by Patt Morrison / photographs by Mark Lamonica

Great cities have grown up because of their great rivers.

Los Angeles grew up and disregarded hers. 

Still, the Los Angeles River is a dramatic waterway that rages with all the drama of life in its city. Once, the river meant life and death to those who lived along its banks. To some, the Los Angeles river people whose lives parallel it, it is still so. Yet, the City of Los Angeles, born in the century of the industrial revolution, not only did not make its peace with its nurturing river, but in fact waged war against it—and only now has the metropolis begun to cherish its rolling waters. 

RÍO L.A. tells the poetic story of the river with NPR contributor and Los Angeles Times columnist Patt Morrison’s words and Mark Lamonica’s startling photographs. Their RÍO L.A. demonstrates that this river is as vital and mystical as the city it transects. As the authors prove, the Los Angeles River is the life source of America’s most important city.