Name: Date: Period: - Orange County Public Schools: Fill & Download for Free

Nothing. The needs of the Navy come first. There is no legal or regulatory limit as to gow many hours they can work him or how intensely. He's in the military. It's not a normal job.The below is intended to allow my answer to be posted, in spite of the bot. Please ignore.Aliso Creek (Spanish for "Alder Creek"; also called Alisos Creek) is a 19-mile (31 km)-long urban stream that runs through Orange County in the U.S. state of California from the Santa Ana Mountains to the Pacific Ocean, collecting seven main tributaries. The creek is mostly channelized, and as of 2004, the 30.4-square-mile (78.7 km2) watershed had a population of 149,087 divided among seven incorporated cities.The creek flows generally south-southwest through a narrow coastal watershed at the southern extreme end of the arid Los Angeles Basin in a fairly straight course. Owing to the submersion of Southern California in the Pacific Ocean as recently as 10 million years ago, the creek flows over marine sedimentary rock that dates from the late Eocene to the Pliocene. The present-day form of the watershed, with its broad sediment-filled valleys and deeply eroded side canyons, was shaped by a climate change during the previous Ice Age that produced Aliso Canyon, the creek's final gorge.The name was given to the creek by Spanish explorers in the 18th century, although there are now many places in California that use the name. Historically, the creek served as the boundary between the Juaneño (Acjachemem) and Gabrieleño (Tongva) Indians. The creek's watershed then became a major portion of the 1842 Rancho Niguel Mexican Land Grant to Juan Avila, later purchased by two American ranchers. Although attempts to use the creek and its watershed as a municipal water source date to the early 20th century, the water it provided was of poor quality and erratic occurrence. As a result, the creek became neglected throughout the late part of the century, eventually becoming little more than an open wastewater drain. Despite this general decline, the Aliso Creek watershed still supports some biodiversity, and it remains a popular recreational area.Pollution, floods and development of the watershed and the surrounding county have blighted the water quality and wildlife of the creek since the 1960s, when residential suburban development of the eight cities in the watershed began. Pollution continues to be a major problem for the creek—the subject of many water quality and feasibility studies—but, as with many other Orange County streams, little has been done to correct it.EtymologyThe Native American name for Aliso Creek has almost certainly been lost. The current name of Aliso Creek was given by Spanish conquistadors sometime between the 1750s and the 1800s. The word aliso means "alder tree" in Spanish, and likely refers to the riparian vegetation that lines the creek especially near its mouth. The California sycamore, Platanus racemosa, is also known as aliso in Spanish, and is common in the area around the creek. According to the Geographic Names Information System of the United States Geological Survey, there are now 46 places in California that use the name, as well as five other streams in California that use the name, including as a variant name.Other derivatives for Aliso Creek's name have arisen since then—including "Los Alisos Creek" and "Alisos Creek". Several nearby geographical features also are named for the creek, including Aliso Peak, a 683-foot (208 m) headland. A middle school in the Saddleback Valley Unified School District, Los Alisos Intermediate School, borders the creek. The creek is also the namesake of Aliso Creek Road, which crosses the creek once and only parallels it for a short length. The city of Aliso Viejo and several other communities that lie near the stream also share their name with the creek.CourseAliso Creek rises in the foothills of the Santa Ana Mountains, near the community of Portola Hills, part of Lake Forest, and at the boundary of the Cleveland National Forest. The Loma Ridge rises about 1,500 feet (460 m) above the creek's headwaters, which are at an elevation of 2,300 feet (700 m). There is no pond, lake or spring at the creek's ultimate source; it starts out as a small seasonal gully that courses southwards through a small valley with relatively little development. The creek then continues generally southwest for 19 miles (31 km) to the Pacific Ocean at Laguna Beach, collecting water from seven major tributaries and over forty minor drains and streams. For much of its course, the creek is channelized and confined by urban development. It only flows freely in several stretches in its far upper and lower course. Passing south of several residential areas on the foothills to the north, Aliso Creek and El Toro Road run parallel for much of the creek's length upstream from Interstate 5. Flowing southwest in a small ravine along the right side of the road, the creek soon passes underneath the twin bridges of California State Route 241, and receives from the right an unnamed northern fork. At this confluence, the creek turns more to the south, then crosses under El Toro Road and bisects another residential area. As it enters the city of Lake Forest, it receives from the right Munger Creek and from the left English Canyon Creek, a larger tributary which drains part of the city of Mission Viejo, 16 miles (26 km) from the mouth.A slow-moving and shallow headwaters of a streamThe upstream portions of Aliso Creek (here shown while flowing) are relatively pristine in comparison with the downstream segments.The creek crosses under Trabuco Road and Jeronimo Road; the latter was once the site of a stream gauge. It makes a bend to the southeast then veers back south, entering a large gulch and crossing beneath Interstate 5. The creek then enters a culvert beneath Paseo de Valencia, then crosses under Laguna Hills Drive and cascades under Moulton Parkway, through the community of Laguna Hills. It then swings to the southeast and receives the Aliso Hills Channel, which enters from the left, 13 miles (21 km) from the mouth. The Aliso Hills Channel drains much of eastern Laguna Hills, western Mission Viejo, and southeastern Lake Forest.[2][11][12][13] From the confluence, the gradient of the creek flattens sharply and the stream enters a broad and shallow valley that runs between Aliso Creek Road on the west and Alicia Parkway on the east. It passes under California State Route 73, which crosses the valley on an earthfill and a bridge segment. The creek receives from the right the Dairy Fork, 9 miles (14 km) from the mouth, which drains parts of southern Laguna Hills and northeastern Aliso Viejo. The southwest-flowing Dairy Fork once flowed in a prominent canyon that was filled in the 1960s and 1970s to build the city of Aliso Viejo; State Route 73 now runs above the former canyon.[2][11][12][13]After receiving the fork, Aliso Creek passes into three massive culverts that cross under Pacific Park Drive, which crosses also on an earthfill. Flowing past several sports complexes, it begins to form the boundary of Aliso Viejo and Laguna Niguel, then crosses under Aliso Creek Road into Aliso and Wood Canyons Regional Park. Here, it receives from the left its largest tributary, Sulphur Creek. This creek is about 4.5 miles (7.2 km) long and drains a fair portion of northern Laguna Niguel, 7 miles (11 km) from the mouth. From there, Aliso Creek bends west and enters Aliso Canyon, which cuts through the San Joaquin Hills on the creek's final run to the sea.[2][11][12][13] About 1 mile (1.6 km) downstream of the Sulphur Creek confluence, the creek is briefly impounded behind a small dam, and receives the south-flowing Wood Canyon Creek, the second largest tributary, 5 miles (8.0 km) from the mouth. Wood Canyon Creek drains the largest arm of Aliso Canyon and most of eastern Aliso Viejo. Flowing almost due south through a valley with slopes dissected by many deep side canyons, Aliso Creek turns sharply west as it enters private property less than 1 mile (1.6 km) from the mouth. This section of the canyon is known for flooding frequently. The creek then enters a reserved size lagoon, crosses under the Pacific Coast Highway and enters the Pacific Ocean.[2][11][12][13]Tidal lagoonA dry wash curves from the upper right through a sandy basin down onto a beach on the left and its subsequent confluence with a larger body of waterAerial photograph of the emptied lagoonAt Aliso Beach, the mouth of Aliso Creek, lies a freshwater pond that changes frequently in elevation and extent. Tidal activity at the creek's mouth results in sediment building gradually up into a sandbar, impounding it in a small lake about 0.2 miles (0.3 km) long at its fullest extent. Afterwards, the water level rises upstream of the sandbar until one of two factors causes it to breach: either waves at high tide wash away the top of the sandbar, or the lagoon rises enough to overtop the sandbar by itself. Once the water level rises above the sandbar, rapid erosion quickly cuts through the sand and drains the approximately 3–5 foot (0.9–1.5 m)-deep lake in a matter of minutes. Peak flows through the sandbar can reach 500 cubic feet per second (14 m3/s), even if the incoming flow of the creek is nowhere near that size.[14][15] Because of the raised flow of the creek and the construction of a parking lot in the lagoon area since the 1960s, the lagoon has never been able to fill to its much larger, historic extent without breaching. Species such as the tidewater goby have suffered because of loss of their habitat this way.[16]DischargeAliso Creek is known to have historically contained water for most of the year, averaging 6.7 cubic feet per second (0.19 m3/s) in the wet season;[2] urban runoff has raised the creek's year-round base flow to close to 9.2 cubic feet per second (0.26 m3/s) at the mouth, with routine surges of more than 700 cubic feet per second (20 m3/s) in the winter. The United States Geological Survey had two stream gauges on the creek—one at the mouth in Laguna Beach, and one at the El Toro Road bridge near Mission Viejo. The Laguna Beach gauge was in operation from 1983 to 1986, and the El Toro gauge was operational from 1931 to 1980. The former received runoff from about 95 percent of the watershed, while the latter received runoff from 7.91 square miles (20.49 km2), or 26 percent of the watershed area.[17][18]A creek flows out of a gap through a coastal mountain range and flows onto the beach.Aliso Creek empties into a sandy lagoon at its mouth in Laguna Beach. Due to tides and erosion, its mouth is ever-changing.The largest flow recorded at the Laguna Beach streamflow gauge was 5,400 cubic feet per second (150 m3/s) with a water depth of 11.3 feet (3.4 m) on March 1, 1983.[17] The 1983 flood was caused by an El Niño event causing heavy runoff from the overdeveloped watershed. Damage was worst at the mouth of Aliso Canyon, which contains the Aliso Creek Inn and several other structures.[19] On February 16, 1986, 2,880 cubic feet per second (82 m3/s) was recorded, and 2,870 cubic feet per second (81 m3/s) was recorded on October 1, 1983.[17]The largest flow recorded at El Toro was 2,500 cubic feet per second (71 m3/s) on February 24, 1969, with a water depth of 11 feet (3.4 m). On January 5, 1979, the second largest flow, 2,450 cubic feet per second (69 m3/s), was recorded, and 1,950 cubic feet per second (55 m3/s) on February 6, 1937.[18] There was another nearby gauge—now out of service—at the Jeronimo Road crossing just downstream of El Toro. Before it was taken out of service in the 1980s, it frequently recorded periods of extremely low or nonexistent flow for most of the year.[20]The dramatic change in Aliso Creek flows from the 1960s onwards can be seen in streamflow data from the El Toro gauge. From 1931 to 1960, the average peak flow was 511 cubic feet per second (14.5 m3/s)—though peaks recorded ranged from zero to 1,950 cubic feet per second (55 m3/s). Between 1960 and 1980, the average peak flow was 1,178 cubic feet per second (33.4 m3/s), nearly twice the average before 1960.[18] Urban runoff now constitutes nearly 80 percent of the creek's dry season flow—7.2 cubic feet per second (0.20 m3/s)—and natural runoff, including springs in the Santa Ana Mountains, now supply a negligible amount of the creek's water.[14][15]GeologyMost of Southern California, including all of Orange County, was periodically part of the Pacific Ocean; the most recent epoch was approximately 10 million years ago (MYA). The Santa Ana Mountains, which now border the creek to the north and east, began their uplift about 5.5 million years ago along the Elsinore Fault.[21] Aliso Creek formed about this time, running from the mountains across the broad coastal plain to the Pacific.Mountains are to the upper right (northeast) and lower left (southwest), and the flat land in between is highly urbanized.Relief map of Aliso Creek watershed and surrounding citiesAbout 1.22 million years ago, the San Joaquin Hills along the Orange County coast began their uplift along a blind thrust fault (the San Joaquin Hills blind thrust) extending south from the Los Angeles Basin.[22] As Aliso Creek was an antecedent stream, or one that had formed prior to the mountains' uplift, it cut a water gap through the rising mountains that today is Aliso Canyon. The same phenomenon occurred to the north with Laguna Canyon and San Diego Creek, and to the south at San Juan Creek. The uplift also caused Aliso Creek's largest tributary, Sulphur Creek, to turn north to join Aliso Creek instead of flowing south to Salt Creek.[5] The Wisconsinian era was responsible for shaping the watershed to its present-day form, with deep side canyons and broad alluvial valleys.[5]During the last glacial period (110,000 to 10,000 years ago), especially in the Wisconsinian glaciation (31,000 to 10,000 years ago), the climate of Southern California changed radically from arid to wet, to a climate likely similar to the present-day Pacific Northwest. Prodigious rainfall gradually turned the small streams of the region into large and powerful rivers.[23][24] It was this surge in volume that allowed Aliso Creek and other rivers to cut through the San Joaquin Hills. A 400-foot (120 m) drop in sea level escalated the process, allowing the rivers to flow more rapidly and have more erosive power. As sea levels rose after the Wisconsinian glaciation, the water gaps the rivers had cut through the San Joaquin Hills, including Aliso Canyon, became fjord-like inlets. Aliso Creek and these other streams deposited sediments into the inlets, turning them into flat-floored alluvial valleys with an elevation very close to sea level. Eventually, the sediment deposited met the coastline. By then, the rivers and streams had diminished to their original flow before the glaciation.[23]In the wake of the periodic inundation of Southern California by the ocean, most of the Aliso Creek watershed is underlain by several layers of marine sedimentary strata, the oldest dating from the Eocene (55.8–33.9 MYA) and the most recent, the Pliocene (5.33–2.59 MYA).[25] These alluvial sediments range from 13 to 36 feet (4.0 to 11.0 m) in depth. Generally throughout the watershed, there are five major soil and rock outcrop types—Capistrano sandy loam, Cieneba sandy loam, Marina loamy sand, Myford sandy loam, and Cieneba-rock outcrop. The water table ranges from 6 to 20 feet (1.8 to 6.1 m) deep.[25]WatershedGeographyMore informationThe Aliso Creek drainage basin lies in the south central part of Orange County, roughly halfway between the Santa Ana River and the Orange–San Diego County boundary.[27] It is a roughly spoon shaped area of 30.4 square miles (79 km2),[28] comprising generally hilly and sometimes mountainous land. The watershed borders five major Orange County watersheds: Santiago Creek to the north, San Diego Creek to the west, Laguna Canyon to the southwest, Salt Creek to the southeast, and San Juan Creek to the east.[12] To be more specific, the boundary with San Diego Creek is drained to the west by two tributaries of San Diego Creek—Serrano Creek and the La Cañada Wash. Two tributaries of San Juan Creek—Oso Creek and Trabuco Creek—border Aliso Creek to the northeast and southeast.[12][29]As of 2004, the Aliso Creek watershed had a population of 149,087.[4] Nine communities were established in the creek's watershed as it was developed in the 20th century. By 2001 seven of them had become cities (from mouth to source, Laguna Beach, Laguna Niguel, Aliso Viejo, Laguna Hills, Laguna Woods, Lake Forest, and Mission Viejo), and the last two, Foothill Ranch and Portola Hills, were incorporated into the city of Lake Forest in 2000.[26] The largest urban area in the basin is in the middle, where Interstate 5 bisects the watershed east to west. The northern boundary of this urban area stretches a little beyond California State Route 241 and the southern boundary is near California State Route 73 in the south. This area consists primarily of Lake Forest, Laguna Woods, and Laguna Hills.[26]The Loma Ridge of the Santa Ana Mountains runs east to west in the far northeastern corner of the watershed, forming the water divide with Santiago Creek. The San Joaquin Hills are at the southwestern portion of the watershed, following the coastline, and subranges within form the divides with Laguna Canyon and Salt Creeks.[12] While the Santa Ana Mountains rise to 4,000 feet (1,200 m) or more, the San Joaquin Hills top out at 1,000 feet (300 m) at Temple Hill ("Top of the World"),[10] which lies to the north of Aliso Canyon—the water gap in the San Joaquin Hills through which Aliso Creek passes. Most of the hills rise to only 600 feet (180 m) or 700 feet (210 m). The largest body of water in the watershed, Sulphur Creek Reservoir, is located to the northeast of Aliso Canyon.[10][13]Bacterial pollutionA small stream winds past in the lower left foreground while residential subdivisions sprawl over the hills on both sides. Mountains rise in the distance beneath an empty, pale blue sky.Overview of Aliso Creek watershed from a ridge on the San Joaquin Hills, with Santa Ana Mountains in distanceAliso Creek's watershed, as well as most of Orange County, saw a rapid jump in urban development from the 1960s onward, which introduced increased flow, non-native vegetation, and high bacterial levels to the creek, severely hurting its ecology.[4] The creek is part of the Clean Water Act list of impaired waters,[30] which is defined as "impaired by one or more pollutants that do not meet one or more water quality standards". It is said that Aliso Creek is one of the "most publicized" streams on the list.[31] As of 2001, the average annual precipitation in the San Juan Hydrological Unit, which Aliso Creek is part of, was 16.42 inches (417 mm).[32]Bacteria affecting the water quality mainly consist of different types of fecal coliforms, with a high level of E. coli bacteria. This comes from pet waste, fertilizer, manure, and other organic pollutants that are washed into the creek, raising the average bacteria level 34 percent higher than levels declared safe under California law.[33] This in turn affects recreation at popular Aliso Creek Beach at the creek's mouth, violating state swimming standards 99 percent of the time, especially during storm events, as beachgoers are warned to avoid the creek for 72 hours (3 days) after a major storm event.[34][35]According to the county health department, the number of bacteria in the creek, especially at the freshwater lagoon at its mouth, frequently exceeds limits set by California law.[32]A large concrete hole opens out on a steep slope above muddy waterA large storm drain flows into Aliso Creek on the right bank, shortly downstream from Aliso Creek Road. This drain and over 40 others are responsible for the poor water quality of Aliso Creek.According to the Los Angeles Times, "County health officials acknowledge that the bacterial count at the mouth of the creek—which curls into a warm-water stagnant pond that flushes out onto the beach—is at times alarmingly high, often surpassing the legal limit for California. As a result, the area where the creek meets the sea, and the creek itself, are considered permanently off limits to swimmers and bear prominent signs that warn of the dangers of trespassing into such toxic waters. Nevertheless, people do, almost daily. Officials from the Orange County Environmental Health Department say that skin rashes, infections, "pink eye" and other assorted ailments are not uncommon to those who use Aliso Beach and, unwittingly, come in contact with the creek and its invisible bacteria...".[36] The problems facing the creeks are blamed on urbanization, which has deprived the creeks of needed sediment while increasing pollution.[32]Other pollutantsChlorine is responsible for the degradation of fish and shrimp in the creek. The sources for chlorine in urban runoff include irrigation and car washing. The only remaining fish species in the creek is carp, which can withstand high amounts of chlorine. Carp up to 18 inches (1.5 feet / 45 cm) long have been found in Aliso Creek near the mouth. Temperatures of the creek near the mouth have been known to exceed 90 °F (32 °C), although the temperature at the outflow is often much colder because it has been mixed with seawater.[36]Changes of sediment patterns in the creek have also created another problem. Stemming from the construction of structures interfering with stream flow, and increased runoff from the urban areas adjoining the creek, excessive erosion has created problems not limited to just the creek. The creek is eroding material from its bed and transporting it to the ocean, but naturally, sediment from the whole watershed flowed towards the main stem via a complex network of tributaries. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers warned in a 1997 study that up to $4.2 million in damage occurs per year as a result of the pollution of Aliso Creek and its neighbor San Juan Creek. This includes physical damage to creek banks, bridges, pipes and other creekside structures.In the upper portion of the watershed, spectacular erosion-related events have occurred at English Canyon Creek, where water flowing at high velocity around a bend during a flood caused several landslides in the 1990s.[37]RecreationA light-blue reservoir formed by a large dam across a broad valley ringed by housesLaguna Niguel Lake (otherwise known as Sulphur Creek Reservoir), here seen near the dam, is a major recreation and flood-control feature on Sulphur Creek.The Aliso Creek watershed includes portions of the Cleveland National Forest in the upper watershed, and two major regional parks—the 3,879-acre (1,570 ha) Aliso and Wood Canyons Regional Park and its adjoining Aliso Creek Beach, one of the county's most popular beaches with over one million annual visitors;[38] and the 236-acre (96 ha) Laguna Niguel Regional Park, which borders Sulphur Creek. Because of its shallowness and erratic flow, Aliso Creek is not navigable even in the winter and spring (rainy season); the only spot in the entire watershed where boating is possible is Sulphur Creek Reservoir. A mostly paved trail, the Aliso Creek Trail, follows the creek from Aliso Canyon to the Cleveland National Forest.[39]The only major fishing spot in the Aliso Creek's watershed is the 44-acre (18 ha) Sulphur Creek Reservoir, formed by a large earthfill dam across Sulphur Creek inside Laguna Niguel Regional Park. The lake is regularly stocked with catfish, bass, bluegill, and trout during the winter months.[40] Any other location in the watershed will probably yield only the bottom-dweller carp.Most of the trails in the watershed are biking and equestrian trails located in the lower portion of the watershed, in the immensely popular Aliso Canyon and its tributary, Wood Canyon. Aside from the main Aliso Creek Trail, the Wood Canyon Trail parallels a tributary of Aliso Creek (Wood Canyon Creek). There is also a bikeway along Sulphur Creek and along parts of English Canyon.[39]WildlifeHistoricA long, silver and gray fishSteelhead trout existed in Aliso Creek and likely inhabited the creek within recorded history, as recently as 1972.Before agricultural and later urban development of the watershed, live oak, sycamore, and alder trees lined the banks of Aliso Creek and its major tributaries, specifically Wood Canyon, Sulphur and English Canyon creeks, in a rich riparian zone.[37] Coyotes, mountain lions, and other large mammals were found throughout the Aliso Creek watershed, especially in the mountainous areas in the San Joaquin Hills and Santa Ana Mountains. These animals can still be found in some number, but they are mostly confined to the wilderness areas that are surrounded by residential development. These "islands" of native vegetation and wildlife still support many native Southern California organisms. As the creek was perennial, the riparian zone surrounding the creek likely was similar to that of San Juan Creek to the south.[4]Researchers and long-time residents of the lower Aliso Creek watershed have argued for many years over the presence of steelhead trout in Aliso Creek. Up until 2006 the National Marine Fisheries Service stated that Aliso Creek is a "[coastal basin] with no evidence of historical or extant of O. mykiss in anadromous waters." Contrary to that, a 1998 major study co-authored by the US Army Corps of Engineer and US Fish & Wildlife Service declared that steelhead had inhabited the creek until around 1972 when increased density (urbanization) resulted in poor water quality conditions (pollutants and low oxygen levels) that drove the migrational fish out.On February 20, 2009, in a written rebuke, chastising an Aliso Creek water rights applicant (South Coast Water District) a formal letter sent by NOAA Regional Manager Rodney McGinnis to Antonio Barrales of the State Water Resources Control Board, Water Rights Division, revised that 2006 assessment. Carbon copied was California Fish & Game (Mary Larson) plus US Fish & Wildlife Service (Christine Medak). This was due to 9 years of constant petitioning by the South Orange County environmental protectionist group Clean Water Now (CWN) led by Founder and Executive Director Roger E. Bütow, Board member Michael Hazzard, Joanne Sutch (Laguna Beach Beautification Committee) and Devora Hertz (Planet Laguna). Frank Selby, owner of His & Hers Fly Shop in Costa Mesa, was interviewed by Oc Register and lA Times reporters, he confirmed his own steelhead takings from the 1950s and 60s, last sighting in 1972. Frank then sent a letter to CEMARS (June 2008) titled "Regarding Aliso Creek Steelhead." He was also personally interviewed by the CWN Board to confirm actual sightings and taking.NMFS then reversed itself and declared that there was sufficient, credible information to declare that Aliso Creek had been steelhead habitat and was added to the Distinct Population Segment List under the jurisdictional domain of NOAA. It is now considered a candidate for re-colonization.During the prolonged 9-year dispute that began in 2000, Bütow and his working group "Friends of the Aliso Creek Steelhead" provided authentic Native American (Juañeno) anecdotes of takings, pictures by upstream fishermen with their catches and other personal accounts by longtime local residents that helped convince the State. It was a negotiated truce between Bütow and NOAA: Only the lower 7 miles of the creek was eventually listed because its conditions were amenable to historical populations. The habitat "termination line" was drawn at about Aliso Creek where it crosses an arterial road: Pacific Parkway in Aliso Viejo. In fact, Mary Larson (steelhead restoration coordinator for CF&G), declared to reporters when the ruling was reversed that it was obviously true, its historical presence a "duh, no-brainer moment." [41] Many anglers in the 1960s and 1970s reported taking tens or even hundreds of steelhead trout from Aliso Creek's estuary and Aliso Creek Canyon (approximately 4 miles) before suburban development began.[42][43][44][45][46] This indicates that there was a "possible run or population" of steelhead in Aliso Creek at some point.[47] The creek is also inhabited by bottom-dwellers such as carp, and historically shrimp and other benthic organisms were found throughout perennial pools in the Aliso Creek watershed. Historically, a large population of tidewater goby (10,000–15,000) was documented at the creek's mouth by Swift et al.. (1989), from a study period that ranged from March 1973 to January 1977. The tidewater goby, which depended on the transient lagoon at the mouth for survival, has declined in number because of modifications to its habitat.[48]Human impactSince urbanization began in the 1960s, sudden high and sediment-lacking flows of polluted water began to destroy the native riparian vegetation once found along much of the creek. Exotic plants, including tobacco tree, castor bean, pampas grass, periwinkle, and Artichoke thistle, but most notably the giant reed, then replaced the historic live oaks, sycamores and alders as riparian vegetation.[37] These plants have crowded out native vegetation, and in the case of giant reed, crowded out native animals—giant reed does not provide habitat for any native Southern California animals.[37] These invasive species are most prevalent along upper Sulphur Creek (Sulphur Creek Reservoir prevents these plants from spreading downstream), much of the Aliso Creek mainstem, and some parts of Wood Canyon Creek.Many of the trees in Aliso Creek's riparian zone were cut down in the Spanish Mission period to construct buildings, ships, and other projects. According to the Flood Protection Corridor Program of the Costa Machado Water Act of 2000, "Aliso Creek was one of the few streams that contained water most of the year, even during the pre-development period. There are documents describing explorers mooring their ships outside the mouth of the river and harvesting large timbers from the river area. Such large timbers could only be available from a relatively lush environment in which water was somewhat plentiful."[4] Some trees survived into the early 20th century, then a second decline of unknown cause began—either erosion or floods in the creek were responsible for their destruction, or the water table has lowered out of reach of the trees' roots. The water table began a drastic decline in the 1960s, after the watershed began to become urbanized.[37]Several birds wading and swimming in muddy waterWhite heron and ducklings in Aliso CreekAlthough historically many fish species used Aliso Creek, the only remaining one is carp, which is known to survive in areas with high toxicity. Bird life was also abundant in the watershed—and 137 species remain in the less developed areas of the watershed. Some of these birds include California least tern, least Bell's vireo, southwestern willow flycatcher, California gnatcatcher, and western snowy plover.[4] Remaining habitat for native wildlife is now primarily along Wood Canyon Creek, in the upper reaches of Aliso Creek, and along some parts of English Canyon.[25]Aside from carp, several species of fish and amphibians still inhabited the creek up to the 1980s, when floods destroyed much of the remaining riparian habitat. These included the mosquito fish, bluegill, bass, and channel catfish, as well as several species of native frogs. After the floods, most of these species were reported to have disappeared completely.[4]HistoryFirst inhabitantsIt is believed that in Native American times, Aliso Creek served as part of an important tribal boundary—between the Tongva in the north and the Acjachemen (or Juaneño) tribe in the south.[49] The Tongva's territory extended north, past the Santa Ana River and San Gabriel River, into present-day Los Angeles County, while the Acjachemen's smaller territory extended from Aliso Creek south, past San Juan Creek, and to the vicinity of San Mateo Creek in present-day San Diego County.[49] The creek's perennial flow[4] made it a likely spot for Indian settlement, although the Tongva's main settlements were near the San Gabriel River and the Acjachemen mostly lived at the confluence of San Juan Creek and Trabuco Creek. Even so, some 70 major archaeological sites have been discovered along the creek,[49] and it is believed that there was once an Acjachemen Indian village near the confluence of Aliso Creek and Sulphur Creek, named Niguili, which means "a large spring" in the native Luiseño dialect. The spring still exists near the intersection of Alicia Parkway and Highlands Road in present-day Laguna Niguel, about a mile (1.6) km east of Aliso Creek's confluence with Sulphur Creek.[50]The creek's use as a tribal boundary is disputed. As other southern California Native Americans have done, a tribe typically claimed both sides of a stream or river—and used drainage divides as boundaries instead. However, the presence of Aliso Canyon, a steep and difficult-to-traverse gorge, suggests the opposite.[49] Kroeber (1907) was the first to support this theory, and many other archaeologists have followed as well. The Juaneño disagree, arguing that their boundary stretches north to the northern drainage divide of the Aliso Creek watershed, which supports the practice of claiming both sides of a stream.[51]Spanish explorers and missionariesIn 1769, the Portola expedition camped near Aliso Creek on July 24–25, having come north from the San Juan Capistrano area along the route of today's Interstate 5.[52] These first Spanish explorers were accompanied by Franciscan missionaries who took control over nearly all of the coastal Native American groups. They later established Mission San Gabriel Arcángel and Mission San Juan Capistrano near the main native population centers, seeking to convert them to Christianity. Most of the native population was moved to these two missions—the Spanish called the Tongva Gabrielinos[53] and the Acjachemen, the Juaneño,[54] after these two missions. The Spanish began farming and ranching practices on many of the fertile floodplains surrounding the only perennial streams in the area—San Juan and Trabuco Creek, Aliso Creek, and the Santa Ana, San Gabriel and Los Angeles rivers to the north. Many of the trees in the riparian zones surrounding these creeks—specifically Aliso Creek—were cut down, and it was said that the trees near the "river['s]"[4] mouth were especially tall and there were written accounts of Spanish ships mooring in the large bay at the outlet of Aliso Canyon and men going ashore to chop down and take away these trees for constructing mission buildings, ships and other structures.[4][37]The Mexican periodMexico won independence from Spain in 1822, keeping the Alta California province, and secularized the missions in the 1830s. Former mission lands were divided into private land grants. In 1842, Juan Avila received the 13,316-acre (53.89 km2) Rancho Niguel grant. The name of the rancho was partially derived from a corruption of the original name of the village, Niguili. (The rancho name later became part of the name of the city of Laguna Niguel.)StatehoodFollowing the Mexican–American War, California was annexed by the United States, becoming the 31st state in 1850. In 1871, the first white settler along Aliso Creek, Eugene Salter, claimed 152 acres (0.62 km2) along the lower creek, inside Aliso Canyon.[5] The following year the 152 acres (0.62 km2) were acquired by George and Sarah Thurston, homesteaders who converted the mouth of the creek into an orchard irrigated by its waters for roughly the next half century.[5]Urbanization and developmentA large valley between arid chaparral-covered hills, opening towards the ocean.View of the proposed Aliso Reservoir site (below, in canyon) from the San Joaquin HillsSee also: Orange County, California § HistoryIn 1895, Rancho Niguel was acquired by rancher Lewis Moulton (1854–1938) and his partner, Jean Pierre Daguerre (1856–1911). The rancho remained under their ownership for approximately thirty-eight years, and the rancho continued to be owned by the Moulton family until the 1960s. Rancho Niguel was eventually assimilated into Laguna Niguel, Aliso Viejo, Laguna Hills, and Aliso and Wood Canyons Regional Park.[4][55][56]By the 1920s, Aliso Creek was already being experimented with as a municipal water source. In 1924, the City of Laguna Beach drilled wells into gravel deposits near the mouth of the creek, in order to provide drinking water. Just four years later, the unusually high and unexplained presence of chloride in the water prompted the city to abandon Aliso Creek as a water source.[2] Taking advantage of the creek's high winter surges, ranging from 0 to 404 acre feet (0 to 498,327 m3) monthly, local resident A. J. Stead proposed in 1934 to build a dam very near the mouth of the creek, forming a reservoir with a capacity of 2,650 acre feet (3,270,000 m3) and safe annual yield of 150 acre feet (190,000 m3). Although the proposal was accepted, the results are unknown—there is no remaining trace of these works today.[2]By the late 1960s, increasing runoff in the creek from the growing cities in the watershed begun to spell ecological problems and severe erosion for the creek. Although a series of flood control channels upstream of Aliso Creek Road (near Aliso Canyon) had already begun to prevent erosion in those heavily developed areas, the creek eroded to depths of 20 feet (6.1 m) or more in any unlined areas.[57]In 1969 a flow control and erosion mitigation project for Aliso Creek was begun, requiring the construction of two concrete drop structures on the creek.[57] These two vertical barriers, 11 feet (3.4 m) high and 30 feet (9.1 m) long, were built both upstream and downstream of Aliso Creek Road. Several grouted riprap structures were also constructed between and downstream of these drops.[4]A small dam was built about 1.4 miles (2.3 km) downstream of Aliso Creek Road in the 1990s—inside Aliso Canyon—as part of a "mitigation bank project".[57] This project, known as ACWHEP (Aliso Creek Wildlife Habitat Enhancement Project) was intended to provide water to 70 acres (0.28 km2) of former riparian areas now several feet higher than the eroded channel of the creek. It was conceived and jointly funded by the county and the Mission Viejo Company.[58] The dam was also supposed to control further erosion downstream. Due to faulty design, however, the dam failed to prevent erosion, which has continued to undermine structures throughout the canyon.[37] The grouted riprap structure is about 15 feet (4.6 m) high and 100 feet (30 m) long, and aside from impounding water, captures debris and temporarily controls wet season flows. The building of these modifications, as well as dry weather runoff from seven municipal storm sewer systems, began to contribute to the infamous pollution of Aliso Creek.[57]Cities and protected areas timelineThere are eight cities in the Aliso Creek watershed, including Mission Viejo, Aliso Viejo and Laguna Niguel. Sulphur Creek, at the southeast, is the creek's largest tributary.Aliso Creek watershed map with city boundariesIn 1927 Laguna Beach became the first city to be incorporated in the Aliso Creek watershed and the second in Orange County. At this time, prior to the 1930s, aside from some farming and ranching practices, the watershed was largely unpopulated.[4] At the end of that decade, the watershed still remained less than 1 percent developed. Up to the 1960s and 1970s, barely 15 percent of the watershed was developed, but by 1990, after doubling its rate in the past two decades, the watershed was roughly 60 percent developed.[4] The cities of Mission Viejo and Laguna Niguel were incorporated in 1988 and 1989, respectively. By the end of the 20th century, more than 70 percent of the watershed was developed.[4] The newest city in the watershed, Aliso Viejo, was incorporated in 2001.The Cleveland National Forest, the oldest protected area in the Aliso Creek watershed, was created in 1908, and the next major park to be created was Laguna Niguel Regional Park in 1973.[59] Land for Aliso and Wood Canyons Regional Park was first secured in April 1979 with 3,400 acres (14 km2), and small increments were added to the park until the early 1990s forming a total of 3,879 acres (15.70 km2).[60] Also in the 1990s, Aliso and Wood Canyons became part of the Laguna Coast Wilderness, which stretches north to Crystal Cove State Park.Flooding and mitigationLike most other coastal Orange County streams, the watershed of Aliso Creek is now heavily urbanized. With 70 percent of the original land surface now underneath impermeable surfaces such as pavement and buildings, far more runoff now enters the creek—not only inducing an increased year-round flow, but much larger rainy season flows. In the 1920s and 1930s, devastating floods wreaked havoc on much of southern California; the Los Angeles Flood of 1938 was the most famous flooding episode of this period.[4]The Orange County Flood Control Act of 1927 was created in the wake of some of the earlier flooding events of this era. Dams and reservoirs, some of the largest of which include Irvine Lake and the Sulphur Creek Reservoir, were the first features to be constructed following the passage of this act.[61] Starting from the 1960s, most Orange County rivers, including Aliso Creek, were channelized. Some, like the Santa Ana River, were entirely lined with concrete, but Aliso Creek retains a natural riverbed in most parts despite being bound to a narrow channel.[4]A muddy flow of water drops over an artificial concrete waterfall, from a tree-lined riverbed to a riprap-lined channel.Many drop structures exist in the Aliso Creek riverbed to prevent erosion.Several tributaries of Aliso Creek—the Dairy Fork, Aliso Hills Channel, Munger Creek, and other smaller ones—have been replaced by storm drains.[62] Wood Canyon Creek remains much like its original condition, despite degradation due to polluted water. Sulphur Creek has been channelized and diverted into culverts in several stretches, and English Canyon Creek has received some riprap stabilization and bank protection.[37]Although there are no major flood control dams on Aliso Creek itself, there are 19 drop structures, and while doing nothing to reduce the creek's rainy season surges, the drop structures were constructed to mitigate the catastrophic erosion that came with the creek's increased flow. Although the creek has a wide floodplain throughout most of Aliso Canyon, a major bottleneck lies at the south end of the canyon where a sharp bend in the creek is constricted between crowded development and steep cliffs. In flooding events, this area generally sustains heavy damage.[4]Another major era of floods lasted from the 1980s until the early 21st century. The 1983 El Niño season brought unprecedented rainfall that produced a flow of 5,400 cubic feet per second (150 m3/s) from the creek, an all-time high. The creek overflowed its banks and flooded up to 10 feet (3.0 m) deep in places.[19] There were five large floods throughout the 1990s, including one in 1998 that reputedly destroyed six footbridges.[63] The years of 2004 and 2005 again saw heavy rainfall.[64]Along the creekCrossingsCrossings of the creek are listed from mouth to source (year built in parentheses).[13][65] The creek is crossed by roughly 30 major bridges.More informationTributariesFrom mouth to source, Aliso Creek is joined by six major tributaries. All of these tributaries as well as several others are listed. Another 46 minor streams and drains flow into the creek.More information: Name, Variant name(s) ...[12]See alsoMore informationCook's CornerList of rivers of CaliforniaList of rivers of Orange County, CaliforniaReferencesMore information: References ...External linksMore information: External links ...

When I was a lawyer and partner working at a highly respected law firm in Orange County, California, a group of us would often go out at the end of the day for drinks at one of the local places. Once everyone had drinks, there was no telling where the conversation would go and on one day in particular, the conversation turned to how everyone lost their virginity.One of the partners, who was with her husband at this particular gathering, indicated that she lost her virginity to her husband who was sitting next to her. She was in college at the time. Generally, she had a very uptight personality. She admitted to crying uncontrollably during and afterward, but the husband was sort of sitting proudly next to her having been “the one” who took her virginity. This was, of course, a consensual sexual encounter between adults and for whatever reasons this woman found it distressing enough to cry about uncontrollably, after and apparently during, though she went on to marry the man and stay with him after some 15 years and have a few kids.My story was a bit different. When I was 16, I met a woman who was 19 at the local college gym where I worked out and we started dating. She didn’t know how young I was when we first met. I was going into my senior year of high school in the Fall and I looked every bit a man at 16. I was extremely athletic and muscular, stronger than everyone at my high school, and most of the guys who worked out at the college. I held several weightlifting records at the college, some of which still stood 20 years later. I told her I was turning 18 shortly, but the reality was that I was turning 17.Now, I had been brainwashed by a religious mother into believing sex before marriage was wrong and though I was strong-willed in many way, the sex before marriage thing stuck for a while. My girlfriend had a lot of sexual experience and she had no desire to wait for marriage. The first time we went to her apartment, a week or so after we met, when I was still 16, she said she was going to go change her clothes; she came out wearing a shirt and panties. Now, I actually didn’t have intercourse with her that night, though she tried her best to convince me that we should. We did other things that night, and on other nights that followed. After about a month, I confessed that I was actually only 17 and that I had been 16 when we first met.I still remember one time at her apartment, when I was still 16, she and I had been having fun in her bedroom. I was naked, having fallen asleep. Her roommate, who was a year older than her, had come home, waking us up, and she went out to say hi to her. They then came back in together with me still in the buff under the sheet and started teasing me. She knew I was generally pretty shy and that, prior to her, I had no sexual experience, so they started teasing me, trying to pull the sheets off and I suspect that if I had not reacted so negatively, I would have had my first threesome at 16 with two older attractive women. The only thing about this that mortifies me is that it didn’t happen because I was such an idiot and had been brainwashed into thinking it was wrong to have sex before marriage.It took some three months for me to give in, at which point she had given me an ultimatum that if we did not have sex, then she would split up with me. It was the day after Christmas and I had spent Christmas night at her place. I woke up to her giving me this ultimatum, and finally giving in, thinking in my mind that we were essentially married from that point on so as to justify my “weakness.” I loved my mom (she passed away some years ago), but she had no idea what she was doing raising boys this way, and I took the worst of it because I actually listened to these ridiculous notions. Ultimately, this woman and I split up after about two years. Our sexual relationship was never very good. She had no idea what would happen once the genie was out of the bottle, as I was essentially insatiable sexually. The first time we had sex, I had six orgasms without losing my erection; the first five took 30 minutes, the last one another thirty minutes. I think she was shell shocked and I didn’t even know why; I didn’t know this was unusual until I got older. And I’m not bragging - I’m sure none of that sex was good for her. I was an idiot about sex back then. So that was my lost virginity story.Shortly after mine, it was the turn of an older female partner at the firm, Maddy, who was around 46 at the time she told her lost virginity tale (I think I was 38 when we were all having drinks that night). She said she lost her virginity at 16, to the next door neighbor who was 36 years old. She had pursued and seduced him intentionally. She said he was mortified that he was having sex with a 16 year old, though obviously not enough to stop him from either doing it or continuing to do it. She also said, emphatically, that she was madly in love with him and it was the best sexual relationship she had experienced with a man at any time in her life. She had absolutely no regrets, aside from how it ended. Apparently, at around 38, he acquired cancer and died rather quickly, before she even graduated from high school. She was devastated by his death and you could still feel the pain of it while she spoke. She was one of the top lawyers in the firm where I worked, a strong-willed outspoken female who loved men and had no issues with her sexuality.Which of these two suggest moral improprieties?The only one that was legal was the worst one morally! Who has sex with a woman when she is crying?! And what woman stays with a guy who has sex with her when she is crying uncontrollably?We have a lot of bright line rules in our society now about what is and is not moral insofar as relationships between adults and people who are younger than eighteen. The goal, which is understandable, is that we should protect young people from predators, which unquestionably exists. Epstein was a far cry from the man who had a relationship with my former colleague when she was 16. My former girlfriend could have gone to prison, though I would never have wanted that and didn’t feel that she did anything that was morally bad. I just wish she had been a better sexual teacher. But not every man is Epstein and not every woman/girl is a victim when they sleep with an older man, though the law defines her as one regardless of whether she (or he) disagrees or not.Charley Chaplin, at 51, married an 18 year old woman he had been seeing while she was less than 18. Interestingly, this girl had been dating J.D. Salinger (who was in his late 20’s while seeing her at 16) before Salinger went off to fight in WWII. This girl/woman and Chaplin had something like seven or eight children and stayed together for the remainder of Chaplin’s life. She never expressed any regrets concerning her decision, though she would likely have done so if she stayed with Salinger. To the contrary, she was undeniably in love with Chaplin, and he with her, and continued to be the entire time she was with him up to his death.Some time ago, Saturday Night Live did a skit about a high school teenager having sex with a female teacher. Pretty much every adolescent male on the planet found this hilarious and true. I remember being in high school and all of my friends talking about a particular teacher who wore skirts and everyone thought went commando. These friends would have been just like this guy in the skit, if they actually had done anything with this teacher. And it goes both ways. I have a close relative who was a cheerleader in high school at 14 years old. Shortly after graduating, she married the college football coach who was in his mid-thirties and to my knowledge, she is still with him some twenty years later, with several kids. I’m not saying this was right of the coach at the time, but I think she should be allowed to decide whether or not it was right for her, then and still. In other words, the person involved should get a say in whether what went on was or wasn’t wrong. At a minimum, it should be relevant to the inquiry.Love and sex are complicated things, and not just when we hit 18 years old. However, we have stopped admitting this publicly. Seventeen year old Billy Eilish’s Grammy nominated song (nominated for best song of the year), Bad Guy, contains these lines:Think you're so criminalBruises on both my knees for youDon't say thank you or pleaseI do what I want when I'm wanting toMy soul? So cynicalSo you’re a tough guyLike it really rough guyJust can’t get enough guyChest always so puffed guyI’m that bad typeMake your mama sad typeMake your girlfriend mad typeMight seduce your dad typeI’m the bad guyAnd to think that Light My Fire by The Doors was ironically scandalous in the 60’s.Children and adolescents are being given smart phones by unsuspecting and clueless parents, not realizing the access these phones give their children - and their children’s friends - to sexual information of every possible kind. Our children are more knowledgeable about sexuality now than ever before, and arguably more knowledgeable than their parents, and with knowledge comes curiosity and exploration. We are in a perfect storm that is dangerous because it is hidden and not being discussed at all.My son who is only eight, is not allowed any phone access that is not closely supervised and he gets no computer access. Giving a phone to a child is like allowing them to walk down the darkest seediest allies of the world, not just the local bad area of town. Of course, soon his friends will have phones. I remember being in seventh grade and one of the male students pulling out a Penthouse magazine from his locker. He was surrounded by boys, myself included, and he open the centerfold for all of us to see. I’m pretty sure that was the first time I had ever seen a woman fully naked. Now, what are friends sharing on their phones, and at a much younger age than 12.The exposure is changing the behavior and mindsets of children and adolescents concerning sexuality, but it is all hidden from adults because we are all acting like it doesn’t exist. This is a bad situation and I suspect many of our children as they move into that magic adult age, are going to be locked up for behaviors that are now quite common but hidden from adults most of the time. This bright line view to sexuality and morality is a dangerous situation for everyone.We have divorced ourselves from reality and truth of the complexity of love and sexuality in the name of public proclamations that politicians make to sound tough and protective, but which do not reflect the realities of our lives, of either adults or minors. It used to be that juries and judges were allowed to weigh the facts and the reality of these situations, to sort out who was an Epstein, rather than Maddy’s 35 year old lover, or my older girlfriend, or Charley Chaplin, or Elvis Presley (let’s not forget Priscilla was 13 when they first met).Not anymore. Everyone goes to jail - period - and some of these people who will end up in jail are going to be your children, as soon as they turn 18 years old. It is a dire situation that is going to be exposed in the next ten years or so, particularly in this country where we do not live in reality.

(This is an expanded version from my answer in a similar question)I’m from the Philippines. Here’s my list in addition to those already posted by some of my countrymen here:We use umbrellas on sunny daysI guess the correct term would be parasol, but these aren’t in fashion in the west anymore and I rarely see people doing it in the US.We use umbrellas for both rainy and sunny days because the tropical sun is seriously no joke and temperatures can reach 32°C to 38°C. It’s dangerous to stay under the sun without shade. Not only because of the risk of sunburn, but also skin damage, heat stroke, and cancer. If no umbrellas are around, anything wide and flat will do, ranging from banana leaves to books.Similarly our fishermen and boat personnel also don’t lounge around in bikinis or board shorts like clueless tourists do. They wear ninja outfits that protect as much skin as possible, or they do night fishing.Our coconut trees have stepsTourists might be puzzled at why coconuts on beaches have half-moon shaped notches cut into them at regular intervals. Those are used as footholds for harvesting coconuts. You can make them with a machete easily. They stay there forever and don’t really seem to be damaging to the tree itself. Pretty much every coconut tree has them. Even backyard ones. Other countries use special equipment, slings and harnesses, or ropes around the trunks.We have armed security guards everywhereAnd it has nothing to do with crime rates. Though some (especially in malls and ports) do secure vulnerable public places after past bombings by ISIS and Al Qaeda-affiliated groups, in practice most of them do nothing but greet and open the door for customers.It’s a traditional part of the standard employee roster, and is even required in some companies for insurance purposes. We Filipinos treat them more like doormen and information booths.Our boats have wingsOutriggers (katig in most Filipino languages). They are parallel structures that are connected to the boat, usually made from carved wood or bamboo. They contribute to the boat’s stability and bouyancy, allowing them to load more cargo and making them less likely to capsize. They also increase the speed of the vessel and they are smoother overall, as there is less contact with the water surface in comparison to similarly-sized single hull ships. The connecting spars can also be built with platforms in larger ships, which became fighting decks in the past when these vessels were used regularly for piracy and seasonal raids on enemies (Viking-style).In the Philippines, even very large warships (~25 to 30 meters in length) had outriggers in the past. They remain in extremely common use today. Not only as fishing boats, but also as island ferries, tourist boats, and even coast guard and military vessels. I once heard a tourist describe them as “spider boats”.Below is a reconstructed Visayan paraw with the characteristic outriggers of native Philippine boats. It is used as a tour boat by Tao Expedition in Palawan.People often make the mistake of thinking it’s an exclusively Polynesian thing, because most Americans only know it from Hawaiian or Maori designs (like in Disney’s Moana). It’s not, it’s part of the heritage of all Austronesian cultures. Although the style and number of outriggers can vary (even within the Philippines), they are what clearly identifies a culture as being descended from Austronesians or had regular contact with Austronesians in the past.It allowed Austronesians to settle almost all the islands of the Indo-Pacific in the first place, as outrigger boats, even small ones, are perfectly capable of sailing oceanic waters. Other important sailing inventions of Austronesians include the triangular crab claw sails (Oceanic lateen) and the tilted square sail (tanja sails).Modern catamarans and trimarans (which are used as fast ferries in most island nations) are based on the same principles.It is common to see people riding on top of passenger vehiclesThe jeepney is our version of a bus. A flamboyantly colorful, named, and heavily customized bus. It originated from converted WW2 American jeeps. In rural roads where it can take a long time for a passenger vehicle to arrive, people would rather climb on to the roof the jeepney or cling to the sides than wait for another one to come along. We call it “toploading”.There are no seating or real handholds, just the regular roof racks that you hold on to for dear life and pray you don’t run into too many potholes and break your tailbone. This practice is disappearing as more and more modern buses ply the roads.However, tourists do it for fun while traveling by jeepney along the winding mountain roads in the northern Philippines, often mere meters from the edge of sheer cliffs. It’s also catching on for backpacker tourists in Palawan Island. It’s totally illegal and dangerous but there are no traffic cops in the hinterlands, and admittedly it’s exhilarating.We prefer water to toilet paper, or both. Never toilet paper alone.Similar to almost all countries in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, we clean our butts with water, not toilet paper. Hence why our bathrooms are always the wet kind. It’s a sort of half-shower, soap and all. Bidets are used more and more these days in private homes but traditionally, we use a long-handled water scooper called a tabò. Most Filipinos just won’t feel clean with toilet paper alone, unless it’s an emergency and you have no choice but to use a public toilet.We have a regular kitchen and a “dirty kitchen”It’s not dirty, rather it’s a kitchen where you can be dirty. It is a traditional part of every house. It is usually a semi-open extension to the house or an outdoor structure separate from the house. It’s where we do things like cleaning fish, butchering livestock, and cooking larger dishes that require open fires, hot coals, or traditional clay ovens (pugon). Things you can’t do in an indoor kitchen without making a huge mess or dying from smoke inhalation. It also doubles as a storage room for things like large cauldrons and firewood.We pair the fork with the spoon, not the knifeA custom that is also common in Indonesia and Thailand, where people traditionally ate with their hands, not chopsticks. It’s because of the fact that a knife and fork would be useless when eating the most important part of every meal: rice. Most of our food are also already served in bite-sized chunks.We don’t have divorceAnd we’re the only remaining country that doesn’t have it. Aside from the Vatican, which doesn’t count. If you want separation from your spouse (regardless of the reason, including domestic abuse, adultery, etc.) your only choice is annulment which is ridiculously expensive. Conversion to Islam (temporarily) is another option, since the Philippines allow civil sharia laws only for Muslims (as long as they do not go against the Constitution). And those laws allow divorce. Still expensive and quite unethical.More and more people support divorce however. But the Catholic Church vehemently opposes it and they are politically powerful.Every city, town, and village has a festivalEvery last one has at least one festival day. They’re called fiestas. It’s usually religious and based on the feast day of the patron saint of the village church. In some cases it is cultural or both, especially in large cities.They occur throughout the year. During fiestas people prepare food and feed visitors from their homes, even complete strangers. There are usually also celebrations, parades, street dancing, and contests.Among Muslim Filipinos, they also have Islamic festivals, the largest of which are the two Eid celebrations (called Hari Raya in the local languages).Here are some of the larger examples:Kaamulan, a festival in Malaybalay City, Mindanao Island, celebrating the seven tribes of the province of Bukidnon.Lanzones Festival in Camiguin Island, celebrating the Lanzones fruits for which the island is famous.Sinulog Festival in Cebu City, Cebu Island, celebrating the conversion of the Cebuanos to ChristianityMasskara Festival in Bacolod City, Negros Island, celebrating… well.. masks.We regularly mix two or even three languages in everyday speechIt’s called code-switching. We’ll use Tagalog and English and whatever your native language is (the Philippines has dozens of regional languages distinct from Tagalog) in a single sentence. It’s apparently so weird that monolingual foreigners immediately comment on it when they hear it. However, it’s also common in other polyglot countries.It should not be confused with loanwords. Code-switching means you can speak all of the languages used fluently on their own, and so does the listener.We get an average of twenty typhoons every year. Five of which will be destructive. We also give typhoons unique names, different from the international designation.Taiwan, Japan, and the Philippines are the typhoon shields of Asia. We get regularly hit by typhoons doing a staggering amount of damage each year, not only to lives and infrastructure, but also crops, fishing, and so on. And they can occur at any time of the year.Out of the three, we arguably get the worst of the lot. We have more supertyphoons than the other two. The deadliest storm in modern history is 2013’s Typhoon Haiyan when it struck the Philippines, causing a tsunami-like storm surge in one of our islands that flattened a major city (Tacloban) and several coastal towns and villages. I’m talking total devastation. Massive container ships were thrown into houses like toys. At least 6,300 people died.Speaking of Haiyan, naming storms started in the Philippines in 1963, following the lead of the typhoon warning center in Hawaii in 1945. There were no international naming standards then. This has persisted into today, and our national meteorological agency PAGASA still assigns unique names to storms that enter our area of responsibility. We are the only country to do this.Typhoon Haiyan for example became known as Typhoon Yolanda to us when it entered our area of responsibility.The frequency of typhoons has actually shaped our national identity. It’s the reason why we are fatalistic to a fault, highly resilient, and more laidback compared to our neighbors. Even mere days after disasters like Haiyan, you can see people laughing and smiling. Our informal national motto is basically “Bahala na” (“What will be, will be”). We don’t stress when things fall apart, we move on and try to focus on the good things. Sadly this also makes us more tolerant of government corruption as well, including the utterly shameless corruption and incompetence that befell the international aid meant for Haiyan victims. Speaking of which…Politicians take credit for tax-funded public infrastructure, sometimes naming it after themselvesIn government projects or infrastructure, politicians will put up large streamers or posters proclaiming that “This project was made by Mayor So-and-So”, usually with their grinning fat faces plastered on it.The finished buildings themselves will often have painted signs, plaques, or even permanent tracings into the concrete of which politicians were in power when it was built. And finally, if they were totally shameless enough, they will sometimes name the buildings after themselves. Like “Governor Shameless Integrated Bus Terminal” or “Councilor Greedypig Waiting Shed”.Nothing was sacred. Police cars have them. Ambulances, hospitals, fire trucks, roads, street lights, tourism posters, bridges, holiday signs, vaccination drives, and so on. Even something as small as a garbage can have these signs. All of them.And it’s not one or two politicians as well. Everyone does it. From lowly village officials to presidents. These posters clutter virtually every available surface in cities, contributing immensely to the visual noise and to literal garbage.And the thing is, all of them are funded by the taxpayers, not their own pockets. They are basically using public funds to advertise themselves for the next election. These are derisively called “epal” (slang for someone who intrudes into a conversation or a situation uninvited). These are extremely common and are one of many public faces of political corruption in the Philippines.Several senators have proposed bills to the Congress to ban them before. But to date none have succeeded. The latest attempt was in August 2017 by Senator Manny Pacquiao (yes the Manny Pacquiao), but it is still pending.We apologize to trees and rocksIt’s one of the few surviving aspects of our precolonial animist religions. Before the arrival of Christianity and Islam, we believed in nature spirits called anito (later also called “diwata”, after contact with India). This belief in spirits is remarkably similar to the elves and fairies of European folklore, the yokai and kami of Shintoism in Japan, as well as the animist beliefs of most other tribal societies all over the world.Ancient Filipinos did not worship them technically. The mostly benevolent ones were asked for help from time to time by the shamans (babaylan), but usually the average person did their best to avoid them because they were considered dangerous. While most are not considered malevolent, being disrespectful or even walking into one of them unknowingly is believed to anger them and cause damage to your own spirit resulting in misfortune and sickness. Which is why great pains is taken not to insult them in any way.Certain places are regarded as being their homes or are gateways to the spirit world. Especially during twilight when the veil between the spirit world and the material world is said to be at its thinnest. These places include large banyan trees (called balete), secluded forests, caves, or places with strange rock formations or natural phenomena.When passing by these places (or if we needed to interact with these places for any reason), we apologize and ask for permission by saying “Tabi apo” (literally “Excuse [us], elder” or “Pardon [us], elder”).This has survived into the modern-day. People will also actively refuse to cut these trees down. And you’ll invariably hear stories of supernatural events near these trees, or some person falling sick or dying after harming the trees. In some places, people still leave offerings at their roots.The example below is a locally famous gigantic balete in Negros Island, estimated to be around 1,300 years old.We have the highest gender equality rank in all of AsiaAnd we score higher than most western countries too in the Global Gender Gap Report of the World Economic Forum (including the US, UK, France, and Germany). We are consistently within the top 10 countries in the index since the report was started in 2010. This is something most people outside the Philippines don’t seem to know.There are no barriers to women in most professions (the only exceptions I can think of are religious professions). Gender equality is enshrined in our Constitution. Women have the same or higher educational attainment and life expectancy as men. It is not uncommon to see female security guards, cops, or soldiers. Female CEOs and politicians are also very common. We were one of the first Asian countries to have universal suffrage for women (1937). We’ve already had two female presidents, and our current vice president is female. No one bats an eye.Not saying it’s perfect equality, of course. Men still dominate in politics and economics, but the gap is lower than most countries. There is still chauvinism left over from the Spanish period, but it mostly relates to archaic laws (like adultery still being a crime, abortion being illegal, etc.). There are also some traditional separation between professions considered masculine and feminine, but they are not hard barriers. There are still also problems with domestic violence (though at rates equal to Japan’s, still lower than most Asian nations). This is being addressed recently through legislation.We have a lot of brilliantly purple dessertsAnd it’s natural. It’s derived from one of the most beloved root crops in the Philippines - the purple yam, more popularly known as ube (pronounced “oo-beh”). They are naturally purple from anthocyanins, the same pigment that colors blueberries and grapes. It is commonly confused with the Okinawan purple sweet potato (which also exist in the Philippines), but they are completely different plants. They do taste similar though the ube has a mild lavender-like aroma.They are usually eaten boiled and mashed with condensed milk, the dish known as ube halaya (or by its English equivalent: “ube jam”). But they’re widely used in other desserts, including halo-halo, hopia, pies, ice cream, smoothies, pancakes, waffles, cookies, cake, cupcakes, bread, rolls, jellies, doughnuts, and so on.They became a food trend recently. The most expensive doughnut in New York (the Golden Cristal Ube) uses ube frosting with champagne underneath the golden foil.As a bonus, we also have radioactive green desserts. And again, the color is natural. They’re colored and flavored from pandan leaves, which have a very fragrant vanilla-like aroma. Pandan are palm-like trees which only grow in sandy beaches in the Indo-Pacific.Our caves are full of bats… and birdsSwiftlets (locally called balinsasayaw, literally “tumbling dancer”, or just sayaw, “dancer”) are small very fast birds only found in tropical Australasia and in some Pacific Islands. They nest in caves and have developed echolocation abilities like bats. They do shifts with bats. Bats leave the caves at night and sleep in them during the day. Swiftlets leave the caves during the day and sleep in them during the night.They make small nests against the wall with their saliva, which was one of the goods traded by Southeast Asian countries to China, since they are the main ingredient of bird’s nest soup. The tourist town of El Nido (literally “The Nest” in Spanish) is named after them.They can become a pest, however, as they will also nest in any indoor large concrete structures like churches and houses.Our national dress are see-through and were traditionally made with banana or pineappleFibers that is. Called the baro (or barong, literally “clothing”) and terno (also traje de mestiza or ‘Maria Clara’, butterfly-sleeved dress for women). Those worn by the aristocratic class were made from jusi (pronounced “hoo-see”) - fine silk-like fibers extracted from banana, abaca (a banana relative), or pineapple leaves. They can also be made from real silk. They are based on the pre-Hispanic native vests/jackets (still worn today by some tribal groups). But they acquired a Spanish flair later on. They are partially sheer or lace-like to keep people cool in the tropical heat. There are peasant versions made with cotton and other fabrics of course.Our ketchup is made from bananasAside from tomato ketchup, a common household condiment is the banana ketchup. It’s made from bananas, vinegar, sugar, and spices. It tastes similar to tomato ketchup but is sweeter. It was originally made as a substitute for tomato ketchup during supply shortages in World War 2. Its invention is credited to the food technologist and war hero Maria Orosa.At almost every meal you are provided with miniature oranges and chilisThese “oranges” are called calamansi. They are our equivalent to the lime or lemon and are used similarly. They are actually a hybrid of kumquats and mandarin oranges (both are also native to the Philippines), hence they are slightly sweeter than limes. We also make our version of lemonade from them (squeeze several into a glass, add water, add sugar to taste).The miniature chilis on the other hand, is the labuyo (commonly confused with bird’s eye chilis). These are small chili cultivars native to the Philippines. They are related to the tabasco chili. They are small, but be warned, they are very hot.If you are eating at a Filipino restaurant you are almost always provided with these two. You are supposed to make a dipping sauce from them. First pour soy sauce into a platter, add a dash of vinegar or fish sauce, then squeeze calamansi into it. This is called a toyomansi, a portmanteau of toyo (soy sauce) and calamansi.If you want it spicier, crush a labuyo into it. This version of the dip is called silimansi (sili means “chili”).The use of calamansi has spread to parts of Indonesia and Malaysia, but it isn’t as ubiquitous there as it is in the Philippines.We have an informal holiday where everyone throws water balloons at complete strangersAnd it’s a Christian one. It’s called “San Juan” and it falls on June 24. As the name implies, it celebrates St. John the Baptist.It’s not really a festival or even a national holiday, but everyone celebrates it anyhow. The city of San Juan even turned it into an official holiday after the fact.People will wear raincoats on this day even if it’s sunny because of how it is celebrated. Basically, everyone tries to wet everyone else. By pouring water on them, spraying them with a water hose or a water gun, throwing water balloons at them, and so on.The results are what you’d expect. Lots of angry people, especially from those who managed to forget what day it was.Most people circumvent this by going to the beach or a local water resort with the family.It can get dangerous. Because kids (and some idiots) will sometimes target passing vehicles. Sometimes using water balloons weighted with stones. A bus I was traveling in when I was a teenager got hit by one of those missiles and it broke the windshield while we were traveling quite fast on a national highway. Thankfully, we didn’t die in a fiery road accident. Then there are situations like below.When you have new shoes, your friends will step on it.We call it a bunyag (“baptism”). They’ll get dirty anyway, the first dirt is special and will bring good luck. Or so we tell them as they angrily chase us for ruining their shoes.A common childhood pastime is making spiders fightYep. Spiders. Similar to how Japanese kids made beetles fight. We had way too much fun with them when we were kids. Spiders (the web-building kind) would be caught during the early morning or at dusk, then made to fight other spiders on a twig. It was usually to the death. Look away, PETA.It’s in decline and mostly banned in schools and by local ordinances now, because it became a gateway to gambling. And besides, in the internet age, most kids don’t really spend much time outdoors anymore.Our favorite sports to watch on TV are basketball, boxing… and beauty pageantsYes, including (straight) male viewers. Entire families would watch international pageants when they happen.This national fascination with pageants is actually pretty old in origin. It started from the Manila Carnival (also known as the Philippine Exposition), an annual festival in Manila during the American colonial period, first started in 1908.The highlight of this event was La Reina del Oriente (“Queen of the Orient”) pageant. This was where our love for pageants came from.The carnival was discontinued in 1939. It was never revived, although its legacy continues in the national beauty pageants. The winner of the latter gets crowned Miss Philippines and gets to represent the country in the Miss Universe pageant.Nowadays, it can get vicious online when it comes to defending the Filipino contenders from supporters of other countries. It’s partly because of a burning sense of nationalism (sometimes too much) and partly a desire to be recognized at something… even if it’s downright silly.We have mandatory military training… in high schoolCalled the CAT (Citizenship Advancement Training, previously Citizen Army Training). It teaches high school students military drills, military terminology, how to hold rifles, how to salute, and so on; as well as hold regular physical training like jogging or hiking on weekends and training in the native martial arts (arnis). We wore fake military uniforms, including boots and headgear, had a wooden rifle and a ceremonial blunt sword. Most importantly, it taught us discipline and it was a lot of fun pretending to be soldiers.Since our high school ages previously started at age 12 and ended at 16, children can start as young as 12. Though it doesn’t become mandatory until Senior year, children who started early become officers later on. I started at 12 for example, and by the time we were seniors, I was a Captain. Everyone was required to do it, unless you have physical disabilities preventing it. Girls, boys, openly gay students, everyone. The only way you can somewhat avoid it is if you join the marching band.This was followed later on by ROTC in college (with real guns), which though mandatory in the past has now become optional since 2001.We have uniquely-shaped traditional bladed weapons, from wavy swords to giant anime swords to claw-like daggersA few of the examples are:kalis - a wavy sword. It is related to the Malaysian and Indonesian kris or keris. But the kalis is much larger, since it’s a sword not a dagger. It’s the traditional armament of the Muslim Filipinos (the Moros).kampilan - usually a large two-handed sword. It has a distinctive shape with a handle carved into the shape of a mythical dragon or tiger creature. The tip has a small bladelet giving it an appearance of being forkedlaring - A variant of the common sundang or itak sword with a deep fork halfway up the blade.ligua - the battle-axe of the Ifugao highlander tribes in northern Luzon. They have a characteristic crescent shape. They were specialized for cutting off heads during the ritualistic head-hunting wars of the Ifugao. Their design can vary by tribe.panabas. A large battle-axe which can be up to 4 feet long with a unique bent or curving shape similar to the Gurkha kukri. But it’s unrelated and is an axe, not a knife.karambit - a sickle-like dagger derived from a farming tool. Uniquely held and is meant as a gouging weapon. Also exists in Malaysia and Indonesia.And so on.When you say “switchblade”, our version is a folding oneMade popular recently by Hollywood movies, the balisong (also called the “butterfly knife”) is one of the most unique blades of the Philippines. It originated as a pocket knife. Probably indigenous in design (though some claim it’s based on a long-forgotten French pocket knife in the 19th century). Regardless, it quickly became very popular in the Philippines, with its primary manufacturing area being the province of Batangas. Particularly as a weapon for criminals and wannabe gangsters, with the same reputation as switchblades in the west. They became much larger, with the average size being about 29 centimeters (around 11 inches, hence the other name for them: viente y nueve). Filipinos also developed a mesmerizing way of quickly flicking them open and shut which caught on in the west and is now a weird hobby. Like fidget spinners with the risk of losing a finger.We’ve turned mountains into rice fieldsThe rice terraces of the northern Philippines are UNESCO world heritage sites. They’re centuries-old and they’re stunning. There are similar terraces in other countries but none on this scale and steepness, and/or are not rice fields.When you come across strangers eating, they will invite you to eat with them.And unless you can see there’s enough food for all of you (i.e. it’s a party), or you’re genuinely starving to death, the polite response is to say “I’m full, thanks.”A similar invitation is when you come across people drinking alcohol in private settings (which paradoxically enough, might mean in a public place like a street or a beach). You will always be offered a tagay (a shot). You can agree to drink just a glass, join in and get drunk, or decline. Decline politely, however. Like everywhere else, some people are nasty drunks and can get offended.We don’t have a word for “cheers!” because we drink alcohol from one cupAs in one cup is used for a group of people. Passed from person to person. Each shot is called a tagay. This is an ancient tradition going back to precolonial times, and the Spaniards mentioned it in their description of traditional practices. It is related to the precolonial Filipino ritual of the blood compact (sandugo). Drinking from one cup is seen as symbolic of camaraderie and trust.Hence why we don’t have a word for “cheers”, because you can’t exactly raise your cups when only one person has it. Tagay is sometimes used for “cheers!” though, but it’s inaccurate, as it really just means “[let’s] drink!”This is also why bars (as in the counter-and-stool kind) is not that popular in the Philippines. Our version of a bar is one where you get a table with a group of friends, then you are given the drinks, some ice cubes, some food (pulutan), and a single glass. More commonly however, you do these drinking sessions at a friend’s house, a beach, a backyard, the street, the bed of a truck, or wherever it is you can get away with being drunk and loud.One of you becomes the “gunner”, the guy (or gal) who pours the drink into the glass (usually the one who stays sober the longest). Then you take turns drinking from the glass. It is easier to moderate as well as you can simply “pass” if you’ve had enough.All through this, you simply enjoy each other’s company and talk about everything and nothing. This is the main reason why people do this. For the company and conversation, not for the alcohol. Which is why in our culture, the main indication of an alcoholic is someone who drinks… alone.These drinking sesssions are called tagayan or inuman, and they are an important cornerstone of Filipino social interactions.We traditionally made window panes from… oystersThey’re called windowpane oysters (duh!). They have round and flat shells and are abundant in the Philippines, particularly in the province of Capiz. The shells (called Capiz shells) were traditionally used as a substitute for glass during the Spanish colonial period because of their translucency, beauty, and durability. This use later spread to Goa in India via the Portuguese. They are still found in the windows of old Spanish-Filipino architecture. They are now also used to make lamps, chandeliers, wind chimes, and other decorative items for export.It is common to see cats with tails that seem to have been bent and cut offEspecially among strays or semi-feral cats. Westerners (and even some locals) often think these were deliberate mutilation or were the result of accidents or fights with dogs. There are even stories about how their owners supposedly cut them off then buried their tails under the house front doors to make sure the cats return at night (which is ridiculous… you can’t tell cats what to do!).All of these are false. It’s genetic. The dominant native breed of cats of in most of Asia has the bobtail gene. They tend to have tails that are short, kinked, or seemingly cut off.Commenting about your weight or looks is normal and isn’t rudeTelling you to your face that you’re getting fatter or are way too thin or should sleep more and so on is completely normal. Usually followed by advice on what you should eat, encouragement for exercise, or an offering of food.This usually infuriates the hypersensitive PC culture of most westerners, leading to rants online about how Filipinos are sooo rude! OMG.It’s not an insult, however. It’s meant as friendly teasing or motherly advice. If they really wanted to insult you, they’d have kept quiet and told someone else.Avocado is a dessert fruitUnlike most other countries, avocado in the Philippines is traditionally treated as a dessert from way back in the colonial period. The standard way of eating it is to mash it up (finely or into small chunks) and mix it with condensed milk or sugar. Rarely, peanuts or even chocolate can also be added. It can also be blended with ice chips into a shake. Until recently, we never use it for savory dishes like salads, sushi, or guacamole like in the west.We stay with our parents until we either get married or get a job away from our hometownsRegardless of how old you are. This is common enough in most Asian, Latin American, and some European countries.Families will also continue supporting each other, even long after they have children of their own. The family culture is very collectivist. It is considered shameful to be wealthy, while having parents or siblings that are struggling. And it is the duty of the most successful member of the family to try and bring everyone else up to a reasonable extent, with the goal being comfortable self-sufficiency for everyone. Especially if that success is because of the sacrifices of other family members. Failing to do so can cause permanent rifts in family relationships and ruin your reputation to most of your peers.An old Filipino proverb that summarizes this is: Ang hindi marunong lumingon sa pinanggalingan ay hindi makararating sa pinaroroonan, roughly “one who does not know how to look back to their beginnings will never reach their destination.” The closest English saying would be “never forget where you came from.”A lobster dinner in a 5-star restaurant doesn’t taste as good when you know your family back home is still eating the same old meal of rice and dried fish in your childhood village. If you ask kids what they want to be when they grow up, the answer will almost always end with “…so I can help my parents/family.”The up-side is that family in the Philippines is everything. Kinship ties are very strong. You can always rely on family in times of need.The down-side is the built-in culture of nepotism. As well as some members of the family abusing the support at times.It is often the cause of friction in Filipinos who marry foreigners, as westerners usually can not understand why their spouses will still continue sending money to their family back home for things like building their parents a new house, investing in a family business, or helping their siblings find jobs or get an education.Our desserts have various jelly-like components, and they’re all derived from plantsJelly desserts in the Philippines (and Southeast Asia) are predominantly made from gulaman (agar) which is derived from seaweed. Other jelly-like desserts are harvested from plant starch or palm fruits, including sago, kaong, nata de coco, macapuno, and tapioca pearls.Unlike in the west where jellies are usually made gelatin which is derived from animal collagen (usually pork or beef), they’re all perfectly fine for vegetarians and those with religious dietary restrictions (Muslims, Jews, Hindus, etc.).It is common to see two or more of these jellies as part of the various mixed fruit desserts in the Philippines (including halo-halo), as well as chilled beverages (the traditional samalamig refreshments).Christmas starts in SeptemberInformally called the “ber” months. September is taken as a signal to bring out the Christmas tree and Christmas decorations. By October, malls and shops will start playing Christmas music and selling Christmas food and merchandise. By mid-November, yards and streets will already be decorated with Christmas lights, especially the gorgeous handcrafted traditional star lanterns (the paról), which symbolize the star of Bethlehem. Local governments will start putting up the public belén (Christmas dioramas) in community parks. By late November and early December, children and adults will start caroling for money in establishments and houses. In the past this also usually meant children will start playing with firecrackers, but that has been banned.