Santa Monica Bay in the context of "Santa Monica, California"

Pacific Palisades is a neighborhood in the Westside region of the city of Los Angeles, California, situated about 20 miles (32 km) west of downtown. It was founded in 1921 by a Methodist organization, and is known for its seclusion, Mediterranean climate, hilly topography, abundance of parkland and hiking trails, a 3-mile (4.8 km) strip of coastline, and for being home to several architecturally significant homes.

Nicknamed the Palisades and Pali by locals, the neighborhood is bounded by Brentwood to the east, the unincorporated community of Topanga to the west, Santa Monica to the southeast, the Santa Monica Bay to the southwest, and the Santa Monica Mountains to the north. Parks and beaches in the Palisades include the Santa Monica State Beach, Will Rogers State Beach, Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, and Will Rogers State Historic Park.

Point Dume is a promontory on the coast of Malibu, California, that juts out into the Pacific Ocean. The point, a long bluff, forms the northern end of Santa Monica Bay. Point Dume Natural Area affords a vista of the Palos Verdes Peninsula and Santa Catalina Island. Zuma Beach lies to its immediate northwest.

The South Bay is a region of the Los Angeles metropolitan area, located in the southwest corner of Los Angeles County. The name stems from its geographic location stretching along the southern shore of Santa Monica Bay. The South Bay contains sixteen cities plus portions of the City of Los Angeles and unincorporated portions of the county. The area is bounded by the Pacific Ocean on the south and west and generally by the City of Los Angeles on the north and east.

Ballona Creek (pronunciation: "Bah-yo-nuh" or "Buy-yo-nah") is an 8.5-mile (13.7 km) channelized stream in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States, that was once a "year-round river lined with sycamores and willows". The urban watercourse begins in the Mid-City neighborhood of Los Angeles, flows through Culver City and Del Rey, and passes the Ballona Wetlands Ecological Preserve, the sailboat harbor Marina del Rey, and the small beachside community of Playa del Rey before draining into Santa Monica Bay. The Ballona Creek drainage basin carries water from the Santa Monica Mountains on the north, from the Baldwin Hills to the south, and as far as the Harbor Freeway (I-110) to the east.

Before colonization, the Tongva village of Guashna was located at the mouth of the creek. Ballona Creek and neighboring Ballona Wetlands remain a prime bird-watching spot for waterfowl, shorebirds, warblers, and birds of prey. In 1982, film critic Richard von Busack, a native of Culver City, described the channelized creek as "a cement drainage ditch indistinguishable in size and content from the Love Canal."

Malibu Creek is a year-round stream in western Los Angeles County, California. It drains the southern Conejo Valley and Simi Hills, flowing south through the Santa Monica Mountains, and enters Santa Monica Bay in Malibu.