From it's headwaters high atop Mount San Antonio to its confluence with the Pacific in Seal Beach, the San Gabriel River continues to be one of the Los Angeles basin's most coveted and utilized waterways. In recent decades the Azusa Canyon section of the river has become synonymous with weekend escapes from the rush of the city, offering millions of Southern Californians the opportunity to engage in hiking, fishing, cycling, or simply a panoramic ride through its extensive roadways. The river's name is dervied from the Mision San Gabriel Arcángel, founded in 1771 by Spanish settlers on the Rio Hondo, a vital tributary to the San Gabriel River. Previous to the Spanish arrival, however, the San Gabriel's watershed had been home to the Tongva peoples for more than 8,000 years, providing this early civilization with vast riparian regions, abundant in food and wildlife. Currently, there are several organizations working to protect the San Gabriel River and declare the multitude of wilderness areas and parks that line its trajectory, a national recreation zone. The proposed recreational zone, called the Emerald Necklace, would protect the river and its bevy of tributaries making it one of the most ambitious natural revitalization's in the history of the Los Angeles basin. We look forward to providing you with new developments throughout the production of our San Gabriel River series. Tell us your San Gabriel story here. (note: can we hyperlink in this template?)