Chapter 18: Transportation

 

On November 10, 2008, the City of San Fernando introduced the trolley as a new form of transportation for its residents. The trolley has two routes and twenty eight stops that help the residents move about the city. The trolley operates Monday thru Friday from 10:00am to 4:00pm, and on weekends it operates from 11:00am to 4:00pm. Customers usually wait for 15 minutes for the trolley and the fare is only twenty-five cents. You might also want to ride on the trolley just for fun, since it is only twenty-five cents. I did that with my kids. I gave them a quarter each, we hopped on the trolley, and we did a round trip. They really liked the experience.

 

http://www.ci.san-fernando.ca.us/trhttp://www.google.com/imgres?um=1&hl=en&sa=N&tbo=d&rlz=1T4GGHP_enUS419US419&biw=1600&bih=744&tbm=isch&tbnid=ESKUvezryuOilM:&imgrefurl=http://fortherecordnews.blogspot.com/2008/11/free-trolley-service.html&docid=6UGz4hfcJSBpXM&itg=1&imgurl=https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDDdwlXPre13VRF6WkrXqPEh_B8hj3NuMXMZuksba30IC2x1Jf2HvvGwoEX_RgaC6Net7nD64wpZE4og2GSxKXcyfASGHZU85xrTSgbfr_rn5142lit1IgaSZa-mbMbFn8CP1AaqUPTw3K/s400/IMG_1042.JPG&w=400&h=292&ei=p1y5UIqUCafxiwLio4DYCA&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=187&vpy=430&dur=2622&hovh=192&hovw=263&tx=114&ty=114&sig=103787698442955985091&page=1&tbnh=139&tbnw=189&start=0&ndsp=30&ved=1t:429,r:16,s:0,i:135olley/

 

Chapter 16: Trees

Below are pictures of trees found  around San Fernando and in its surrounding mountains. Many of these trees provide shelter for many animals, and some provide food for many animals in the area.

These trees also create a beautiful landscape to see as you walk or drive by them.

 

Willows

 

Coast Live Oaks

 

 

California Sycamores

       Evergreen Oaks

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

http://www.google.com/imgres?um=1&hl=en&sa=N&tbo=d&rlz=1T4GGHP_enUS419US419&biw=1600&bih=744&tbm=isch&tbnid=0piN6bFyZ16IXM:&imgrefurl=http://iloveintuition.com/2011/05/32-lessons-of-celebration-life-and-love&docid=8ON76GInwNgo9M&imgurl=http://iloveintuition.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/WillowTree.jpg&w=2535&h=2059&ei=-Om3UPakA-GdiAKRyIGQDw&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=501&sig=105973302985731619367&page=1&tbnh=146&tbnw=180&start=0&ndsp=36&ved=1t:429,r:12,s:0,i:189&tx=60&ty=76

http://www.google.com/imgres?um=1&hl=en&sa=N&tbo=d&qscrl=1&rlz=1T4GGHP_enUS419US419&biw=1600&bih=744&tbm=isch&tbnid=0PWSSe4EoCoNkM:&imgrefurl=http://www.aguahedionda.org/discoverycenter/garden.aspx&docid=D4GvLHbDa5688M&imgurl=http://www.aguahedionda.org/images/CoastLiveOak.jpg&w=400&h=300&ei=m-q3ULOsJajqigLlkoCgAw&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=496&vpy=94&dur=5593&hovh=194&hovw=259&tx=136&ty=115&sig=105973302985731619367&page=1&tbnh=127&tbnw=174&start=0&ndsp=38&ved=1t:429,r:3,s:0,i:110

http://www.google.com/imgres?um=1&hl=en&sa=N&tbo=d&rlz=1T4GGHP_enUS419US419&biw=1600&bih=744&tbm=isch&tbnid=6miMqOobtv07JM:&imgrefurl=http://www.performancenursery.gardenideaswest.com/eplant.php%3Fplantnum%3D492%26return%3Dc_aC&docid=wrQitZHPG3BrvM&imgurl=http://www.performancenursery.gardenideaswest.com/PlantMaster/Photos/492a.jpg&w=263&h=350&ei=auu3UKCEHqHtiwKv3IGQCQ&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=448&vpy=213&dur=4529&hovh=259&hovw=195&tx=125&ty=156&sig=105973302985731619367&page=1&tbnh=146&tbnw=112&start=0&ndsp=40&ved=1t:429,r:24,s:0,i:19

http://www.nhm.ac.uk/nature-online/british-natural-history/urban-tree-survey/identify-trees/tree-factsheets/c-to-e/evergreen-oak/index.html

Chapter 15:Earthquakes

Since San Fernando is located in the state of California, it is prone to earthquakes. San Fernando is located near the San Gabriel Fault.

 

On February 9, 1971, at 6:00 in the morning, San Fernando residents felt the earth shake. The epicenter of this earthquake was located about two miles away from San Fernando, in the city of Sylmar. It had a magnitude of 6.6, and it lasted about one minute. Many aftershocks were felt, including one with a magnitude of 5.

This earthquake claimed the lives of 65 people. It also damaged many buildings including two hospitals and schools. Two freeways were also greatly damaged. The total cost of the damage was estimated at about half a billion dollars.

Again on January 17, 1994, San Fernando was hit by another earthquake. This time the epicenter was located about 11 miles away in the city of Northridge. The magnitude for this earthquake was registered at 6.7, with two aftershocks at 6.0.

The Northridge earthquake claimed the lives of 57 people. The cost for the damages was much higher than the 1971 quake. The cost for the damages was estimated at $20 billions.

 

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1971_San_Fernando_earthquake


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1994_Northridge_earthquake

Chapter 14: Unemployment

In 1991, the population of San Fernando was 22,333. In 2011, there was an increase of about 6% bringing the population to 23,818.

The unemployment rate is San Fernando has increased from 5.4% in 2000 to 11.2% in 2012. The unemployment rate of San Fernando is slightly higher than that of California. In August of 2012, California had an unemployment rate of 10.4%.

According to the website area vibes, “The median household income in San Fernando is 21.5% less than the California average and 7.9% less than the National average. The poverty level in San Fernando is 41.2% greater than the California average and 55.4% greater than the National average.”

 

http://www.city-data.com/city/San-Fernando-California.html

http://www.areavibes.com/san+fernando-ca/employment/

Chapter 13: Wildlife

In this section I will mention some of the wildlife around San

Fernando. Much of San Fernando is highly developed, but in its

surrounding mountains, you can see certain types of wildlife

making this area their home. 

The two most common types of wild plants around San Fernando

are chaparral and sage scrub.

Many of the mountains surrounding San Fernando are home to

wild animals. Some of these wild animals are the coyotes, mule

deer, bobcats, raccoons, and skunks. Mountain lions can also be

found in the surrounding mountains. They are actually the top

predator in the area. In the Santa Susana and Santa Gabriel

Mountains, black bears make this area their home.

 

 

There are also 18 species of snakes and 8 species of lizards. You

can find pacific rattlesnakes (the only venomous snake in

California), gophers snake, California king snakes, and California

striped racers.

 

http://www.lamountains.com/parks_plants.asp

Chapter 12: Native Indians

Many Native Indians of San Fernando were neophytes. To be a

neophyte, meant that these Native Indians had recently been

converted to the Catholic faith. In San Fernando, these Indians

were called Fernandinos. Many of these Indians suffered from

diseases that they were not immune to, and many passed away. In

1838-39, around 400 Indians lived in San Fernando, but theirs lives

were full of hardship because of corruption, and because they

were believed to be inferior to the new European settlers. Today,

the state of California refers to the Native Indians of San Fernando

as Tongva Indians.

 

 

Two Tongva Indians at the San Fernnado Mission          (http://www.scvhistory.com/scvhistory/jj1005.htm)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

http://www.missionscalifornia.com/content/native-americans-san-fernando-rey.html 

Chapter 11: Extreme Climate

 

Although the climate in the city of San Fernando is very Mediterranean, and the average rainfall is about 16 inches per year, once in a while the climate can get quite extreme. In 1997-1998, San Fernando, California experienced a period of time where there were plenty of storms day in, and day out, causing an excessive amount of rainfall compared to the amount rainfall from other years. This phenomenon is called El Niño. El Niño storms usually occur at the equator, but in the year 97-98, it reached San Fernando and other surrounding cities.

Since there was a lot of rainfall, there was also a lot of flooding and damage. Some vegetation, homes, and vehicles in the area were destroyed.

So what cause El Niño storms? “The trade winds have all the warm water pushed in the Western Pacific. During an El Niño year that warm water is in the Eastern Pacific, and so the storms coming into the West Coast of the United States and then on across the southern tier of the United States can tap into some of that warm, moist air that's above that water, and that adds to the effect and the strength of these storms.”

Below I have included a video that is a little bit less than an hour long, but it is a very interesting video that explains a little bit more about El Niño storms.

 

 

 

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/weather/jan-june98/nino_2-4.html

Chapter 10: Water in San Fernando

Where do residents of the City of San Fernando get their water

from?  The residents get their water from three different water

sources. The first source is “Local groundwater wells that draw

water from the Sylmar Basin.” Water is also imported from the

Metropolitan Water District. In extreme emergencies, water also

comes from a connection from the City of Los Angeles distribution

system. 98 percent of the water that was used in San Fernando in

2010, come from the local groundwater wells, and 2 percent was

purchased from the Metropolitan Water District.

To purify and treat the water, groundwater is taken from the Sylmar

Basin and chlorine is added in a sodium hypochlorite solution

(0.8%) used to disinfect the water. The process is monitored on a

daily basis. The water is then pumped into reservoirs, and thanks to

gravity it is distributed to homes and businesses in San Fernando.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

http://www.ci.sanfernando.ca.us/city_government/departments/pubworks/forms_docs/water_quality_report_10_eng.pdf

http://www.wrsc.org/presentation/california-water-wars

http://www.ourventurablvd.com/May-June-2011/Under-Water/