After a journey of over 50 miles, the river waters pass the Queen Mary in Long Beach and drain into the Pacific Ocean. Several times throughout history the river has changed course during a flood and emptied to the west through what is now Marina Del Rey. The flood control channel now fixes Long Beach as the permanent destination for the river.
A look upstream shows the industrial landscape of the river's final miles. During a major flood in 1938 Long Beach became an island as the river forked and surrounded the city. It was after that flood that renewed efforts were initiated to channelize over 40 miles of the river.
Rattlesnake Island, which is now part of Terminal Island in the Long Beach Harbor, owes its name to the fact that during floods, the Los Angeles River would wash snakes out into the harbor and onto the island. Even now snakes are sometimes found on beaches in Malibu north of here after floods. 29
The tour ends here. Hope you enjoyed the trip.
Yes! I like the Los Angeles River Virtual Tour, but my socks are wet and my feet are cold, so I would like to learn more about . . .
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