"Today, the name Guadalasca is most commonly associated with a mountain biking trail in Point Mugu State Park, but its history goes much deeper. A Mexican land grant awarded in 1836, Rancho Guadalasca lay at the western end of the Santa Monica Mountains along the eastern Oxnard Plain. Grantee Ysabel Yorba, an illiterate widow who successfully managed the ranch for more than thirty-five years, is just one of many fascinating people who once lived there. Indigenous Chumash, Californio ranchers, Anglo American farmers, Japanese fisherman and Basque sheepherders all left their marks on the land, along with local institutions like Camarillo State Hospital and CSU Channel Islands. Join archaeologist and anthropology professor Colleen M. Delaney as she traces the five thousand years of community and lifeways that shaped Ventura County."--Back cover.