given by Father Crespi years earlier, so the name Las Flores, meaning “the flowers” was given to the area. It is located near what is today the Las Pulgas exit to Interstate 5.
Las Pulgas (43 Area) Spanish soldiers accompanying a survey party for the San Luis Rey Mission camped near the Las Flores location and were constantly bothered by fleas so named the area for the pests which in Spanish are called las pulgas. The tiny pests made a stronger impression than the physical beauty of the area. San Onofre (52 Area) In keeping with the padres’ tradition of naming areas after patron saints, this area was named after the obscure Egyptian, St. Onuphrius. Horno (53 Area) Perhaps named for the heat of the area, it is the Spanish word for the clay oven or kiln used by early settlers. Camp Horno is nestled below the coastal mountains which block the cooling ocean breezes. Marines stationed there can attest that it can get as hot as an oven in the summer. San Mateo (62 Area) This site was named after Saint Matthew, whose name was a favorite with the Catholic missionaries. Cristianitos (63 Area) As the Spanish priests of the Portola-Serra Expedition made their way northward, in 1769, they named the site of their encampment after St Apollinaris; but because the priests conducted California’s first Christian baptism for two dying Indian infants there, the soldiers referred to it as “Los Cristianitos” or the little Christians. The baptismal site is now a California State Historic Landmark. Other places and sites aboard Camp Pendleton that are not specific cantonment sites: Aliso Meaning “sycamore”. Both Aliso Canyon and Aliso Creek are located aboard Camp Pendleton.
Deluz An Englishman by the name of Luce kept a corral of horses in the area north of the village of Fallbrook, and it became known by Spanish speaking neighbors as Corral De Luz which was later shortened to the name used today. Deluz also means “from light”. Lake O’Neill Named for Richard O’Neill who managed the ranch and later became part owner, the lake was man-made and stocked with fish during the family’s ownership and originally named O’Neill Lake as noted on some early rancho maps. The lake was created for irrigating Rancho Santa Margarita crops in the late 1800s; today it serves as a recreational area. Piedra de Lumbre Meaning “light or bright rock”. The Piedra de Lumbre Quarry aboard Camp Pendleton contains an outcrop of microcrystalline forms of relatively pure silica, known as Piedra de Lumbre Chert, located on a single ridge at the head of Piedra de Lumbre Canyon, hence its name. Pueblitos Canyon Meaning “little Puebla or town”. Pueblitos Canyon is a west to east running canyon north of the Ysidora Basin. Roblar Means “live oak” and also known as the place where extra pay was given to cowboys for bringing in cattle from the high mountains. Roblar Road connects Basilone Road with Case Springs Road near the Zulu Impact Area. Ysidora Flats This widening of the Margarita River Valley now holds the name of Ysidora Pico Forster and is used for helicopter exercises and landings. Ysidora was the sister of Andres and Pio Pico, the first civilian owners of Rancho Santa Margarita, and the wife of Don Juan Forster who acquired the Rancho in 1861. Ysidora and her husband were well-known throughout the county for their hospitality and for the colorful fiestas held at the Santa Margarita Ranch House. Source: Camp Pendleton Archives; Pendleton Scout newspaper, Feb. 20, 1958
Camp Talega, 64 Area, May 1991; photo courtesy of Camp Pendleton Archives
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CAMP PENDLETON – Celebrating 75 years
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