Eagle Rock, L.A. Historic-Cultural Monument No. 10, is a large dome-shaped rock formation with an indentation that resembles an

eagle Eagle is the common name for the golden eagle, bald eagle, and other birds of prey in the family of the Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of Genus, genera, some of which are closely related. True eagles comprise the genus ''Aquila ( ...

in flight. The neighborhood of

Eagle Rock Eagle is the common name for the golden eagle, bald eagle, and other birds of prey in the family of the Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of Genus, genera, some of which are closely related. True eagles comprise the genus ''Aquila ( ...

, where the rock is located is named after the rock. Once known as Eagle Rock Valley, it incorporated in 1911 and was annexed by Los Angeles in 1923. Given its visibility from the

Ventura Freeway The Ventura Freeway is a freeway in southern California, United States, that runs from the Santa Barbara County, California, Santa Barbara/Ventura county line to Pasadena in Los Angeles County. It is the principal east–west route (designate ...

, CA-134, Eagle Rock is a familiar sight to millions.

History

Eagle Rock is a large sandstone formation created by

hot spring A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a Spring (hydrology), spring produced by the emergence of Geothermal activity, geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow ...

s millions of years ago. Formerly known as La Piedra Gorda (Fat Rock), a name given to it by Spanish settlers, locals have been calling it Eagle Rock (or The Rock) since at least 1888. The first published illustration of La Piedra Gorda was made by Archduke of Austria, Ludwig Louis Salvator. His book was published in 1878. The

Tongva 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 . In the precolonial era, the peop ...

inhabited the

cave Caves or caverns are natural voids under the Earth's Planetary surface, surface. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. Exogene caves are smaller openings that extend a relatively short distance undergrou ...

s at the base of The Rock and used it as a lookout point in the 1700s. It's rumoured that infamous

bandit Banditry is a type of organized crime committed by outlaws typically involving the threat or use of violence. A person who engages in banditry is known as a bandit and primarily commits crimes such as extortion, robbery, kidnapping, and murder, e ...

Tiburcio Vasquez Tiburcio, the Spanish form of Tiburtius, may refer to: * Tiburcio Carías Andino (1876–1969), Honduran military strongman * Tiburcio de León, Filipino general (the Philippine Revolution and Philippine-American War) * José Tiburcio Serrizuela ...

, used the same caves as a hideout in 1874. In the early 20th Century, yearly Easter services were held at the top of the Rock. The Rock was named a Historic-Cultural Monument in 1962 but did not belong to the City of Los Angeles until 1995, when the City purchased it for $700,000.

References

{{Coord, 34, 8, 36, N, 118, 11, 1, W, type:landmark_region:US-CA, display=title Tongva populated places Rock formations of California Landforms of Los Angeles County, California Eagle Rock, Los Angeles