{{Short description|Reservoir and community in Los Angeles County, California}} {{Use American English|date=July 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2023}} {{Infobox body of water |name = Malibou Lake |image = |caption = A view of Malibou Lake |image_bathymetry = Malibu Lake map.png |caption_bathymetry = Malibou Lake in Los Angeles |alt_bathymetry = Close up map of Malibou Lake in Los Angelos along side Mullholland Highway |location = Los Angeles County, California, United States |coords = {{Coord|34.107|N|118.757|W|display=inline,title|region:US-CA_type:waterbody}} |lake_type = reservoir |inflow =From the Medea and the Triunfo creeks |outflow =Outlet from dam into Malibu Creek |catchment = |basin_countries = United States |length = |width = |area = {{convert|350|acre|ha}} |depth = |max-depth = {{convert|27|ft|m}} |volume = |residence_time = |shore = {{convert|3|km|abbr=on|order=flip}} |elevation = |islands = |cities = <!-- Map --> | pushpin_map = Los Angeles##California#USA | pushpin_label_position = | pushpin_map_alt = Location of Malibou Lake, California in California, USA. | pushpin_map_caption = <!-- Below --> | website = | reference = }}

[[File:Malibou Dam.jpg|thumb|Malibou Dam in 2011, as seen from Malibu Creek State Park]] [[File:YOUNGSTERS DOING A LITTLE EARLY MORNING FISHING ON MALIBU LAKE IN THE SANTA MONICA MOUNTAINS NEAR MALIBU, CALIFORNIA... - NARA - 557565.tif|thumb|right|Fishing on Malibou Lake, 1975. Photo by Charles O'Rear.]] '''Malibou Lake''' is a small reservoir surrounded by a residential development in the Santa Monica Mountains near Agoura Hills, California.<ref name="latimes.com2007">{{cite web |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-nov-04-me-then4-story.html |first=Cecilia |last=Rasmussen |title=Malibou Lake has played its part in movie history|date=November 4, 2007 |access-date=2011-01-08 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times}}</ref> Adjacent to Malibu Creek State Park and within the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area,<ref name="PittPitt1997" /> it is situated between Malibu Beach and the Conejo Valley. It was created in 1922 after the Malibu Lake Club Dam was built at the confluence of two creeks.<ref>{{cite GNIS|1664046 |Malibu Lake Club Dam}}</ref> The lake, and community of 250 residents<ref name="PittPitt1997" /> are private.<ref name=Official>{{Cite web|url=http://www.lakemalibou.com/ |title=History of Malibou lake|access-date=10 January 2011|publisher=Official web site of Malibu Lake}}</ref>

The {{convert|350|acre|ha}} site includes rugged mountain terrain, exclusive ranch houses, cabins and a club, It has been a popular venue for filming due to its proximity to the Hollywood studios. About 100 Hollywood movies have been filmed since the silent film period.

==Etymology== The territory of the Chumash, Native Americans, extended loosely from the San Joaquin Valley to San Luis Obispo to Malibu, as well as several islands off the southern coast of California. They named this region "''Humaliwo''"<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.parks.ca.gov/|title=Humaliwo: An Ethnographic Overview of the Chumash in Malibu|first=Mike|last=Sampson|publisher=California State Parks|access-date=12 December 2018}}</ref> or "the surf sounds loudly." This name was included within the name of Rancho Topanga Malibu Sequit. The "o" was added to avoid confusion with Malibu Lagoon.<ref name="latimes.com2007"/><ref name=Agour>{{Cite web|url=http://agourahills.patch.com/articles/the-lowdown-malibou-lake|title=The Low Down:Malibou Lake|first=Susan|last=Hampar|date=July 13, 2010|access-date=10 January 2011|publisher=Agoura Hills Patch|archive-date=15 July 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110715051109/http://agourahills.patch.com/articles/the-lowdown-malibou-lake|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==History== In 1922, George Wilson and Bertram Lackey bought {{convert|350|acre|ha}} of land near Cornell with the vision of creating a remote residential community surrounding a lake. In 1922, they formed the Malibou Lake Club (later the Malibou Lake Mountain Club).<ref>{{cite GNIS|1654720|Malibou Lake Mountain Club}}</ref> For nearly four years Malibou "Lake" remained dry. Because of this, the Malibou Lake Mountain Club received criticism from early cabin owners, who had purchased properties for up to $700 along roads such as "Lakeside Drive".<ref name="PittPitt1997">{{cite book|last1=Pitt|first1=Leonard|last2=Pitt|first2=Dale|title=Los Angeles A to Z: an encyclopedia of the city and county|url=https://archive.org/details/losangelestozenc00pitt|url-access=registration|access-date=13 January 2011|year=1997|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-20530-7|pages=[https://archive.org/details/losangelestozenc00pitt/page/313 313]–}}</ref><ref name="Project">{{cite book|author=Federal Writers' Project|title=Los Angeles: A Guide to the City and Its Environs|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=83ePjGo1VY8C&pg=PA383|access-date=13 January 2011|publisher=US History Publishers|isbn=978-1-60354-053-7|page=383}}</ref> Finally on April 5, 1926, a storm produced nearly {{convert|5|inch|mm|spell=in}} of rain. The hillsides nearby drained millions of gallons of water into Medea and Triunfo creeks and Malibou Lake was filled for the first time. The founding members threw a party that lasted for days.<ref name="Project"/><ref name="MLMC">{{cite web|url=http://www.maliboulake.com/contact/history.html|title=History|publisher=Malibou Lake Mountain Club|access-date=13 January 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101202124931/http://www.maliboulake.com/contact/history.html|archive-date=2 December 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref> The club land is rich with live oak and sycamore trees, and the trees of the riparian woodland.<ref name="PittPitt1997"/>

Built in 1924, the Malibou Lake Clubhouse had 24 bedrooms, a lounge, a dining room, a stage, locker rooms, a trading post, a tennis court, rowboats, and swimming/changing facilities.<ref name="MLMC"/> It was replaced with a smaller structure after the clubhouse burned down in 1936.<ref name="latimes.com2007"/><ref name=Agour/><ref name="Rivellino2007">{{cite book|last=Rivellino|first=Dolores|title=The Malibu Cookbook: A Memoir by the Godmother of Malibu|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TwCGT4YXkdsC&pg=PA188|access-date=13 January 2011|date=November 2007|publisher=AuthorHouse|isbn=978-1-4259-1434-9|page=188}}</ref>

The 1936 clubhouse by early Los Angeles architectural firm Russell and Alpaugh stands today. The Malibou Lake Mountain Club clubhouse has a 2100 sq ft ballroom and a 475 sqft receiving room, a 1500 sqft patio, immediately adjacent gardens, a swimming pool and a tennis court and 18 ensuite 10' x 13' club member guest rooms (guest rooms not in use).{{citation needed|date=January 2018}}

Winter rains were expected to refill the lake in late 1959 when state safety officials had the lake partially drained so the dam could be inspected.<ref name="latimes.com2007"/> Attempts by a rainmaker to resurrect it were initially unsuccessful.<ref name="PittPitt1997"/> The rains finally poured down in 1961 and refilled the lake.<ref name="latimes.com2007"/> The community of Malibu Lake has proved successful in preserving the lake area and resisting various proposals for mass development in the area.<ref name="PittPitt1997"/><ref>{{citation|title=Application 18537 by Malibu Lakeside Mutual Water Company to Appropriate from Triunfo Creek|publisher=California State Water Rights Board|date=November 22, 1960|access-date=20 January 2018|url=https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/waterrights/board_decisions/adopted_orders/decisions/d0950_d0999/wrd985.pdf}}</ref>

===Woolsey Fire=== {{main|Woolsey Fire}} The 2018 Woolsey Fire burned through the area, destroying more than 30 homes.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-california-fires-woolsey-hill-camp-in-this-malibou-lake-community-many-1541896699-htmlstory.html|title=In Malibou Lake, one woman's simple answer for why she didn't evacuate: 'My house. It's all I got.'|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|first=Ruben|last=Vives|date=November 10, 2018|access-date=18 December 2018}}</ref>

== Geography == Malibou Lake is located in the Santa Monica Mountains, half a mile south of Mulholland Highway, and over the hill, north of Malibu. The Ventura (101) Freeway is approximately {{convert|3|mi|km}} to the north.<ref name="PittPitt1997"/><ref name="JaegerSmith1966">{{cite book|last1=Jaeger|first1=Edmund C.|authorlink=Edmund Jaeger|last2=Smith|first2=Arthur Clayton|title=Introduction to the natural history of southern California|url=https://archive.org/details/introductiontona00jaeg|url-access=registration|access-date=10 January 2011|date=January 1966|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-03245-3|pages=[https://archive.org/details/introductiontona00jaeg/page/88 88]–}}</ref> The Malibou Lake area includes parts of Point Dume and Thousand Oaks.<ref name="GeologicalSurvey1961">{{cite book|author=Geological Survey (U.S.)|title=Geological Survey bulletin|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t0djAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA461|access-date=10 January 2011|year=1961|publisher=U.S. Dept. of the Interior, Geological Survey; Washington, D.C.|pages=461–}}</ref> The lake sits at the bottom of a sharp defile where the confluence of Medea and Triunfo Creeks forms Malibu Creek.<ref name="FederalWriters'">{{cite book|author=Federal Writers' Project|title=Los Angeles: A Guide to the City and Its Environs|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=83ePjGo1VY8C&pg=PA383|access-date=10 January 2011|publisher=US History Publishers|isbn=978-1-60354-053-7|pages=383–}}</ref> Here, the canyon floor widens into a valley that includes the lake, which occasionally dries out.<ref name="PittPitt1997"/>

The lake is situated in the midst of the Santa Monica Mountains Recreation Area. The lake periphery measures {{convert|3|km|abbr=on|order=flip}} with homes along the shore. The depth of water in the lake ranges to 25&nbsp;ft.

The Santa Monica mountains and the Agoura hills, which form the catchment of the lake, and the creeks which drain into the lake are adjacent to Malibu Creek State Park. These locations were part of the CBS-TV series ''M*A*S*H'' and a ranch where Ronald Reagan came to relax.<ref name=Times/>

A gated dam-bridge is located at the lake's southern end.<ref name="modernhiker.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.modernhiker.com/2009/02/13/hiking-malibu-creek/|title=Hiking Malibu Creek|date=February 13, 2009|work=modernhiker.com|access-date=10 January 2011}}</ref> When the area receives {{convert|4|in}} or more of rain, the lake often overflows.<ref name="latimes.com1992">{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-02-15-me-1791-story.html|title=Flooding a Part of Life on Shores at Malibou Lake Aftermath: Residents who returned to their homes to assess the damage take it in stride. Such disasters are a part of the community's history, they say|last=Stewart|first=Jocelyn|date=February 15, 1992|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=10 January 2011}}</ref> The water flows down Malibu Creek to the ocean at the Malibu Lagoon.

==Film location== [[File:Malibu lake blake and white.jpg|thumb|alt=image|A scene from ''Frankenstein'' was filmed near this Malibou Lake location]] Malibou Lake has been used as a location or setting for many films and television programs.<ref name="theacorn.com">{{cite web |url=http://www.theacorn.com/news/2003-04-10/Community/025.html |first=John |last=Loesing |title=Author tells rich and colorful history of Malibou Lake |access-date=2011-01-09 |work=theacorn.com}}</ref> This location is within the {{convert|30|mile|km|spell=in}} studio zone and has been a popular location since the silent movie era for films.<ref name=Official/><ref name=Agour/> The lake was used in the 1931 version of ''Frankenstein'', Frankenstein's monster accidentally drowns a little girl, Maria, in a lake in the Bavarian Alps in Europe.<ref name="MedvedAkiyama2006">{{cite book|last1=Medved|first1=Harry|last2=Akiyama|first2=Bruce|title=Hollywood Escapes: The Moviegoer's Guide to Exploring Southern California's Great Outdoors|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XmISfb1C3VEC&pg=PA273|access-date=10 January 2011|date=27 June 2006|publisher=Macmillan|isbn=978-0-312-30856-8|pages=273–}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Feraday|first=Caroline|date=2021-08-27|title='It Feels Like A Secret': The Hidden South Coast Gem That's A Star Of The Silver Screen|url=https://www.kclu.org/local-news/2021-08-27/it-feels-like-a-secret-the-hidden-south-coast-gem-thats-a-star-of-the-silver-screen|access-date=2021-08-29|work=KCLU|language=en}}</ref> Other Hollywood movies include ''The Ring'', a 2002 American psychological horror film, and the 1956 Oscar-nominated film ''The Bad Seed''. Two actresses who shot movies at Malibou Lake were Claudette Colbert in ''The Man from Yesterday'' and Betty Grable in ''Thrill of a Lifetime''. The heroes of the film ''Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid'' jumped from the top of a cliff into the lake. A similar stunt act of jumping into the lake was performed by James Coburn for the film ''Our Man Flint''.<ref name=Official/><ref name=Times>{{Cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-jan-21-me-then21-story.html|title= Local peaks were a convincing cinematic stand-in|first=Cecilia |last=Rasmussen|date=January 21, 2007|access-date=10 January 2011|newspaper=Los Angeles Times}}</ref><ref name=Media>{{Cite news|url=http://www.r7media.com/3Mm.html|title=Three Magical Miles|access-date=10 January 2011|publisher=Media: Los Angeles Times}}</ref> Other notable films and programs include:

{{div col|colwidth=30em}} *(1933) ''Tillie and Gus with WC Fields'' *(1934) ''Home On the Range''<ref name="Schneider ">Schneider, Jerry L. (2014). ''Western Movie Making Locations Volume 1 Southern California''. Lulu Press, Inc. Page 164. {{ISBN|9781312711556}}.</ref> *(1936) ''Phantom Patrol'' *(1936) ''The Trail of the Lonesome Pine''<ref name="Schneider "/> *(1937) ''Quality Street'' *(1937) ''Make a Wish'' *(1938) ''Three Men in a Tub (Our Gang short)'' *(1938) ''The Adventures of Tom Sawyer''<ref name="Schneider "/> *(1939) ''Gone with the Wind''<ref name="Schneider "/> *(1940) ''The Great Dictator''<ref name="MedvedAkiyama2006" /> *(1941) ''Under Fiesta Stars''<ref name="Schneider "/> *(1942) ''Watch on the Rhine'' *(1946) ''[http://The_Postman_Always_Rings_Twice_%28film%29 The Postman Always Rings Twice]'' *(1947) ''Saddle Pals''<ref name="Schneider "/> *(1958) ''I Married a Monster from Outer Space'' *(1961) ''Return to Peyton Place'' *(1965) ''Funny About Love'' *(1965) ''How to Stuff a Wild Bikini'' *(1970) ''M*A*S*H'' *(1974) ''Young Frankenstein'' *(1975) ''Crazy Mama''<ref name="MedvedAkiyama2006" /> *(1976) ''Rich Man, Poor Man''<ref name="Randall2006">{{cite book|first=Laura|last=Randall|title=60 hikes within 60 miles, Los Angeles: including San Bernardino, Pasadena, and Orange counties|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=smH7x2zpchIC&pg=PA68|access-date=10 January 2011|date=1 April 2006|publisher=Menasha Ridge Press|isbn=978-0-89732-638-4|pages=68–}}</ref> *(1990) ''Twin Peaks'' *(1999) ''The Story of Us''<ref name="MedvedAkiyama2006" /> *(2002) ''The Ring''<ref name="MedvedAkiyama2006" /> *(2005) ''Must Love Dogs''<ref name="MedvedAkiyama2006" /> *(2007) ''The Office'' *(2009) ''The Black Waters of Echo's Pond'' {{div col end}} Malibou Lake holds more than 100 film credits.<ref name="latimes.com2007" />

==Notable people== *Arthur Edeson, American film cinematographer<ref name="Mank2009">{{cite book|last=Mank|first=Gregory William|title=Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff: the expanded story of a haunting collaboration, with a complete filmography of their films together|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hNtqmyR-MNMC&pg=PA85|access-date=10 January 2011|date=13 May 2009|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-0-7864-3480-0|pages=85–}}</ref> *Elizabeth Montgomery, American film and television actress<ref name="latimes.com2010">{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/home/la-hm-hotprop-sheffer-20100630-story.html|title=Craig Sheffer puts Malibou Lake home on the market|date=June 30, 2010|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|first=Lauren |last=Beale|access-date=9 January 2011}}</ref> *Ronald Reagan, President of the United States, owned a large ranch nearby, which is now a State Park.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-01-14-vw-28-story.html|title=On What Was Once Reagan's Ranch, a Trail to the Chief|first=JOHN |last=McKINNEY|date=January 14, 1989|access-date=23 January 2018|newspaper=Los Angeles Times}}</ref> In 1953 he was named the honorary mayor.<ref name="latimes.com2007" /><ref name="Sutherland2008">{{cite book|last=Sutherland|first=James|title=Ronald Reagan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RQFhjlLXxNkC&pg=PA245|access-date=10 January 2011|date=4 September 2008|publisher=Penguin|isbn=978-0-670-06345-1|pages=245–}}</ref> *Robert Hays, actor<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2019/02/09/firefighters-honored-for-work-above-and-beyond-during-recent-wildfires/|title=Firefighters Honored for Work Above and Beyond During Recent Wildfires|date=9 February 2019}}</ref>

==See also== *List of lakes in California *Rindge Dam *Sherwood Dam

==References== {{Reflist}}

{{commons category|Malibu Lake}}

==External links== *[http://www.maliboulake.org/ Official malibou lake website]

{{SMMNRA}} {{authority control}}

Category:Reservoirs in Los Angeles County, California Category:Populated places in the Santa Monica Mountains Category:Unincorporated communities in Los Angeles County, California Category:1926 establishments in California Category:Unincorporated communities in California