University Advancement

Public Relations and Strategic Communications

NEWS RELEASE

CSUN Library Exhibit Explores the ‘Jewel’ That is the Santa Monica Mountains

(NORTHRIDGE, Calif., Aug. 31, 2006) -- Los Angeles is the only major city in the world whose population is nearly evenly divided by a mountain range. Its still rising peaks can be seen through the front windows of Cal State Northridge’s Oviatt Library.

A new exhibition in the library’s lobby explores the diversity of plants and animals sustained by the multiple ecosystems that make up the Santa Monica Mountains. "Santa Monica Mountains: A Jewel Within" runs through Thursday, Sept. 28.

"I hope that visitors to the exhibition become aware and appreciate the wonderful resource we have in our own backyard," said Dean Arnold, one of the curators of the exhibition. "People don’t realize that there are year-round streams with waterfalls which are wonderful places to go for reflection and to center ourselves in our hectic lives, all right in the middle of Los Angeles."

Arnold pointed out that the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, established by Congress in 1978, is the largest urban park in the United States. It extends from Griffith Park to Point Magu, and the mountain range continues to the Channel Islands. The range was created by tectonic forces, including the San Andreas Fault.

Arnold and his co-curator Stephanie Ballard drew on a variety of resources to create the exhibition, including the university’s departments of biology, geological sciences and geography as well as the National Park Service, Malibu Creek State Park and the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.

The display demonstrates how Native Americans flourished in the rich bounty of the mountains. It highlights the enticing trails that still draw hikers to the area. The exhibit also tells the story of how community activism ensured that the mountains would be protected for future generations. The show also includes a diorama that includes a small stream, waterfall and live native plants found in the mountains.

The exhibition is free and open to the public during regular library hours, Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. The Oviatt Library is located in the center of the campus at 18111 Nordhoff St. in Northridge.

The Oviatt Library is home to more than 1.25 million volumes, 3 million microfilms, 125,000 government publications, and subscribes to more than 2,400 periodicals and more than 20,000 electronic databases, journals and books. It also has an extensive historical collection of mixed media, rare books and archives. It serves as the main research facility in the San Fernando Valley.