Tornado's Cave and the "phantom limb"

"Perils of Nyoka" (1942) — Kay Aldridge as Nyoka, at the northern entrance to Tornado's Cave

The landmark Republic serial "Perils of Nyoka," starring Kay Aldridge as "Tarzan" author Edgar Rice Burroughs' heroine Nyoka the Jungle Girl, is featured regularly on this blog and you can read more about it by clicking here. But this time around let me call attention specifically to a short passageway through the rocks below Nyoka Cliff, known to historians and film location buffs as Tornado's Cave.

This highlighted version of the shot may help you see what's going on in the photo. The cave is small, as caves go, but still large enough for a German shepherd to wander around inside. And while getting in and out requires some care, it's even large enough — barely — to accommodate a person riding a horse.

Tornado's Cave as it appears today (southern entrance)

Seen above is the cave's southern entrance, which is almost always overlooked. This is NOT the angle we usually see in movies and TV shows when the cave appears. I think this entrance, which is smaller than the northern entrance, was just too small to be of much use. Even so, you could get in there from this end if you were so inclined. The cave is easy to find at Iverson if you know where to look, and I'll point it out on a map later in the post.

"Cowboy Holiday" (Guinn "Big Boy" Williams, 1934)

The more common northern entrance is just large enough to fit a horse and rider. I have to confess that until recently I had a slightly embarrassing personal misconception about this cave entrance that got in the way of my properly understanding what I was seeing in the movies. I thought the cave had a three-limbed tree in front of it. Maybe you can already see what gave me that impression, but I'll point it out in the next shot.

This shot pinpoints the would-be "three-limbed tree" — a single trunk splitting off into what appears to be three limbs, which turns out to be an illusion. In this shot from the B-Western "Cowboy Holiday," a rider emerges from Tornado's Cave, with the imaginary three-limbed tree seen to the right of the rider (our right, not his).

A more detailed breakdown of the three "limbs" indicates that two of them are real, while the third, the "phantom limb," is not. It turns out the "three-limbed tree" is an illusion created by a two-limbed tree set against some dark weathering on the large rock that forms much of Tornado's Cave.

"Terry and the Pirates" (1940)

This shot from the Columbia serial "Terry and the Pirates" is taken in front of Tornado's Cave and again features the "three-limbed tree" illusion. Incidentally, all of these old movies were filmed decades before historians came along and started calling the rock feature "Tornado's Cave."

Tornado's Cave in recent times — northern entrance

The dark weathering remains evident today, as seen in the above shot from a recent visit to Tornado's Cave. Here it's plain to see that there's no third limb.

The recent shot shows clearly that it's weathering on a rock and not a tree limb.

Zorro's Cave on the Iverson Ranch: Not the same as Tornado's Cave 

The existence of two separate caves on the Iverson Ranch whose names are related to Zorro has caused confusion among some Zorro fans. Zorro's Cave and Tornado's Cave are two different caves.

Stuntman Buddy Van Horn doubles for Guy Williams, posing as Zorro on Tornado

in a publicity shot for the Disney TV series

The name "Tornado's Cave" comes from the name of the horse ridden by Zorro in the Disney TV series and in other Zorro productions, usually known as Tornado — pronounced Tor-NAH-do, using the Spanish pronunciation. The horse on occasion has been called Toronado.

"Zorro Rides Again" (1937): Tornado's Cave with a different Zorro horse, El Rey

Appropriately, Tornado's Cave does appear in at least one Zorro production, even if the horse Tornado is nowhere to be found. In the Republic serial "Zorro Rides Again," John Carroll stars as a descendant of the original Zorro and rides a horse called "El Rey." The "third limb" is also visible again here.

The cave is located on park property in the Iverson Gorge, near Lone Ranger Rock and Nyoka Cliff. The location is east of Redmesa Road, just north of Santa Susana Pass Road and just below the Cal West Townhomes. It's hard to pinpoint on an aerial map, but fairly easy to find once you get close.

Poison oak in Iverson's Upper Gorge, near Tornado's Cave

For anyone who's inclined to go check it out in person, please keep in mind a couple of important warnings: One, the site is crawling with poison oak, so be aware of what you're getting into and try not to touch any plants — especially if they're red. But know that the green poison oak will get you too. Last time I was there the area right in front of Tornado's Cave was crawling with the stuff. And two, be wary of rattlesnakes. I spotted a baby one not far from Tornado's Cave on a recent visit — and I've heard the babies are even more poisonous than the adults.

Fans flock to famous rock

Fans of old movies and early TV shows find a lot to love at the site of the former Iverson Movie Ranch in Chatsworth, Calif., but the single feature that attracts more interest than anything else is Lone Ranger Rock. It's not the most beautiful or most interesting rock at the site — far from it. But it's the most famous.

The rock became famous mainly because of its appearance in the opening to every episode of the old TV show "The Lone Ranger," in which the masked man, played by Clayton Moore, rears up on Silver right next to the rock — part of the famous "Hi-yo, Silver!" sequence. The rock was seen in many other productions as well, but this was its defining moment. 

"Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ" (MGM, 1925)

The rock was making appearances in the movies decades before Clayton Moore first rode up. Above is a screen shot from one of its early appearances, back in the silent movie era. That's Lone Ranger Rock (not yet known by that name) in the top right corner, with a group of characters from biblical times standing on it and a whole mob gathered at its base.

Lone Ranger Rock, in the silent movie "Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ"

It's not widely known that Lone Ranger Rock used to be called Indian Head. No one I've heard from knows how or when that name came about, but the name has been confirmed by Iverson family members. It's worth noting that at least four rocks on the former Iverson Ranch have been called Indian Head at one time or other. I blogged about the site's many Indian Heads in an earlier post that you can find by clicking here.

The TV show had its first run on ABC from 1949-1957, and it was probably around that time that the rock first started being called Lone Ranger rock. The above title shot was filmed on the Upper Iverson, while Lone Ranger Rock was located a few miles away on the Lower Iverson.

The good news is that Lone Ranger Rock, by any other name, is still alive and well. It can be seen without even getting out of your car, from Redmesa Road, just north of Santa Susana Pass Road in Chatsworth. It is also relatively easy to get to on foot, if you don't mind tromping through the sagebrush. The rock is on land that has been preserved as a park, so you don't have to risk being shot at by the locals to get your photo op. It's in Garden of the Gods Park — named after the huge sandstone boulders found mainly across the street, on the west side of Redmesa Road, which also appeared in many old Westerns and TV shows.

I was interested to see what other fans did on their visits to Lone Ranger Rock, and I tracked down a few YouTube videos documenting fan pilgrimages. I've posted them below.














First, here's a short clip by David August:




This one posted in 2016 traces the Lone Ranger's route through the Iverson Gorge, identifying a number of the rocks he passes along the way:



You can see another cool video about a fan visit to Lone Ranger Rock by going to this YouTube link. That one has embedding disabled, so I can't post it here. But it's worth checking out.

If you're thinking about heading out to Chatsworth to see the rock for yourself, I have two minor cautionary notes: (1) Watch out for poison oak, and (2) watch out for snakes.

Poison oak at Iverson, not far from Lone Ranger Rock

Poison oak is easier to spot after it starts turning red — and it also gets more potent then. But it's dangerous even when it's green, which is one of its sneaky and unpleasant characteristics. (Others include making you itch like heck, being resistant to just about any kind of treatment, and sticking to clothes and everything else, meaning you can get it from just touching your clothes.) In case you haven't had the "pleasure" of coming into contact with it before, take my word for it: You don't want to. If you're not sure you can recognize it in the wild, try not to touch any plants, and be careful when handling your shoes and pants after you hike in the area.

Western diamondback rattlesnake

The other warning is about snakes. A number of different species live at Iverson, but the ones you have to worry about are the rattlers. I still have yet to see my first rattlesnake at Iverson — the above photo is not shot there — but I've encountered other snakes at the site, and that was scary enough. The rattler is known to live there, so be careful about where you step, and if you do see one, give it some room. Word is they don't usually hassle you if you don't hassle them.

Just a reminder: You CAN see Lone Ranger Rock from your car, or from the sidewalk, if you're reluctant to tromp around in the brush. If you head north up Redmesa Road from Santa Susana Pass Road, the rock is one of the first things you'll see, on the right. But I still recommend getting out of the car.



























Below are Amazon links to some of the DVD packages of the old "Lone Ranger" material, with a warning that many of the best packages go out of print from time to time.