The City of San Fernando, as I have mentioned
before, is located in the San Fernando Valley. San Fernando is a flat plain
surrounded by several mountains.
To the northwest, you will find the Santa Susana
Mountains. The highest point in the Santa Susana Mountains is Oat Mountain with
an elevation of 3.747 feet. The climate there is mild and dry during the
summer, wet in the winter, and in high elevations snow can be seen. The first discovery of oil in California
happened in the north side of the Santa Susana Mountains at Naco Canyon.
To the west, you can see the Simi Hills. The highest
point is at the Simi Peak with an elevation of 652m. Over 8,000 years ago, the
Paleo-Indians and the Chumash-Venturaño Native Americans settled and hunted at
the Simi Hills. There is rarely any snow here in the winter, the climate is
mild, but rainy, and the summers are warm and dry.
To the south, are the Santa Monica Mountains with
the highest peak being Sandstone Peak with an elevation of 3,111 feet. The Chalk Hills are also to the south. Winters
here are cool and wet with rarely any snow. The summers are dry, warm, and
humid. There are over 1,000 archeological sites in the Santa Monica Mountains,
mostly from the Tongra and Chumash Native American Cultures. The Chalk Hills
are also to the south.
To the east, are the Verdugo Mountains. This area is
prone to wildfires. Verdugo Peak is the highest point with an elevation of
3,126 feet. The indigenous Tongva people made these mountains there home over
7,000 years old.
To the northeast, you can find the San Gabriel
Mountains. The highest peak is at Mount San Antonio with an elevation of 10,068
feet. Snow covers these mountains in the winter time making snowboarding and
snow skiing very popular. When the climate starts getting warmer, “Melting snow
and rain runoff on the south side of the San Gabriel’s’ highest mountains give
rise to its largest river, the San Gabriel River.
