Elizabeth Lake, California
Encyclopedia
Elizabeth Lake lies directly on the San Andreas earthquake fault
wihin the Angeles National Forest
in northwest Los Angeles County, California
. Situated in the western Antelope Valley
and surrounded by rolling golden hills, it is one of a series of sag pond
s in the area, including Hughes Lake
and the Munz Lakes
, all created by the motion of the Earth's tectonic plates.
named the water La Laguna de Diablo (Devil's Lake) because some who lived nearby believed that within it dwelt a pet of the devil
, which came to be known as the Elizabeth Lake Monster.
Sometime after 1834, the lake was called Liebre (Rabbit) for a very short time. Then in the 1840s it became known as La Laguna de Chico Lopez, for Francisco "Chico" Lopez, who grazed cattle on its banks.
In 1849, Elizabeth Wingfield was camping with her family beside the lake. Walking on a log to fill buckets for cooking and drinking, Elizabeth slipped and fell in. She was not injured, but several other vacationing families witnessed her mishap, and in fun they began calling the lake Elizabeth's Lake. The name caught on and locals started referring to the water as Elizabeth Lake; later it became official. It is now sometimes incorrectly referred to as Lake Elizabeth.
and Kitanemuk
and Serrano tribes of Native Americans. The Tataviam may have called it Kivarum.
, or The Old Road, ascended San Francisquito Canyon
through the San Francisquito Pass, skirting the lake to its north westward via the San Andreas Rift to Oakgrove Canyon then north via Pine Canyon to Antelope Valley
and westward again mounting over the Tejon Pass
and to the San Joaquin Valley
via San Emigdio Creek Canyon. Another route to the San Joaquin Valley from the lake was directly north across the Antelope Valley
to cross over the Tehachapi Mountains
at the Old Tejon Pass to Tejon Creek, after 1843 the site of Rancho Tejon.
. Nearby to the south of the Ortiz Adobe was the Andrada Stage Station built in 1887, close to the San Francisquito Pass, where the stage road rose from the San Francisquito Canyon.
San Andreas Fault
The San Andreas Fault is a continental strike-slip fault that runs a length of roughly through California in the United States. The fault's motion is right-lateral strike-slip...
wihin the Angeles National Forest
Angeles National Forest
The Angeles National Forest of the U.S. National Forest Service is located in the San Gabriel Mountains of Los Angeles County, southern California. It was established on July 1, 1908, incorporating the first San Bernardino National Forest and parts of the former Santa Barbara and San Gabriel...
in northwest Los Angeles County, California
Los Angeles County, California
Los Angeles County is a county in the U.S. state of California. As of 2010 U.S. Census, the county had a population of 9,818,605, making it the most populous county in the United States. Los Angeles County alone is more populous than 42 individual U.S. states...
. Situated in the western Antelope Valley
Antelope Valley
The Antelope Valley in California, United States, is located in northern Los Angeles County and the southeastern portion of Kern County, California, and constitutes the western tip of the Mojave Desert...
and surrounded by rolling golden hills, it is one of a series of sag pond
Sag pond
A sag pond is a body of water, which forms as water collects in the lowest parts of the depression that forms between two strands of an active strike-slip fault. The relative motion of the two fault strands results in a stretching of the land between them, causing the land between them to...
s in the area, including Hughes Lake
Hughes Lake (California)
Hughes Lake, referred to before 1924 as West Elizabeth Lake, is a lake located directly on the San Andreas Fault in the Angeles National Forest in Los Angeles County, California...
and the Munz Lakes
Munz Lakes
Munz Lakes is a lake located directly on the San Andreas Fault in the Angeles National Forest in Los Angeles County, California. The lake is one of a series of sag ponds in the area including Elizabeth Lake, and Hughes Lake, all created by active tectonic plate movement. The lake receives its name...
, all created by the motion of the Earth's tectonic plates.
Nomenclature
In 1780, the Spanish explorer-priest Junipero SerraJunípero Serra
Blessed Junípero Serra, O.F.M., , known as Fra Juníper Serra in Catalan, his mother tongue was a Majorcan Franciscan friar who founded the mission chain in Alta California of the Las Californias Province in New Spain—present day California, United States. Fr...
named the water La Laguna de Diablo (Devil's Lake) because some who lived nearby believed that within it dwelt a pet of the devil
Devil
The Devil is believed in many religions and cultures to be a powerful, supernatural entity that is the personification of evil and the enemy of God and humankind. The nature of the role varies greatly...
, which came to be known as the Elizabeth Lake Monster.
Sometime after 1834, the lake was called Liebre (Rabbit) for a very short time. Then in the 1840s it became known as La Laguna de Chico Lopez, for Francisco "Chico" Lopez, who grazed cattle on its banks.
In 1849, Elizabeth Wingfield was camping with her family beside the lake. Walking on a log to fill buckets for cooking and drinking, Elizabeth slipped and fell in. She was not injured, but several other vacationing families witnessed her mishap, and in fun they began calling the lake Elizabeth's Lake. The name caught on and locals started referring to the water as Elizabeth Lake; later it became official. It is now sometimes incorrectly referred to as Lake Elizabeth.
Native American
Elizabeth Lake once marked a dividing point between the territories of the TataviamTataviam
The Tataviam , were called the Alliklik by their neighbors the Chumash , are a Native American group in southern California...
and Kitanemuk
Kitanemuk
The Kitanemuk were a Native American tribe and people who lived in the Tehachapi Mountains and the Antelope Valley area of the western Mojave Desert of southern California, United States.-Language:...
and Serrano tribes of Native Americans. The Tataviam may have called it Kivarum.
Spain and Mexico
From the 1820s the route of El Camino ViejoEl Camino Viejo
El Camino Viejo à Los Angeles , also known as the Old Los Angeles Trail, established in 1820's, was the oldest north-south trail in the interior of Alta California...
, or The Old Road, ascended San Francisquito Canyon
San Francisquito Canyon
San Francisquito Canyon is a canyon created by the erosion of the Sierra Pelona Ridge of the San Gabriel Mountains within the Transverse Range of California, USA by San Francisquito Creek. At its head is the San Francisquito Pass which the early routes between Los Angeles and the San Joaquin...
through the San Francisquito Pass, skirting the lake to its north westward via the San Andreas Rift to Oakgrove Canyon then north via Pine Canyon to Antelope Valley
Antelope Valley
The Antelope Valley in California, United States, is located in northern Los Angeles County and the southeastern portion of Kern County, California, and constitutes the western tip of the Mojave Desert...
and westward again mounting over the Tejon Pass
Tejon Pass
The Tejon Pass is a mountain pass at the southwest end of the Tehachapi Mountains linking Southern to Central California.-Geography:The apex of the pass is near the northwesternmost corner of Los Angeles County, north of Gorman...
and to the San Joaquin Valley
San Joaquin Valley
The San Joaquin Valley is the area of the Central Valley of California that lies south of the Sacramento – San Joaquin River Delta in Stockton...
via San Emigdio Creek Canyon. Another route to the San Joaquin Valley from the lake was directly north across the Antelope Valley
Antelope Valley
The Antelope Valley in California, United States, is located in northern Los Angeles County and the southeastern portion of Kern County, California, and constitutes the western tip of the Mojave Desert...
to cross over the Tehachapi Mountains
Tehachapi Mountains
The Tehachapi Mountains , regionally also called The Tehachapis, are a mountain range in the Transverse Ranges system of California in the Western United States...
at the Old Tejon Pass to Tejon Creek, after 1843 the site of Rancho Tejon.
United States
In the early 1850s the vicinity of La Laguna de Chico Lopez was a frequent haunt of grizzly bears—so numerous that cattle ranching was considered impossible. The first building at the lake was La Casa de Miquel Ortiz, an adobe built by Miguel Ortiz, a muleteer, on land given him by his employer, Edward Fitzgerald BealeEdward Fitzgerald Beale
Edward Fitzgerald "Ned" Beale was a national figure in 19th century America. He was naval officer, military general, explorer, frontiersman, Indian affairs superintendent, California rancher, diplomat, and friend of Kit Carson, Buffalo Bill Cody and Ulysses S. Grant...
. Nearby to the south of the Ortiz Adobe was the Andrada Stage Station built in 1887, close to the San Francisquito Pass, where the stage road rose from the San Francisquito Canyon.