Compton Creek

33°50′30″N 118°12′16″W / 33.84167°N 118.20444°W / 33.84167; -118.20444^[1]

Compton Creek
Compton Creek from Wall Street, just south of E 108th St., Los Angeles. The creek's western terminus is visible at the far end at S Main St.
Location
Country	United States
Physical characteristics
Source
• location	Compton, California
Mouth
• location	Los Angeles River, California
Length	8.5 mi (13.7 km)
Basin size	42.1 sq mi (109 km2)

Compton Creek is a major tributary of the Los Angeles River in and surrounding Compton in Los Angeles County, California. The stream drains a watershed of 42.1 square miles (109 km²).^[2] and is the last major tributary to enter the Los Angeles River before it reaches the Pacific Ocean.

The stream begins just east of South Main Street between 107th and 108th Streets in Los Angeles. Compton Creek passes through Willowbrook and runs 8.5 miles (13.7 km) in total.^[2] Most of its route is encased in a concrete flood control channel. Shortly after it passes under West Greenleaf Boulevard, it changes to an earth-bottom section with riprap banks.^[2] Joined near its end by East Compton Creek, the creek ultimately empties into the Los Angeles River just south of Del Amo Boulevard.

Crossings and tributaries

From mouth to source (year built in parentheses):^[3]

Compton Creek

East Compton Creek

• Branches from Compton Creek
• Railroad Spur
• SR 91 - Gardena Freeway (formerly Redondo Beach Freeway) (1974)
• East Artesia Boulevard and Santa Fe Avenue (1956)
• South Tartar Lane (????)
• East Greenleaf Boulevard (1963)
• Disappears underground

Recreation

Compton Creek Bike Path and Compton Creek Natural Park are associated recreational facilities for the community.

Environmental catastrophe

A 2009 study conducted at the University of Southern California's Dornsife School's Department of Earth Sciences noted Compton Creek's marked water contamination and unprecedented quantity and variety of pollutants. Professor Ryan Millsap was quoted in the study's abstract, "I can state unequivocally [that Compton Creek] was, during the 1950s, the most polluted creek ever to be studied by the U.S. Department of the Interior." A seminal study at the intersection of Earth Sciences and Critical Studies, Professor Gustafson reports that the Watts riots of 1965 came in part as a response to oppressed people's inability to find housing outside of polluted areas, whence the creek was cited as a prime example.

Trivia

• West Poplar Street was renamed West Bartlett Street in 2007 after a fire burned down an animal shelter. The street was renamed in the honor of a fireman who saved more than 10 dogs and 6 cats during the emergency.^[2]

References

Further reading

• KCET Departures on Compton Creek interview with Alex Kenefick on Compton Creek.
• Compton Creek Regional Garden Park Master Plan

External links

Maps from the Council for Watershed Health:

• Compton Creek Watershed Topography^{[permanent dead link]}
• Soils in the Compton Creek Watershed^{[permanent dead link]}
• Zipcodes in the Compton Creek Watershed^{[permanent dead link]}
• Maintenance Jurisdictions in Compton Creek^{[permanent dead link]}
• Dominguez and Compton Creek Watersheds^{[permanent dead link]}
• Brownfields in the Compton Creek Partial Watershed^{[permanent dead link]}