The Turtle Rock in Irvine

12 Mar

Author: Darlene Herman // Category: Turtle Rock

The village of Turtle Rock in Irvine got its name from a rock that people thought it looked like a turtle. Original farmers called the rock “Frog Rock”.The rock use to be visible from University Dr. In the Irvine Ranch Newsletter the fate of the rock was in question as they were considering removing it.Shortly after that, it was found that the newletter story on the rock caused many people to work towards preserving the rock.It was found that it was an important Indian Shrine. The Irvine planning department at that time assured the community that the Turtle Rock was safe.

Turtle Rock, which is approximately twenty feet tall, attracted rock climbing enthusiast and it was rated sixth out of twenty climbing rocks in Orange County.

Local Gabirlino Indians were upset at the idea of anyone climbing the rock as the turtle was sacred to the Indians and Turtle Rock itself had been a sacred site for thousands of years. During the summer of 1984 they asked the city of Irvine to protect their ancestral worshipping ground. The city then planted bougainvilles around the perimeter to help keep vandals and rock climbers away from the rock.

On August 19, 1984, the Garielino Indians sanctified the rock. They sprinkled sea water and draped seaweed at the base of the rock to symbolically help the amphibious sea turtle return to the sea.

Today the rock in Turtle Rock stands tall & protected with the lovely development of Turtle Rock surrounding it.