Lower section, south of the National Forest boundary.
This road runs north-south from Saugus in Santa Clarita to Leona Valley. San Francisquito Canyon has been home to many things - the Harey Carey Trading Post, numerous horse ranches, and the St. Francis Dam. That dam collapsed shortly before midnight on March 12, 1928. Over 500 people died as a result of the ensuing flood.
Lower section, south of the National Forest boundary.
Bridge in the narrow section (now bypassed) of the canyon. Built in 1944.
Los Angeles County realigned most of the upper part of San Francisquito Canyon Road but
ran out of funding to complete a bypass of the narrowest and curviest segment. That
segment also happens to pass by the remains of the St. Francis Dam. This section
is now in use. The former section, heavily damaged by storms in January 2005, is
closed off to vehicular use.
New section of roadway, old alignment is curving to the left at the bottom of
the photo.
Slide along the roadway. This road has many of these and have plagued the road
department since its construction.
Segment of the road in Green Valley. Many oak trees adorn the sides of the road here.
Photo of the St. Francis Dam just before it collapsed.
Side view of the dam. Note the lack of any real spillways in the dam. Water was about
one foot below the rim of the dam the day of the collapse.
A section of the dam a few hundred feet downstream of the former site.
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