Santa Susana (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

for "St. Susan") is a former

railroad town A railway town, or railroad town, is a settlement that originated or was greatly developed because of a railway station or junction at its site. North America During the construction of the First transcontinental railroad in the 1860s, temporar ...

located mostly within the City of

Simi Valley Simi Valley (; Chumash: ''Shimiyi'') is a city in the valley of the same name in the southeast region of Ventura County, California, United States. Simi Valley is from Downtown Los Angeles, making it part of the Greater Los Angeles Area. The ...

. A small portion of the community, outside the Simi Valley city limits to the south of the Ventura County Metrolink rail line, is an unincorporated area and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, such ...

(CDP). The community is in the eastern part of the

. The town by the Santa Susana Mountains in the Simi Valley was founded in 1903, shortly after the

Southern Pacific Company Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, M ...

built the

Santa Susana Depot Santa Susana Depot is a train station building located near the Santa Susana Pass in Simi Valley, California. Originally located on Los Angeles Avenue at Tapo Street, the depot opened in 1903. The station was named after the Santa Susana Mountains ...

.Appleton, Bill (2009). ''Images of America: Santa Susana. Arcadia Publishing''. Page 7. . It is also spelled Santa Susanna, while it is currently more commonly referred to as the Santa Susana Knolls, which is the officially designated name,Appleton, Bill (2009). ''Images of America: Santa Susana. Arcadia Publishing''. Page 97. . or the Simi Knolls. The name of Santa Susana is now more generally applied to a larger area at the very east end of the Simi Valley (often called east of East Simi Valley) in easternmost Ventura County, which was the name of the early settlement located at Tapo Street and East Los Angeles Avenue that is now within the city limits. The historic

was located there before being moved farther east along the coast route railroad and made into a museum. The Simi Valley train station opened in 1993 about midway between the historic site and the museum location next to Santa Susana Knolls. The 2010 United States census reported the Santa Susana CDP's population as 1,037. It is a sparsely populated rural area with rustic housing and no set-houses, in a hilly and relatively forested part of the valley. The area was inhabited by the

Chumash Indians The Chumash are a Native American people of the central and southern coastal regions of California, in portions of what is now San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Ventura and Los Angeles counties, extending from Morro Bay in the north to Malibu ...

as early as 500 AD and there have been numerous Chumash artifacts found in the area, in addition to the pictographs in

Burro Flats Painted Cave The Burro Flats site is a painted cave site located near Burro Flats, in the Simi Hills of eastern Ventura County, California, United States. The Chumash-style "main panel" and the surrounding 25-acres were listed on the National Register of Hi ...

. In the 1920s, the Knolls became home to brothels and also a religious cult. During the late 1960s

Charles Manson Charles Milles Manson (; November 12, 1934November 19, 2017) was an American criminal and musician who led the Manson Family, a cult based in California, in the late 1960s. Some of the members committed a series of nine murders at four loca ...

and the Manson Family partially lived at Spahn's Movie Ranch.Mitchell, Robert and Hannah (2015). ''Raising Drug Addicts: A Father’s Account, with Lessons Learned and Sections by my Daughter from the Orange County Jail''. WestBow Press. Page 37. . During the 1950s and '60s, the

Corriganville Movie Ranch __NOTOC__ Corriganville Movie Ranch was a working film studio and movie ranch for outdoor location shooting, as well as a Western-themed tourist attraction. The ranch, owned by actor and stuntman Ray "Crash" Corrigan, was located in the foothills ...

and other areas was utilized as movie sets for Western movies. Films and TV-series filmed here includes ''Gunsmoke'', ''

Bonanza ''Bonanza'' is an American Western television series that ran on NBC from September 13, 1959, to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 432 episodes, ''Bonanza'' is NBC's longest-running western, the second-longest-running western series on U ...

'', ''The Lone Ranger'', ''Adventures of Superman'', ''

The Adventures of Robin Hood ''The Adventures of Robin Hood'' is a 1938 American Technicolor swashbuckler film from Warner Bros. Pictures. It was produced by Hal B. Wallis and Henry Blanke, directed by Michael Curtiz and William Keighley, and stars Errol Flynn, Olivia de H ...

'' (1938), ''The Three Musketeers'', ''

Tales of the Texas Rangers ''Tales of the Texas Rangers'' is a 20th century Western old-time radio and television police procedural drama which originally aired on NBC Radio from 1950 to 1952 and later on CBS Television from 1955 to 1958. Film star Joel McCrea voiced the ...

'', ''

Billy the Kid Versus Dracula ''Billy the Kid Versus Dracula'' is a 1966 American horror Western film directed by William Beaudine. The film is about Billy the Kid ( Chuck Courtney) trying to save his fiancée from Dracula (John Carradine). The film was originally released ...

'', ''Fort Apache'', ''

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...

'', ''Wagon Train'', and hundreds of other mostly

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

-inspired movies and TV-shows. The rural Santa Susana is home to numerous species of native wildlife, including large amounts of

snake Snakes are elongated, Limbless vertebrate, limbless, carnivore, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other Squamata, squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping Scale (zoology), scales. Ma ...

coyote The coyote (''Canis latrans'') is a species of canis, canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the wolf, and slightly smaller than the closely related eastern wolf and red wolf. It fills much of the same ecologica ...

hawk Hawks are bird of prey, birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. They are widely distributed and are found on all continents except Antarctica. * The subfamily Accipitrinae includes goshawks, sparrowhawks, sharp-shinned hawks and others. Th ...

s and

mountain lion The cougar (''Puma concolor'') is a large cat native to the Americas. Its range spans from the Canadian Yukon to the southern Andes in South America and is the most widespread of any large wild terrestrial mammal in the Western Hemisphere. I ...

s.Johnson, John R. 1997. ''Chumash Indians in Simi Valley in Simi Valley: A Journey Through Time''. Simi Valley, CA: Simi Valley Historical Society. Pages 488-489. .

Etymology

The name "Santa Susana" traces back to the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...

and the Santa Susanna-church built in the 4th century, dedicated to

Saint Susanna Susanna of Rome (fl. 3rd century) was a Christian martyr of the Diocletianic Persecution. Her existing hagiography, written between about 450 and 500, is of no historical value and the relations it attributes to Susanna are entirely fictitious.Mi ...

, a

Roman Catholic saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Ortho ...

that was martyred and beheaded in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

in the 3rd century. The name has since then been applied to numerous locations, including a town in the

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...

region of Spain, as well as the transverse mountain range of Santa Susana in Southern California, which the town is named after. The Santa Susana Knolls of Simi Valley have historically also been written Susanna with double N's. Former names designed to the area have been Green Haven and Mortimer Park.

History

Pre-colonial period

The hills of and immediate foots of the

Santa Susana Mountains The Santa Susana Mountains are a transverse range of mountains in Southern California, north of the city of Los Angeles, in the United States. The range runs east-west, separating the San Fernando and Simi valleys on its south from the Santa Cla ...

have been inhabited for thousands of years, proven by

Chumash Chumash may refer to: *Chumash (Judaism), a Hebrew word for the Pentateuch, used in Judaism *Chumash people, a Native American people of southern California *Chumashan languages, indigenous languages of California See also * Chumash traditional ...

artifacts found by the

and Chumash

pictographs A pictogram, also called a pictogramme, pictograph, or simply picto, and in computer usage an icon, is a graphic symbol that conveys its meaning through its pictorial resemblance to a physical object. Pictographs are often used in writing and gr ...

dating to 500 AD in the

. The area has likely been populated by

Native-American Native Americans, also known as American Indians, First Americans, Indigenous Americans, and other terms, are the Indigenous peoples of the mainland United States (Indigenous peoples of Hawaii, Alaska and territories of the United States are ...

peoples for as much as 8,000 years-12,000 years ago The Burro Flats Painted Cave, now situated on the protected private

Santa Susana Field Laboratory The Santa Susana Field Laboratory (SSFL), formerly known as Rocketdyne, is a complex of industrial research and development facilities located on a portion of Southern California in an unincorporated area of Ventura County in the Simi Hills betw ...

property, was the setting for a

winter solstice The winter solstice, also called the hibernal solstice, occurs when either of Earth's poles reaches its maximum tilt away from the Sun. This happens twice yearly, once in each hemisphere ( Northern and Southern). For that hemisphere, the winte ...

ritual for the Ventureño Chumash people. The cave, which is on the back wall of a sandstone shelter about 16 ft long and 4 ft high, was discovered at the turn of the 20th century The Chumash of Santa Susana were unlike other settlements in the Simi Valley not only located near other Ventureño Chumash settlements, but the Chumash here traded with the

Tataviam people The Tataviam (Kitanemuk: ''people on the south slope'') are a Native American group in Southern California. The ancestral land of the Tataviam people includes northwest present-day Los Angeles County and southern Ventura County, primarily in th ...

who also settled in the

, as well as the

Gabrielino The Tongva ( ) are an Indigenous peoples of California, Indigenous people of California from the Los Angeles Basin and the Channel Islands of California, Southern Channel Islands, an area covering approximately . Some descendants of the people p ...

people who inhabited the opposite side of the

Santa Susana Pass The Santa Susana Pass, originally Simi Pass, is a low mountain pass in the Simi Hills of Southern California, connecting the San Fernando Valley and Los Angeles neighborhood of Chatsworth, to the city of Simi Valley and eponymous valley. It ha ...

Township period

In 1887, the Simi Valley Land and Water Company first surveyed the area to sell parcels as ranches. With the

establishment by the

in 1903 as its cornerstone, the town of Santa Susana a few miles east of

in the

was founded.Appleton, Bill (2009). ''Images of America: Santa Susana''. Arcadia Publishing. Page 7. . Before this train station, all residents of the Simi Valley had to travel to

San Fernando San Fernando may refer to: People *Ferdinand III of Castile (c. 1200–1252), called ''San Fernando'' (Spanish) or ''Saint Ferdinand'', King of Castile, León, and Galicia Places Argentina *San Fernando de la Buena Vista, city of Greater Buenos ...

for the closest railroad station. The first businesses surrounding the new train station was also vital for the town’s establishment, and the discovery of oil on El Rancho Tapo in 1910 brought a population boom to the little town. A general merchandise store on the opposite side of Los Angeles Avenue from the railroad station was the first store established in town, established by Horace Crinklaw and his wife in 1909. In 1914, the town was home to eight buildings: Four owned by the Crinklaw family, a schoolhouse, the

, the Southern Pacific Warehouse and a blacksmith shop. Oil production was started by the Scarab Oil Company in 1910 and opened with a production of 300 barrels of oil per day. The little town soon became well known as a filming location for

Western movies The Western is a genre set in the American frontier and commonly associated with folk tales of the Western United States, particularly the Southwestern United States, as well as Northern Mexico and Western Canada. It is commonly referred ...

with its rural and rugged surroundings with plentiful sand rock formations; Western films were filmed here as early as in 1920 on the main street of Santa Susana. By 1918, there were 101 registered voters in Santa Susana. In 1929, the town was used as a set in the movie ''

Welcome Danger ''Welcome Danger'' is a 1929 American pre-Code comedy film directed by Clyde Bruckman and starring Harold Lloyd. A sound version and silent version were filmed. Ted Wilde began work on the silent version, but became ill and was replaced by Bruck ...

'' The Santa Susana Airport started as a dirt landing strip in a tomato field in the late 1930s, and later became a paved landing site for hundreds of airplanes in the 1970s. It was officially designed by the

FAA The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic m ...

in 1944. During all of the 1930s and 1940s, the

functioned as a Western movie set for hundreds of Western films and TV series, and later an amusement park for visitors to explore the Western film sets. Films shot here include for instance ''

Jungle Jim Jungle Jim is the fictional hero of a series of jungle adventures in various media. The series began on January 7, 1934, as an American newspaper comic strip chronicling the adventures of Asia-based hunter Jim Bradley, who was nicknamed Jungle ...

'', the '' Jungle Boy'' TV-series, '' Lawman'', ''

Gunfight at the O.K. Corral The gunfight at the O.K. Corral was a thirty-second shootout between lawmen led by Virgil Earp and members of a loosely organized group of outlaws called the Cowboys that occurred at about 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, October 26, 1881, in ...

'', '' Adventures of Robin Hood'', '' Adventures of Superman'', '' Fort Apache'', ''

Rin-Tin-Tin Rin Tin Tin or Rin-Tin-Tin (September 1918 – August 10, 1932) was a male German Shepherd born in Flirey, Flirey, France, who became an international star in motion pictures. He was rescued from a World War I battlefield by an American sol ...

'' TV-show, and hundreds of others. The ranch became a tourist attraction in 1949 and drew thousands from across America and was rated among the "10 most interesting places in America". The first larger housing developments started in 1958. The area has been home to numerous

cult In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal. This ...

s, including the Pisgah Grande (in

Las Llajas Canyon Las Llajas (pronounced YAH huhs) Canyon within the Marr Ranch Parkland contains the 1920s residential subdivision called Marrland and the surrounding open space area administrated by the Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District (RSRPD) and is l ...

, seven miles northeast of town) and May Otis Blackburn's " Divine Order of the Royal Arms of the Great Eleven", sometimes referred to as "the Sixth Cult", high up in the Susana Knolls. In 1949, messiah Krishna Venta's cult " WKFL Foundation of the World" lived in Box Canyon right by the Santa Susana Pass. Krishna was killed in 1958, when former members exploded twenty dynamites in a suicide attack against Krishna and other cult members. It was also here that

and the Manson Family partially lived during the late 1960s. The Santa Susana Nuclear Disaster in July 1959 was the worst in American history, and was kept hidden by the

United States Atomic Energy Commission The United States Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) was an agency of the United States government established after World War II by U.S. Congress to foster and control the peacetime development of atomic science and technology. President H ...

for more than twenty years when it was exposed by students from

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

in the

LA Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

. By a 2-1 margin in 1969, voters decided to be incorporated in the City of Simi Valley. On October 10, 1969, the majority of Santa Susana went from being an unincorporated town in the Simi Valley to a part of the city of Simi Valley, which now comprised most of the eponymous valley. The remaining unincorporated part of Santa Susana is currently mostly known as the Susana Knolls and occupies the hilly, rustic, and rural areas southeast of eastern Simi Valley proper. This area includes the

, a government facility previously used for research and design of rocket engines and nuclear reactors.

Geography

The CDP is nestled up against the northern slope of the

Simi Hills The Simi Hills are a low rocky mountain range of the Transverse Ranges in eastern Ventura County and western Los Angeles County, of southern California, United States. Geography The Simi Hills are aligned east-west and run for , and average arou ...

and surrounds the

at an average elevation of . It is a hilly and mountainous area, with trees and sand rock formations separating custom-designed homes. It is situated in the easternmost part of

in Ventura County. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the CDP covers an area of 1.1 square miles (2.9 km²), all land. It is an

unincorporated area An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

, sometimes referred to as a neighborhood, community, village or settlement. The northern border of the CDP follows the Metrolink Ventura County line, across which is the city of Simi Valley. The CDP extends roughly from Rainey Road in the west to Box Canyon Road in the east, and extends south to the limits of development on the lower slopes of the Simi Hills. There are numerous open-space nature areas near Santa Susana and in the northern Santa Susana Mountains, including

Rocky Peak Rocky Peak, located in Rocky Peak Park, is the fourth-highest point in the Santa Susana Mountains, and overlooks the San Fernando Valley and Chatsworth, the Simi Hills, and the Simi Valley in Southern California. The peak, which is in elevatio ...

Santa Susana Pass State Historic Park Santa Susana Pass State Historic Park is a California State Park of approximately located on the boundary between Ventura and Los Angeles counties, between the communities of Chatsworth and Simi Valley. Geologically, the park is located where t ...

Sage Ranch Park Sage Ranch Park is a and wildlife corridor located at a height in the northwestern Simi Hills on the northwestern plateau of the Simi Valley, bordering Los Angeles County and its San Fernando Valley.Stone, Robert (1998). ''Day Hikes in Ventura ...

, Corriganville Park, Indian Springs Open Space, and other parks and open-space nature areas. Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District administers most parks in Simi Valley’s outlying areas, including in Santa Susana Knolls,

Bell Canyon Bell Canyon is a major drainage of the Santa Ana Mountains in Orange County, California in the United States. Bell Creek (also known as Bell Canyon Creek or Arroyo de las Campanas) flows about in a southerly direction to its confluence with San ...

, and Oak Park. The

Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy The Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy is an agency of the state of California in the United States founded in 1980 and dedicated to the acquisition of land for preservation as open space, for wildlife and California native plants habitat Natu ...

operates certain open-space parks, including Sage Ranch Park by the

Demographics

The

2010 United States Census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servin ...

reported that the CDP portion of Santa Susana had a population of 1,037. The population density was . The racial makeup of Santa Susana was 904 (87.2%)

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

, 17 (1.6%)

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 2 (0.2%) Native American, 23 (2.2%)

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 0 (0.0%)

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...

, 33 (3.2%) from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 58 (5.6%) from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 156 persons (15.0%). The Census reported that 1,031 people (99.4% of the population) lived in households, 0 (0%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 6 (0.6%) were institutionalized. There were 405 households, out of which 111 (27.4%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 207 (51.1%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 35 (8.6%) had a female householder with no husband present, 29 (7.2%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 30 (7.4%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 8 (2.0%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 88 households (21.7%) were made up of individuals, and 14 (3.5%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55. There were 271

families Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Ideall ...

(66.9% of all households); the average family size was 2.93. The population was spread out, with 186 people (17.9%) under the age of 18, 87 people (8.4%) aged 18 to 24, 252 people (24.3%) aged 25 to 44, 418 people (40.3%) aged 45 to 64, and 94 people (9.1%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44.4 years. For every 100 females, there were 105.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 107.1 males. There were 439 housing units at an average density of , of which 307 (75.8%) were owner-occupied, and 98 (24.2%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.8%; the rental vacancy rate was 4.8%. 804 people (77.5% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 227 people (21.9%) lived in rental housing units.

Landmarks

Grandma Prisbrey's Bottle Village Grandma Prisbrey's Bottle Village, also known as Bottle Village, is an art environment, located in Simi Valley, California. It was created by Tressa "Grandma" Prisbrey (1896–1988) from the 1950s to the 1970s. Prisbey built a "village" of shrin ...

(California State Historic Landmark on the National Register of Historic Places, as well as a Ventura County Cultural Landmark) *

Old Santa Susana Stage Road The Old Santa Susana Stage Road, or Santa Susana Wagon Road, is a route taken by early travelers between the San Fernando Valley and Simi Valley near Chatsworth, California, via the Santa Susana Pass. The main route climbs through what is now the ...

(on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places and a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument) *

(County of Ventura designated Landmark #29) *

(regional park) *

(California State Park) *

Wildlife

The community of Santa Susana is adjacent to the Santa Susana Pass

wildlife corridor A wildlife corridor, habitat corridor, or green corridor is an area of habitat connecting wildlife populations separated by human activities or structures (such as roads, development, or logging). This allows an exchange of individuals between ...

, which connects the

(and the

Santa Monica Mountains The Santa Monica Mountains is a coastal mountain range in Southern California, next to the Pacific Ocean. It is part of the Transverse Ranges. Because of its proximity to densely populated regions, it is one of the most visited natural areas in ...

) to the Santa Susana Mountains and further wilderness areas such as the

Tehachapi Mountains The Tehachapi Mountains (; Kawaiisu: ''Tihachipia'', meaning "hard climb") are a mountain range in the Transverse Ranges system of California in the Western United States. The range extends for approximately in southern Kern County and northwest ...

and

San Gabriel Mountains The San Gabriel Mountains ( es, Sierra de San Gabriel) are a mountain range located in northern Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County and western San Bernardino County, California, United States. The mountain range is part of the Tr ...

. It is home to an abundance of

wildlife Wildlife refers to domestication, undomesticated animal species (biology), species, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wilderness, wild in an area without being species, introduced by humans. Wildlife was also synonymous ...

, including larger mammals such as numerous

cougar The cougar (''Puma concolor'') is a large Felidae, cat native to the Americas. Its Species distribution, range spans from the Canadian Yukon to the southern Andes in South America and is the most widespread of any large wild terrestrial mamm ...

bobcat The bobcat (''Lynx rufus''), also known as the red lynx, is a medium-sized cat native to North America. It ranges from southern Canada through most of the contiguous United States to Oaxaca in Mexico. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUC ...

grey fox The gray fox (''Urocyon cinereoargenteus''), or grey fox, is an omnivorous mammal of the family Canidae, widespread throughout North America and Central America. This species and its only congener (biology), congener, the diminutive island fox ...

es and more common species such as the

Virginia opossum The Virginia opossum (''Didelphis virginiana''), also known as the North American opossum, is the only opossum living north of Mexico, its range extending south into Central America. It is the northernmost marsupial in the world. In the United S ...

California raccoon The raccoon ( or , ''Procyon lotor''), sometimes called the common raccoon to distinguish it from other species, is a mammal native to North America. It is the largest of the procyonid family, having a body length of , and a body weight of . ...

ring-tailed cat The ringtail (''Bassariscus astutus'') is a mammal of the Procyonidae, raccoon family native to arid regions of North America. It is widely distributed and well adapted to disturbed areas. It has been legally trapped for its fur. It is listed a ...

California vole The California vole (''Microtus californicus'') is a type of vole which lives throughout much of California and part of southwestern Oregon. It is also known as the "California meadow mouse", a misnomer as this species is a vole, not a mouse. It a ...

desert cottontail The desert cottontail (''Sylvilagus audubonii''), also known as Audubon's cottontail, is a New World cottontail rabbit, and a member of the family Leporidae. Unlike the European rabbit (''Oryctolagus cuniculus''), they do not form social burrow s ...

Botta's pocket gopher Botta's pocket gopher (''Thomomys bottae'') is a pocket gopher native to western North America. It is also known in some sources as valley pocket gopher, particularly in California. Both the specific and common names of this species honor Paul-É ...

as well as the spotted- and

striped skunk The striped skunk (''Mephitis mephitis'') is a skunk of the genus '' Mephitis'' that occurs across much of North America, including southern Canada, the United States, and northern Mexico. It is currently listed as least concern by the IUCN on ac ...

. Large undeveloped areas provide natural habitat to numerous species, and saves the wildlife of the Santa Monica Mountains from genetic isolation. As in the rest of the

, large areas are assigned parks or open space preserves and are protected wildlife habitats. The dry

semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi-ar ...

of Santa Susana also provides a habitat for numerous species adopted to arid climates and temperature extremes. It is home to numerous reptiles, including eleven species of snake: coachwhip,

southern Pacific rattlesnake ''Crotalus helleri'', known as the Southern Pacific rattlesnake, black diamond rattlesnake,Albert Hazen WWright AH, Wright AA (1957). ''Handbook of Snakes of the United States and Canada''. Ithaca and London: Comstock Publishing Associates, a div ...

, San Diego night snake,

striped racer The California whipsnake (''Masticophis lateralis''), also known as the striped racer, is a colubrid snake found in habitats of the coast, desert, and foothills of California. Description ''Masticophis lateralis'' is in total length (including ...

, California black-headed snake,

two-striped garter snake The two-striped garter snake (''Thamnophis hammondii'') is a species of aquatic garter snake, which is endemic to western North America. Taxonomy and etymology The specific name ''hammondii'' is in honor of William A. Hammond, the U.S. Army su ...

, San Diego gopher snake, coast mountain kingsnake,

California kingsnake The California kingsnake (''Lampropeltis californiae'') is a nonvenomous colubrid snake endemic to the western United States and northern Mexico, and is found in a variety of habitats. Due to ease of care and a wide range of color variations, the ...

, coast patch-nosed snake and

ringneck snake ''Diadophis punctatus'', commonly known as the ring-necked snake or ringneck snake, is a harmless species of colubrid snake found throughout much of the United States, central Mexico, and south-eastern Canada. Ring-necked snakes are secretive, no ...

. Lizards found here are also plentiful, including the

San Diego horned lizard The San Diego horned lizard or Blainville's horned lizard (''Phrynosoma blainvillii'') is a species of phrynosomatid lizard native to southern and central California in the United States and northern Baja California in Mexico. Taxonomy Descri ...

California horned lizard The coast horned lizard (''Phrynosoma coronatum'') is a species of phrynosomatid lizard endemic to Baja California Sur in Mexico. As a defense the lizard can shoot high pressure streams of blood out of its eyes if threatened. Taxonomy It was ...

, San Diego alligator lizard,

western fence lizard The western fence lizard (''Sceloporus occidentalis'') is a common lizard of Arizona, New Mexico, California, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington (state), Washington, Northern Mexico, and the surrounding area. As the ventral abdomen of an ad ...

California side blotched lizard The common side-blotched lizard (''Uta stansburiana'') is a species of side-blotched lizard in the family Phrynosomatidae. The species is native to dry regions of the western United States and northern Mexico. It is notable for having a unique fo ...

western skink The western skink ''(Plestiodon skiltonianus)'' is a species of small, smooth- scaled lizard with relatively small limbs. It measures about 100 to 210 mm (about 4 to 8.25 inches) in total length (body + tail). It is one of seven species of l ...

western whiptail The western whiptail (''Aspidoscelis tigris'') is a species of lizard in the family Teiidae. The species ranges throughout most of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. Most of its populations appear stable, and it is not listed as ...

, and silvery legless lizard. Birds in the area are mostly raptors, including the California vulture,

turkey vulture The turkey vulture (''Cathartes aura'') is the most widespread of the New World vultures. One of three species in the genus ''Cathartes'' of the family Cathartidae, the turkey vulture ranges from southern Canada to the southernmost tip of South ...

white-tailed kite The white-tailed kite (''Elanus leucurus'') is a small raptor found in western North America and parts of South America. It replaces the related Old World black-winged kite in its native range. Taxonomy The white-tailed kite was described in 18 ...

American kestrel The American kestrel (''Falco sparverius''), also called the sparrow hawk, is the smallest and most common falcon in North America. It has a roughly two-to-one range in size over subspecies and sex, varying in size from about the weight of ...

Cooper's hawk Cooper's hawk (''Accipiter cooperii'') is a medium-sized hawk native to the North American continent and found from southern Canada to Mexico. This species is a member of the genus ''Accipiter'', sometimes referred to as true hawks, which are f ...

sharp-shinned hawk The sharp-shinned hawk (''Accipiter striatus'') is a small hawk, with males being the smallest hawks in the United States and Canada, but with the species averaging larger than some Neotropical realm, Neotropical species, such as the tiny hawk. ...

marsh hawk The hen harrier (''Circus cyaneus'') is a bird of prey. It breeds in Eurasia. The term "hen harrier" refers to its former habit of preying on free-ranging fowl. It migrates to more southerly areas in winter. Eurasian birds move to southern Eur ...

red-tailed hawk The red-tailed hawk (''Buteo jamaicensis'') is a bird of prey that breeds throughout most of North America, from the interior of Alaska and northern Canada to as far south as Panama and the West Indies. It is one of the most common members with ...

red-shouldered hawk The red-shouldered hawk (''Buteo lineatus'') is a medium-sized buteo. Its breeding range spans eastern North America and along the coast of California and northern to northeastern-central Mexico. It is a permanent resident throughout most of its ...

, and the

common nighthawk The common nighthawk (''Chordeiles minor'') is a medium-sized crepuscular or nocturnal bird of the Americas within the nightjar family, whose presence and identity are best revealed by its vocalization. Typically dark (gray, black and brown), ...

. Owl species include the

great horned owl The great horned owl (''Bubo virginianus''), also known as the tiger owl (originally derived from early naturalists' description as the "winged tiger" or "tiger of the air"), or the hoot owl, is a large owl native to the Americas. It is an extrem ...

short-eared owl The short-eared owl (''Asio flammeus'') is a widespread grassland species in the family Strigidae. Owls belonging to genus ''Asio'' are known as the eared owls, as they have tufts of feathers resembling mammalian ears. These "ear" tufts may or ...

long-eared owl The long-eared owl (''Asio otus''), also known as the northern long-eared owlOlsen, P.D. & Marks, J.S. (2019). ''Northern Long-eared Owl (Asio otus)''. In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook o ...

barn owl The barn owl (''Tyto alba'') is the most widely distributed species of owl in the world and one of the most widespread of all species of birds, being found almost everywhere except for the polar and desert regions, Asia north of the Himalaya ...

, and the

burrowing owl The burrowing owl (''Athene cunicularia''), also called the shoco, is a small, long-legged owl found throughout open landscapes of North and South America. Burrowing owls can be found in grasslands, rangelands, agricultural areas, deserts, or an ...

. There are also

peacocks Peafowl is a common name for three bird species in the genera '' Pavo'' and ''Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae, the pheasants and their allies. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and female peafowl are refe ...

and numerous other species of wildlife found in the eastern Simi Valley. Scorpions are also common.

References

{{authority control Census-designated places in Ventura County, California Census-designated places in California