Ahmanson Ranch
| Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve | |
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Oak Tree at Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Preserve
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| Coordinates | 34°11′03″N 118°42′06″W / 34.184187°N 118.701538°WCoordinates: 34°11′03″N 118°42′06″W / 34.184187°N 118.701538°W |
| Area | 2,983 acres (12.07 km2) |
| Established | 2003 |
| Governing body | Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy |
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.
For thousands of years the Chumash Native American tribe lived in the current Preserve's area. The Chumash had, prior to European involvement, at least one village on the land, Huwam, a multi-cultural village where Chumash, Tongva, and Tataviam peoples lived. On Bell Creek beside Escorpión Peak (Castle Peak) a large rocky mountain on the property of El Escorpion Park, is the reported site of this village. The peak is one of nine alignment points in Chumash territory and is essential to maintaining the balance of the natural world. A cave known as The Cave of Munits exists just inside the property. This is the believed cave of a mythical Chumash shaman who was killed after murdering the son of a Chumash chief.
The 1769 Juan Bautista de Anza expedition, the first European exploration by land of Las Californias, passed by the area. The U.S. National Park service's Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail goes through the Preserve, entering in Moore Canyon from El Escorpion Park and Vanowen Street. The Rancho El Escorpión was an 1845 Mexican land grant named after the Peak, and was adjacent on the northeast side of the Preserve. From the 1920s to the 1950s many Westerns and other types of motion pictures were filmed here at the Laskey Mesa movie ranch area.
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