The San Gabriel Valley is one of the principal valleys of Southern California, United States. It lies to the east of Los Angeles, to the north of the Puente Hills, to the south of the San Gabriel Mountains, and west of the Inland Empire. It derives its name from the San Gabriel River that flows southward through the center of the valley. The river itself was named for the Spanish Mission San Gabriel Arcángel, which was originally built in the Whittier Narrows in 1771. At one time predominantly agricultural, the San Gabriel Valley is today almost entirely urbanized and is an integral part of the Greater Los Angeles metropolitan area. It is one of the most ethnically diverse regions in the country. About 200 square miles (520 km2) in size, the Valley includes 31 cities and five unincorporated communities. In 1886, Pasadena was the first independent incorporated city still located in Los Angeles County (both Anaheim and Santa Ana are now located in Orange County).
Read more about San Gabriel Valley: Cities and Communities, Early History, Demographics and Ethnic Diversity, Local Interest, Transportation, Climate, Institutions of Higher Learning, Local Sites of Interest, Company Headquarters, Area Codes
Famous quotes containing the words san, gabriel and/or valley:
“There they are at last, Miss Rutledge. The will-o-the-wisps with plagues of fortune. San Francisco, the latest newborn of a great republic.”
—Ben Hecht (1893–1964)
“I have been here before,
But when or how I cannot tell:
I know the grass beyond the door,
The sweet keen smell,
The sighing sound, the lights around the shore.”
—Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828–1882)
“Down in the valley,
Valley so low,
Hang your head over,
Hear the train blow.”
—Unknown. Down in the Valley (l. 1–4)