part of the United States, it was used to graze sheep. From the 1960s onward, the creek's flow has been heavily affected by urban runoff from suburban residential development. The Wood Canyon watershed drains a portion of the San Joaquin Hills, a short coastal mountain range that uplifted beginning in the mid-Pleistocene (1.22 MYA).

Aliso and Wood Canyons Wilderness Park is a major regional park in the San Joaquin Hills of Orange County, California in the United States. Comprising 4,500 acres (1,800 ha) of rugged coastal canyons, open grassland, and riparian woodland, the park borders the suburban cities of Aliso Viejo, Dana Point, Laguna Beach, Laguna Hills and Laguna Niguel and lies within a portion of the ancestral homeland of the indigenous Acjachemen people.Aliso and Wood Canyons is part of a larger park complex known as the South Coast Wilderness. Surrounded by heavy suburban development and the Pacific Ocean, it is an important regional wildlife preserve. The park includes trails for hiking, mountain biking, and horseback riding; a greenbelt and bikeway along Aliso Creek; and various geological features such as caves, springs, and exposed marine fossil beds. The park is administered by the County of Orange under the OC Parks Department. The name Aliso originated in the 18th century when Spanish explorers named Aliso Creek, probably for the Alnus rhombifolia (white alder) tree native to the area. Wood Canyon was likely named for the groves of California live oak and sycamores that are found in the canyon. In 2021, the park was designated by the Old Growth Forest Network for its old live oak and sycamore trees.

Aliso Niguel High School (ANHS), which is part of the Capistrano Unified School District, is located in the city of Aliso Viejo, California. Most of its students reside in the communities of Aliso Viejo and Laguna Niguel. The school is a California Distinguished School, a National Blue Ribbon School, and a New American High School. Aliso Niguel was ranked as number 252 in Newsweek's 2016 list of the top 500 high schools in the nation.

Temple Hill is the second highest peak in the San Joaquin Hills area of Orange County, California, United States. Its elevation is 1,038 feet (316 m). The hill is bordered on the west by Laguna Canyon and on the east by Aliso and Wood Canyons Wilderness Park, to which it provides hiking and biking trailheads. It dominates the southern portion of Laguna Beach between downtown and Aliso Creek. The summit provides views of Saddleback Valley to the east, the Pacific Ocean to the south, and most of Orange County up to the San Gabriel Mountains to the north. Temple Hill has 7 amateur radio repeaters and a beacon at its summit that are maintained by South Orange Amateur Radio Association

Aliso Viejo (Spanish for "Old Sycamore") is a city in the San Joaquin Hills of southern Orange County, California. It had a population of 52,176 as of the 2020 census, up from 47,823 as of the 2010 census. It became Orange County's 34th city on July 1, 2001, the only city in Orange County to be incorporated since 2000. It is bordered by the cities of Laguna Beach on the west and southwest, Laguna Hills on the east, Laguna Niguel on the southeast, and Laguna Woods on the north. It is similarly named to another nearby city, Mission Viejo.

The Chet Holifield Federal Building, colloquially known as "the Ziggurat Building", is a United States government building in Laguna Niguel, California. It was built between 1968 and 1971 for North American Aviation/Rockwell International, and designed by William Pereira. Since 1974 it has been owned and managed by the General Services Administration. National Archives and Records Administration had holdings for the Pacific region stored here, but has since moved to another location. Primary tenants are now regional offices of the United States Department of Homeland Security and the Internal Revenue Service.

Alta Laguna Park is a community park atop Temple Hill, the second highest peak of the San Joaquin Hills, in Laguna Beach, California. It is located at the north end of the Top of the World neighborhood.The neighborhood is named for its elevation of about 1,027 ft (313 m) above sea level, overlooking Saddleback Valley and the Pacific Ocean. Visitors can see most of Orange County from the park on a particularly clear day. The park provides a hiking and biking trailhead for the Aliso and Wood Canyons Wilderness Park. The Top of the World Reservoir is in a tank underneath the park.

Rancho Niguel was a 13,316-acre (53.89 km2) Mexican land grant in the San Joaquin Hills, within present-day Orange County, California. It was granted in 1842 by Governor Juan B. Alvarado to Juan Avila. The rancho was named for a local Indian village called "Niguili." The grant extended along the Pacific coast from Laguna Canyon and Laguna Beach, past Aliso Creek to Dana Point and San Juan Creek. The rancho encompassed those present-day places and Laguna Niguel, Aliso Viejo, and Laguna Hills.

The Top of the World Reservoir, officially the Richard Jahraus Top of the World Reservoir is an artificial lake in Laguna Beach, California. Dedicated on October 27, 1996, it was named after J. Richard Jahraus, the current Director and President of the Laguna Beach County Water District at the Time. It has a capacity of 3,000,000 US gal (2,500,000 imp gal). Its main use is to supply water for authorities to fight against wildfires, with the high elevation allowing water circulation despite power outages. The lake is underground in a tank, below the Alta Laguna Park.

Laguna Niguel Regional Park is a public park in Laguna Niguel, in southern Orange County, California. Its main feature is Laguna Niguel Lake (also known as Sulphur Creek Reservoir), located within the park's boundaries. Laguna Niguel's 4th of July fireworks show is held at the park every year.

Sulphur Creek Dam is a dam across Sulphur Creek in Orange County, California. The dam creates Laguna Niguel Lake and is entirely within the city of Laguna Niguel. The reservoir is used for water reclamation storage and recreation, and is the main attraction of Laguna Niguel Regional Park, which surrounds it.