Tejon Creek
| Tejon Creek (Arroyo de Tejon) | |
| stream | |
| Name origin: Spanish | |
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| State | California |
| Region | Tehachapi Mountains |
| District | Kern County |
| Source | source |
| - location | on the west slope of the Tehachapi Mountains., Kern County |
| - coordinates | 35°00′55″N 118°28′48″W / 35.01528°N 118.48000°W |
| Mouth | mouth |
| - elevation | 410 ft (125 m) |
| - coordinates | 35°08′09″N 118°53′45″W / 35.13583°N 118.89583°WCoordinates: 35°08′09″N 118°53′45″W / 35.13583°N 118.89583°W |
| Reference no. | 540 |
Tejon Creek, originally in Spanish Arroyo de Tejon, is a stream in Kern County, California. Its headwaters are located on the western slopes of the Tehachapi Mountains, and it flows northwest into the southern San Joaquin Valley.
Arroyo de Tejón (Tejon Creek), the canyon and stream, along with the pass through it and over the Tehachapi Mountains, were named with Tejón (Spanish: badger) after a dead badger was found at the canyon's mouth by Lt. Francisco Ruiz in 1806. The Spanish military expedition led by Ruiz was exploring inland routes to the San Joaquin Valley and 'upper' settled Alta California, via the deserts from colonial New Spain (present day Mexico).
Along the creek and south of it the land grant Rancho Tejón was established in 1843.
Lieutenant of the Pacific Railroad Survey Expedition surveyed the area in 1853, setting up his Depot Camp along the creek, on the land of the Rancho Tejón.
The Sebastian Indian Reservation (Tejon Indian Reservation), the first Indian reservation in California, was established along Tejon Creek in 1853. It existed for 9 years, until the treaty was revoked by the U.S. government in 1864.
The ancient native trail now known as Old Tejon Pass was "discovered" in 1772 by Spanish explorer Pedro Fages, and used in 1776 by padre Francisco Garces, traveling east of the Anza Colonizing Expedition's main route. It is 15 miles (24 km) to the northeast of the present day Tejon Pass, in the Tehachapi Mountains, at the top of the divide between Tejon Creek Canyon in the San Joaquin Valley and Cottonwood Creek Canyon in the Antelope Valley of the western Mojave Desert.
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Wikipedia