Owens Valley

Owens Valley is a valley in the Eastern Sierra region of California. It spans portions of Mono County and Inyo County.

Understand
One of the earliest American explorers described the Owens Valley as containing "ten thousand acres (40 km2) of fine grass.", but much of the recent history of the Owens Valley involves the "theft" of its water supply for use in Los Angeles, and today it is mostly arid. This story is explained in Marc Reisner's book, Cadillac Desert and includes William Mulholland, the Los Angeles Times, and other sordid characters. Recent court rulings and actions by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power have helped restore water to the river, and with the improving fish habitat it is again becoming one of the finest fly fishing streams in the West.