The Changing South

One of the main areas of focus of the chapter, The Changing South was racism and poverty. Simi Valley doesn't really have too much experience with either one. In Simi Valley, only 7.4% of families are below the poverty line compared with 17.2% of families below the poverty line in a southern city such as Atlanta, Georgia.

In my opinion, Simi Valley is in a perfect location, as it is close to so many businesses and manufacturing cores, it allows the city to grow easily demographically and economically.

One big racial event that took place in Simi Valley was the Rodney King trial. On November 27, 1991, Judge Stanley Weisberg of the California Court of Appeals selected Simi Valley as the venue for the case against four officers of the Los Angeles Police Department. The four officers were accused of unnecessary force and beating of African-American Rodney King on March 3, 1991.

Simi Valley courthouse, where the Rodney King trial took place

Credit:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlanta#Economy
http://www.ventura.courts.ca.gov/East_County_Courthouse.htm

Appalachia and The Ozarks

The topography of Appalachia is hilly and irregular, this is similar to the topography of Simi Valley; As I wrote in a previous blog, Simi Valley is surrounded by the Santa Susan Mountains. Simi Valley facing side of the mountains are considered grassland, and are home to many different animal species including vultures, eagles, hawks, Mountain Lion, and Coyotes.

View from Mt. McCoy

 This mountain pictured above is a personal favorite of mine. When I was growing up I lived in the neighborhood right below it, so I was hiking that mountain all the time! Especially during the summer with my friends. Mt. McCoy is only about 700 feet high, and is not near the highest peak in the Santa Susana mountains, but it is still one of my favorite mountains as it has such a beautiful 360 degree view.


Credit:
http://www.simitrailblazers.com/hikes/mtmccoy.html
Regional Landscapes of the United States and Canada by Birdsall, 2009

The Bypassed East

The Bypassed East, ahh what a beautiful place! Green forests, tall trees, seasons!! Unlike this description, Simi Valley is about the complete opposite of this region.The city of Simi Valley does not have any fishing, forestry, or minerals production; although Simi Valley is known for havingmany large companies, including:

Costco
Wal-Mart
Bank of America Corporate Offices
Farmers Insurance Group
Target

A list of Simi Valley's top employers

  Unlike the Bypassed East, Simi Valley receives little rainfall which has every year led to worry, preparation, and nervousness of the city and surrounding communities.


A 2005 fire started on September 28 and burned an estimated 7,000 acres

North American Manufacturing Core

 The city of Simi Valley is not a Manufacturing Core for the U.S. by any means, but it does have a pretty decent amount of local manufacturing within big companies, and provides great access to many other cities of high business with it's perfect location.

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There are two main areas of industry in Simi Valley, one in the eastern part of the city and the other one in the west. The largest industry in the city is machinery and toos, which has over 69 firms. the second being metal with 51 firms both on the west and east sides. All throughout the city however there are businesses such as Lumber/Wood Products, Food, Plastic Products, and Apparel/Textiles.

Income: In 2007, the estimated income median household income was $88,000, with  10.2% of the population below the poverty line.

The Simi Valley Town Center, the local mall.

The location of Simi Valley and proximity to such large industrial centers such as Los Angeles and San Fernando Valley, provides as a great locations for employees lives. The San Fernando Valley for instance is home to such companies as NBC, CBS, and Walt Disney Company.


Credit:
http://www.ci.simi-valley.ca.us/index.aspx?page=1
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Fernando_Valley#Economy
http://www.movoto.com/neighborhood/ca/simi-valley/93063.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simi_Valley,_California#Income

Megalopolis

Simi Valley is not a part of a Megalopolis. The city is a small, suburb type city, with little relation to any major Megalopolitan cities. The city is however about 40 miles away from a large Megalopolis city, Los Angeles, and is about 60 miles away from the Long Beach port, which is the 2nd busiest container port in America. This port and the Los Angeles port are both a major part of U.S.-Asian trade relations.

Long Beach port

Simi Valley is not a major city, but it does have a lot to offer. Simi Valley has a council-management style of government. The city owns and operates it's own police station, and has 5 fire stations within the city, the safety of residents of Simi Valley has always been a major pull factor for residents to move into the city.

Good public transportation provided by the city also allows for residents to enjoy the many entertainment, dining, and other activities within the city.

Credit:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simi_Valley,_California#Economy
http://www.polb.com/

Foundations of Human Activity

As I stated before Simi Valley was first inhabited by Native American Chumash Indians. Native American prescense in Simi Valley extends as far back as 10,000-12,000 years ago. They lived on what nature provided, inland in valleys like Simi Valley, they ate the seeds from sage, acorns from the oak trees, and whatever small game animals were available. Simi Valley's name is said to originate from the Chumash word Shimiyi, which refers to the stringy, thread-like clouds that typify the region.

One of the few remaining evidences of the Chumash Indian living in Simi are the pictorgraphs in the Burro Flats Painted Caves, located in the Santa Monica Mountains between Chatsworth and Simi Valley. These caves paintings are now protected and are on private property owned by Boeing.

View of the caves at Burro Flats

Cave paintings at Burro Flats

In my first post I talked about the Spanish occupations of Simi Valley, and the coming of El Rancho Simi. In 1795 the land was given as a Spanish colonial land grant to the Pico family.

Simi Adobe was built at the beginning of the Spanish period, likely soon after the grant in 1795, as the local residents had to have some place to live while they operated the rancho.

Simi Adobe-Strathearn House, the headquarters of Rancho Simi

Many Anglo-Americans arrived to settle lands into farms, orchards and groves dominated the valley's landscape until the 1970s. The city incorporated as Simi Valley in 1969, with only 10,000 people.

Present Population

According to the 2010 US Census, Simi Valley has a population of 124,237.

The racial makeup of Simi Valley was 93,597 (75.3%) White, 1,739 (1.4%) African American, 761 (0.6%) Native American, 11,555 (9.3%) Asian (2.7% Indian, 2.2% Filipino, 1.2% Chinese, 1.0% Vietnamese, 0.7% Korean, 0.5% Japanese, 0.2% Thai, 0.1% Pakistani), 178 (0.1%) Pacific Islander, 10,685 (8.6%) from other races, and 5,722 (4.6%) from two or more races.

Credit:
http://www.ohranger.com/ca/chumash-painted-cave/poi/burro-flats-painted-cave

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burro_Flats_Painted_Cave
Simi Valley A Journey Through Time, by Patricia Havens, 1997

Geographic Patterns of the Physical Environment

Simi Valley is located in Southern Califronia, at 34°16'16" North, 118°44'22" West. The city is approximately 40 miles North from downtown Los Angeles, and 350 South from the State's capital Sacramento. Simi Valley borders the Santa Susana Mountains to the north and Simi Hills to the east and south.

Simi Valley surrounded by the the Santa Susana mountains, with the snowy mountains of Los Padres National Forest beyond.

One of my personal favorite geographical features of Simi Valley are the Santa Monica Mountains. The Santa Monica Mountains are about seven and a half miles wide, and are about forty-six miles long; they extend from Griffith Park in Los Angeles to Point Mugu, just outside Oxnard in Ventura County. The average elevation of these mountains is 1,000 feet, the highest point, Sandstone Peak, is over 3,000 feet. My favorite feature of these mountains are the trails, most of the mountains are layered with different trailers for hikers to explore.

Picture of me at the beginning of the Rocky Peak trails in Simi Valley

The Climate in Simi Valley tends to be warmer, and for longer, than most areas. Not too much rain fall hits this city during the year, usually an average of about 17 inches per year.

Average Monthly Temperatures of Simi Valley

Average Monthly Precipitation of Simi Valley

Due to its high temperatures and low humidity Simi Valley, as is most of Southern Califonia, is especially suseptable to wildfires. The dry brush of the mountains is the perfect start for wildfires. In 2005 a wildfire burned more that 17,000 in the area.

Credit:
http://www.betweenwaters.com/etc/usrain.html
http://www.city-data.com/city/Simi-Valley-California.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simi_Valley,_California#Climate
http://nps.gov/samo/planyourvisit/index.htm

Themes and Regions

Simi Valley's name is said to originate from the Chumash word Shimiyi. This word is used to describe the stringy, thread-like clouds that typify the region. Simi Valley was once inhabited by the Chumash Indians, who also settled much of the region from the Salinas Valley to the Santa Monica Mountains. The region later became known as Rancho Simi, a 113,009-acre  Spanish land grant given in 1795. In 1887 the company, Simi Land and Water Company acquired the land, and this was the beginning of the community today. The city incorporated as Simi Valley in 1969 and is now a suburban style living center.

This is an actual excerpt from the Simi Land and Water Company records. Simi Valley was the first Spanish colonial land grant in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties.

Today Simi Valley is 42.2 square miles,  and lies in the southeast corner of Ventura County, California, bordering the San Fernando Valley. According to the U.S. Census, the city had a population of 124,237 in 2010. The city is surrounded by the Santa Susana Mountain range and the Simi Hills,

A picture of Simi Valley in the early 1960's, mainly farms and fruit orchards

 

Credit:
http://geography.howstuffworks.com/united-states/geography-of-simi-valley.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simi_Valley,_California#Economy
Simi Valley A Journey Through Time, by Patricia Havens, 1997