Alabama Gates
US 395 at Los Angeles Aqueduct Road
North of Lone Pine
Built 1913
In 1905, Los Angeles officials began buying land and water rights in Owens Valley to divert water from the Owens River to Los Angeles. Construction of the Los Angeles Aqueduct started in 1908 and finished in 1913 when the Alabama Gates were built.
The Los Angeles Aqueduct was 223 mile long.
The Alabama Gates were named after the nearby Alabama Hills.
Before being diverted, the Owens River fed Owens Lake which had been twelve miles long, eight miles wide and fifty feet deep in some places. After the Owens River was diverted, Owens Lake went dry and Owens Valley was transformed from The Switzerland of California into a desert. The economy of Owens Valley was destroyed.
Ian