| Ballona Creek Río de La Ballona | |
|---|---|
 Ballona Creek at sunrise | |
 Ballona watershed | |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| State | California |
| Region | Los Angeles County |
| Cities | Los Angeles, Culver City |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • location | Los Angeles, California |
| • coordinates | 34°02′39″N 118°21′12″W / 34.04417°N 118.35333°W[1] |
| • elevation | 110 ft (34 m) |
| Mouth | |
• location | Playa del Rey - Venice, Los Angeles |
• coordinates | 33°57′37″N 118°27′33″W / 33.96028°N 118.45917°W[1] |
• elevation | 0 ft (0 m)[1] |
| Basin features | |
| Tributaries | |
| • left | Centinela Creek (south) |
| • right | Sepulveda Creek (north) |
Ballona Creek (pronunciation: "Bah-yo-nuh"[2] or "Buy-yo-nah"[3]) is an 8.5-mile (13.7 km)[1] channelized stream in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States, that was once a "year-round river lined with sycamores and willows".[4] The urban watercourse begins in the Mid-City neighborhood of Los Angeles, flows through Culver City and Del Rey, and passes the Ballona Wetlands Ecological Preserve, the sailboat harbor Marina del Rey, and the small beachside community of Playa del Rey before draining into Santa Monica Bay.[5] The Ballona Creek drainage basin carries water from the Santa Monica Mountains on the north, from the Baldwin Hills to the south, and as far as the Harbor Freeway (I-110) to the east.
Before colonization, the Tongva village of Guashna located at the mouth of the creek.[6][7] Ballona Creek and neighboring Ballona Wetlands remain a prime bird-watching spot for waterfowl, shorebirds, warblers, and birds of prey. In 1982, film critic Richard von Busack, a native of Culver City, described the channelized creek as "a cement drainage ditch indistinguishable in size and content from the Love Canal."[8]
- ^ a b c d U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Ballona Creek
- ^ "F.A.Q." Ballona Creek Renaissance. Archived from the original on October 17, 2021. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
- ^ Arancibia, Juan (November 7, 1985). "Endangered Species: Urbanization Threatens Wetland Havens for Migrating Birds". Los Angeles Times. p. LWS18.
- ^ Robinson, W. W.; Title Guarantee and Trust Company (Los Angeles, Calif) (1939). Culver City: a calendar of events in which is included, also, the story of Palms and Playa Del Rey together with Rancho La Ballona and Rancho Rincon de los Bueyes. Los Angeles: Title Guarantee and Trust Co. Archived from the original on July 29, 2022. Retrieved July 29, 2022.
- ^ EIP Associates (2004). Ballona Creek Watershed Management Plan (Report). Archived from the original on August 7, 2016. Retrieved August 5, 2016.
- ^ Village at Playa Vista: Volume III (PDF). City of Los Angeles. 2009. pp. 21–24.
- ^ "Ballona Discovery Park". Friends of Ballona Wetlands. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
- ^ "Santa Cruz Sentinel 6 June 1982 — California Digital Newspaper Collection". cdnc.ucr.edu. Archived from the original on July 29, 2022. Retrieved July 29, 2022.