Tongva Sacred Springs

rdf:langString Tongva Sacred Springs

rdf:langString Tongva Sacred Springs

rdf:langString Tongva Sacred Springs

rdf:langString California Historical Landmark marker #522 at the Serra Springs site

rdf:langString California

rdf:langString Kuruvungna

rdf:langString The Tongva Sacred Springs are a group of springs located on the campus of University High School in Los Angeles, California. The springs, called Kuruvungna by the native Gabrieleno Tongva people, were used as a source of natural fresh water by the Tongva people since at least the 5th century BC and continue to produce 22,000–25,000 US gallons (83,000–95,000 L) of water a day. The springs are also sometimes referred to as the Gabrieleno-Tongva Springs, the Tongva Holy Springs, and the Sacred Springs. (The deprecated toponym Serra Springs was for Catholic missionary Junípero Serra who supposedly performed mass at the site in 1770.) The springs are found at two separate locations on the campus. The larger group of springs is now closed off from the rest of the campus and is under the care of the Gabrielino/Tongva Springs Foundation. For many years this area was referred to as the “horticultural” or “agricultural area” of the campus. This group includes an “80 sq ft (7.4 m2) lagoon.” The other spring “feeds into a charming man-made waterfall” at the northeastern edge of the upper athletic field. A third spring was located farther north, near Texas Avenue, but it ceased to flow during the 1940s when a local water company began drawing from the aquifer. Water from all of the extant springs drains into the Santa Monica Bay.