Sunland in Los Angeles in Los Angeles County, California — The American West (Pacific Coastal)

How the Tongva Used Local Native Plants

Photographed by Craig Baker, October 8, 2022

1. How the Tongva Used Local Native Plants Marker

Inscription. The Native Americans who inhabited the Big Tujunga Wash were called the Tongva. They used many local native plants for food, shelter, medicine, and in their ceremonies. Can you find these plants in the garden? Many of these plants provided multiple benefits for the Tongva. For example, Yucca flowers and fruit were eaten, its roots used for soap and the fiber in its leaves used for baskets and cordage.

Erected by Los Angeles Recreation & Parks.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Indigenous Peoples and Communities • Natural Resources.

Location. 34° 16.25′ N, 118° 18.965′ W. Marker is in Los Angeles, California, in Los Angeles County. It is in Sunland. It can be reached from the intersection of Oro Vista Avenue and Grove Street, on the left when traveling north. Located in Oro Vista Park. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 11101 Oro Vista Ave, Sunland CA 91040, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in California’s The Valley — the San Fernando Valley

and in the Transverse Ranges.

It is also on the American Pacific Coast.

Globally, it is in North America,

on the Ring of Fire,

in the Pacific Rim,

in the Western Hemisphere,

in the Western World,

and in the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain

and also Mexico’s Alta California.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 3 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Sunland Park (approx. 0.8 miles away); Sunland Welcome Nature Garden (approx. one mile away); Verdugo Hills High School (approx. 1.1 miles away); McGroarty Home (approx. 1.8 miles

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away); McGroarty Home and Grounds (approx. 1.8 miles away); Verdugo Hills Cemetery (approx. 1.9 miles away); Bolton Hall (approx. 2 miles away); Sister Elsie’s Well (approx. 2.8 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Los Angeles.

More about this marker. Oro Vista Avenue connects to Big Tujunga Canyon Road, a scenic drive through the San Gabriel Mountains past such historic sites as the Big Tujunga Dam and the Big Tujunga Narrows Bridge.

Photographed by Craig Baker, October 8, 2022

2. How the Tongva Used Local Native Plants Marker

Oro Vista Park image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Craig Baker, October 8, 2022

3. Oro Vista Park

Big Tujunga Narrows Bridge image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Craig Baker (CC0), November 24, 2019

4. Big Tujunga Narrows Bridge

Built in 1941. Located 15 miles up Big Tujunga Cyn Rd.

Credits. This page was last revised on October 6, 2023. It was originally submitted on October 8, 2022, by Craig Baker of Sylmar, California. This page has been viewed 1,760 times since then and 90 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on October 8, 2022, by Craig Baker of Sylmar, California. 4. submitted on January 21, 2023, by Craig Baker of Sylmar, California.