San Francisquito Dam Failure Site, California

The failure of a dam at this site in 1928 is considered to be one of the worst domestic disasters in American history. Over 450 people were killed when the entire contents of the reservoir, with an initial wall of water 200 feet high, washed through the Santa Clara River Valley, taking parts of the towns of Piru, Fillmore, and Santa Paula along with it, before washing out to sea at Ventura, 55 miles away. William Mulholland, builder of the L.A. Aqueduct, who as Chief Engineer of the City of Los Angeles was responsible for the dam's design, inspected the dam twelve hours before the disaster, and declared it safe. He retired soon after the accident, and stated at the coroner's inquest that he envied the dead.