Santa Susana Pass

Santa Susana Pass
Santa Susana Pass Road looking west from Topanga Canyon Boulevard.
Elevation	1,200 feet (370 m)
Traversed by	SR 118
Location	Simi Valley / Chatsworth district, Los Angeles, California, United States
Range	Santa Susana Mountains/Simi Hills
Coordinates	34°15′53″N 118°37′58″W / 34.26472°N 118.63278°W / 34.26472; -118.63278

The Santa Susana Pass is a Southern California mountain pass in the Simi Hills connecting the San Fernando Valley and town of Chatsworth, to the Simi Valley and city of Simi Valley.

The pass is the division between the Simi Hills to the south and Santa Susana Mountains to the north, and forms the most critical wildlife corridor and habitat linkage between them. The scenery is made up of sandstone formations in massive outcroppings and numerous boulders, with California chaparral and woodlands ecoregion, with oak savannahs, chaparral shrub forest, and native bunchgrass plant communities in between. The perennial water sources provide diverse habitat for birds, mammals, and reptiles.

The Santa Susana Pass was at the juncture of the Native American Tongva-Fernandeño, Chumash-Venturaño, and Tataviam-Fernandeño tribal lands and was first crossed by their trail route, and used for an estimated 8,000 years.

The first Europeans to use the pass were members of the Spanish Portolà expedition (1769–1770), the first European land entry and exploration of the present-day state of California. The expedition traversed the pass on January 15, 1770, heading east to a campground that later became part of Mission San Fernando Rey de España. After secularization of the mission in 1834, San Fernando Valley rancheros used the trail. A rough wagon road evolved.