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Jennifer Morales

Professor Lawson

English 113B

27 February 2017

History of Los Angeles

Sunny weather is something Los Angeles has always been known for, along with that,

there are many incredible parks and trails to go to and enjoy those kind of days. Vasquez Rocks

Natural Area Park is one of Los Angeles cultural landmarks, located off the 14 freeway of

Antelope Valley, in the town of Agua Dulce. Vasquez Rocks has came to be what it is today by

the County of Los Angeles Department of Parks and Recreation and many industries who have

donated to the park, along with one hundred seventy-nine other beautiful parks including: natural

areas, wildlife sanctuaries, lakes, trails arboreta and botanic gardens since July 1, 1944 (Wicker).

Before the park came to be, this location was the home of the Tataviam American Indians. They

lived in grass huts within villages until the last of their people died in 1916 (The Tataviam at

Vasquez Rocks). Throughout the years 1873 and 1874, one of Californias most notorious bandits

by the name of Tiburcio Vasquez used these rocks as a hideout from law enforcements until he

was caught and hung for his convictions of murder, in 1875. Due to these events happening on

the location, when Vasquez Rocks was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972

for its significance as a prehistoric site for the Tataviam peoples, they named the park after the

bandits name(CALIFORNIA-Los Angeles County). People usually go to this location for the

enjoyment of a natural environment, to get a sense of peace and maybe even to just explore since

this spot is the complete opposite of the ideal Los Angeles area.
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Vasquez Rocks site is obviously used completely different than it was in the past,

although there are still a lot of cool things about it. There is an oddly shaped building inside the

park, near the burgundy entry gates, called the Interpretive Center. The shape of the building

attracts many of the parks visitors, however, it is actually shaped this way to minimize the need

for energy use, to protect people inside the building from the scorching summer sun yet to let in

the low winter sun and to capture powerful breezes cooling the building as wind passes over it.

The roofs of the building were also purposely angled to channel water into a storage tank

(Minner). Inside the parks Interpretive Center there is a big three-dimensional map of the entire

Agua Dulce area, they have on display against the wall, some unique animals you may find

throughout the park; such as a desert rosy boa, a desert hairy scorpion, a gopher snake, a

California ebony tarantula, a southern pacific rattlesnake and an alligator lizard. Most of the

walls in the center are filled with pictures, facts about the environment, history of the park, and

animals. Finally, there was a gift shop inside the center selling snacks, knick knacks, rocks, toys,

jewelry and arrowheads. They were very unique and now that more research has been done on

the history of the park, it makes sense why they had arrowheads to purchase- because of the

Tataviam American Indians history. The rest of the park included picnic areas, hiking trails, rock

climbing, and horseback riding areas. There are also certain spots in the park where people like

to film, particularly in the spots famous movies, television shows, and commercials used when

they were there filming on the location. Overall, this park definitely succeeds at its purpose to

give the residents of Los Angeles County diverse physical, educational, and cultural

programming (Wicker).

Due to the countless amount of trails in the park, Vasquez Rocks attracts people who like

to exercise and/or explore. There are many people who visit the trails to go hiking or running,
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and many of them bring their dogs as well. It is also a great place to go to for exploring because

of the views, uniquely shaped giant rocks, unusual drawings on some of the rocks and the

different kinds of animals you may see. Because there is a great deal of history in the park, the

location also attracts people for educational purposes. Visitors can go to the Vasquez Rocks

Interpretive Center if they want to learn more of the propertys history, how it came to be a Los

Angeles County park, the kinds of animals in the area and amenities of the park. Also if it is your

first time going or you just want to go through new trails, you can go to the Interpretive Center

and get a paper copy map of the park or look at the three-dimensional map of Agua Dulce

located in the very middle of the center. Lastly, throughout many years this park has become a

famous spot to film at. Throughout many years movies, television shows and commercials have

filmed at Vasquez Rocks park such as a film called Werewolf of London, Jay and Silent Bob

Strike back, Dantes Peak, and Star Trek V, Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, etc.

Television shows have also filmed at the location for certain episodes, like Friends, the original

series of Star Trek, The Big Bang Theory, Fear Factor, Power Rangers, The Twilight Zone, etc.

Even music videos have been filmed here like Michael Jacksons Black or White video, Be

With You by Enrique Iglesias, Rehab by Rihanna and many more (Wikipedia, The Free

Encyclopedia). There have been countless amounts of filming on this location since the mid-

1930s and there will continue to be for many more years to become because of the history

everyone has left there.

Although this is a great place to get fresh air and exercise, there are also many dangerous

hazards to the area. When you are on the location there are signs saying you are not allowed to

ride bikes on the path; this is due to most of the trails being very steep and bumpy from all the

rocks and dirt. If anyone did try to go through the paths with a bike, they definitely would not be
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riding it most of the way due to the fact that most of the rocks and paths in the park are

disconnected, deformed and have sharp turns which would just make it too much of a hassle to

take one anyways. Vasquez Rocks is also very hazardous when it comes to fire, which is why the

Rangers of the park. As a matter of fact, the entire Agua Dulce area is very hazardous to fire; for

example, back in September of 2011 there was a fire there and around 400 acres caught flames

(KABC-TV LOS ANGELES, CA). There was actually another another wildfire in Santa back in

July of 2016 in Santa Clarita, which is right by Agua Dulce. Because of those tragedies

happening, the Vasquez Rocks park rangers take any type of fire very seriously and even have

someone driving around the park every once in awhile to make sure everything and everyone is

okay.

This landmark did become history on its own for the formation of the rocks, although the

people of Los Angeles was also a great part of the history that was made. Areas like this really

make you feel proud to live in Los Angeles and be apart of the culture because it makes you

realize that history is all around you, it also gives motivation to keep making history and to keep

making this county unforgettable.

Works Cited

Wicker, John. History. Department of Parks and Recreation County of Los Angeles,

http://parks.lacounty.gov/wps/portal/dpr/Parks/Vasquez_Rocks_Natural_Area.
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"The Tataviam at Vasquez Rocks," handout of County of Los Angeles Department of

Parks & Recreation, Vasquez Rocks Natural Area.

"CALIFORNIA - Los Angeles County". National Register of Historic Places. National

Park Service. Retrieved 2008-01-07.

Wikipedia contributors. "Vasquez Rocks." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia,

The Free Encyclopedia, 23 Jan. 2017. Web. 27 Feb. 2017.

KABC-TV LOS ANGELES, CA. Agua Dulce Brushfire in Social Grows To 400 Acres.

ABC7 Los Angeles, 5 September 2011, http://abc7.com/archive/8342725/

Minner, Kelly. Vasquez Rocks Interpretive Center/ Brooks+Scarpa. Arch Daily, 26

November 2010, http://www.archdaily.com/89826/vasquez-rocks-interpretive-center-brooks-

scarpa