Chumash rock art Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area Facts: • Approximately 153,000 acres make Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area the world's largest urban national park • The recreation area is surrounded by a megalopolis of 17 million people - the Los Angeles metropolitan area • More than 33 million visitors enjoy the beaches and mountains in the recreation area each year • An extraordinary density of nearly 1,000 archeological sites exist within the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area • Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area is home to 25 rare, threatened, or endangered species of plants and animals Please contact the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area for more information at (805) 370-2300, or visit their website at www.nps.gov/samo.

Cultural Resources

The Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area includes nationally significant ethnographic, archeological, historic, and scenic sites. Nearly 1,000 known archeological sites are in the recreation area boundary, one of this highest densities of archeological resources found in any mountain range in the world.

Nearly every major prehistoric and historic theme associated with human interaction and development of the western United States is represented by sites in the park.

The Santa Monica Mountains also include historic structures and cultural landscapes listed--or eligible for listing--on the National Register of Historic Places.

Current Research
Most cultural resource research in the park has focused on obtaining baseline data on the distribution, status, and condition of cultural resources, and on their historic context. An estimated 40 percent of the Santa Monica Mountains has been surveyed for archeological sites, including about 70 percent of National Park Service properties.

In 2001, the National Park Service began an historic resources study to identify and evaluate structures, sites, and cultural landscapes, and related historic themes across the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. The National Park Service is now linking extensive cultural resource data to its geographic information system (GIS). We anticipate completing a digital cultural resource atlas and have also compiled an extensive database of cultural resource bibliographic materials.

Contractors are working on archeological, ethnographic and ethno-historic overviews that address the human impact over time on natural systems. The National Park Service operates a Museum Research Program that includes natural and cultural collections and other resources relevant to the Santa Monica Mountains.

In addition to other projects, we are developing collections and databases of historic photos and maps. We are actively identifying existing oral histories and conducting oral history research. Researchers are encouraged to access data, information, objects, and facilities available through the park's museum program.

Research Opportunities
Three major baseline cultural research studies are underway. Because of the diversity and complexity of the cultural history in the Santa Monica Mountains, these studies only scratch the surface of needed cultural research. The National Park Service is especially interested in:

Historical settlement of the Santa Monica Mountains involves intertwined processes of Rancho agriculture, homesteaders, land speculation and development, and urbanization. The history of the mountains includes such diverse themes as American cinema exporting American culture to the world, transportation as exemplified by travel routes including Route 66 (which terminates at Santa Monica Pier), land use history illustrated by water importation infrastructure in Franklin Canyon, the Will Rogers Ranch, and many more.

You don't have to be an academic expert to contribute to the history of the mountains. Many have donated their stories and family photos to enrich our understanding of the Santa Monica Mountains. Researchers can have access to the information we are compiling through the Museum Research Program.

Researchers in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area have access to an extensive geographic information system (GIS) database that includes land use, demographic, jurisdictional, political, and natural and cultural resource data.

The National Park Service looks forward to working with researchers to explore novel opportunities and facilitate future studies in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area through the CMRLC. Please contact the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area for more information at (805) 370-2300, or visit their website at www.nps.gov/samo.