Bull Creek (Los Angeles County)

Bull Creek
Bull Creek, looking north from Victory Blvd.
Country	United States
Basin features
Main source	Granada Hills, California
River mouth	Los Angeles River, California

Bull Creek is a 9.6-mile-long (15.4 km)tributary of the Los Angeles River in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles County, California.

The creek rises in Bull Canyon on Oat Mountain. After leaving its canyon, it is encased in a concrete flood control channel, wherein it runs south from Granada Hills though North Hills, Van Nuys (including its airport), and Lake Balboa. South of Victory Boulevard, the river reverts to a free-flowing stream and joins the Los Angeles River inside the Sepulveda Dam Recreation Area. Since 2009 this section has been restored under a federally funded ecosystem restoration project, in part to protect the important riparian habitat.

In 1971, on the morning of the Sylmar earthquake, residents of Granada Hills, Northridge, North Hills, and Van Nuys who were living between Balboa Boulevard and the San Diego Freeway were evacuated after the Van Norman Dam nearly broke. However, a great flood down the banks of Bull Creek was averted.

From mouth to source (year built in parentheses):

Coordinates: 34°10′44″N 118°29′52″W / 34.17889°N 118.49786°W / 34.17889; -118.49786