Palomar Mountain - Palomar Mountain

Palomar Mountain is a mountain ridge in the Peninsular Ranges in northern San Diego County. It is famous as the location of the Palomar Observatory and Hale Telescope, and known for the Palomar Mountain State Park.

HistoryEdit

The Luiseno Indian name for Palomar Mountain was "Paauw" and High Point was called "Wikyo."

The Spanish name "Palomar", in English meaning "pigeon roost," comes from the Spanish colonial era in Alta California when Palomar Mountain was known as the home of band-tailed pigeons.

During the 1890s, the human population was sufficient to support three public schools, and it was a popular summer resort for Southern California, with three hotels in operation part of the time, and a tent city in Doane Valley each summer.

Palomar ObservatoryEdit

Palomar Mountain is most famous as the home of the Palomar Observatory and the Hale Telescope. The 200-inch telescope was the world's largest and most important telescope from 1949 until 1992. The observatory currently consists of three large telescopes.

Palomar Mountain State ParkEdit

Palomar Mountain is the location of Palomar Mountain State Park, a California State Park. There are campgrounds for vacationers, and a campground for local school children until the San Diego Unified School District was forced to close it due to state budget cuts. The park averages 70,000 visitors annually. The campgrounds in the park were temporarily closed on October 2, 2011, due to state budget cuts. The park was among 70 California State Parks threatened by budget cuts in fiscal years 2011-2012 and 2012-2013, but the park and the campgrounds remain open.

Palomar Mountain, especially in the state park area, is densely wooded with abundant oak and conifer tree species (pine, cedar, fir). Ferns are abundant everywhere in the shady forest. The forest is supported by annual precipitation totals in excess of 30 inches.

Beginning in the 1920s a lookout tower has been present on Boucher Hill on Palomar Mountain. The tower had been active until it was abandoned in 1983 and then was reactivated when the FFLA (Forest Fire Lookout Association) began manning it in 2012.

Doane Valley, located within the State Park, is home to the Camp Palomar Outdoor School for 6th grade students in the San Diego Unified School District.

Oak Knoll CampgroundEdit

At the base of Palomar Mountain on S6 is Oak Knoll Campground, formerly known as Palomar Gardens. Palomar Gardens was made somewhat famous by an earlier resident, George Adamski. Adamski had an observatory at Palomar Gardens and photographed objects in the night sky that he claimed were UFOs. Adamski co-authored Flying Saucers Have Landed in 1953, about his alien encounter experiences. The 1977 film The Crater Lake Monster had many scenes filmed on Palomar Mountain, including scenes shot at the summit restaurant, but not the scenes of the monster in a lake.

High PointEdit

High Point, is in the Cleveland National Forest, in the Palomar Mountain range is one of the highest peaks in San Diego County, at 6,140 feet (1,871 m), surpassed by Cuyamaca Peak (at 6,512 feet (1,985 m)) and Hot Springs Mountain (the county's highest point, at 6,533 feet (1,991 m)). They are dwarfed by the higher 11,500 feet (3,505 m) San Bernardino Mountains a relatively short distance to the north, in San Bernardino County and Riverside County and the 14,500 feet (4,420 m) high Mount Whitney some 250 mi (402 km) further north. High Point is located approximately two miles east of the observatory. However, it is not accessible by the public from that direction as the observatory itself, and adjacent land are private property, and the road to High Point from the observatory is blocked by a permanently closed gate. It may be reached via Palomar Divide Truck Trail, a dirt road that starts off highway 79 near Warner Springs, California. The trip is 13 miles one way with 3000  ft of elevation gain via Palomar Divide Truck Trail. There is an operational USFS fire lookout on High Point, built in 1964. It is 70' tall, making it the tallest USFS fire tower in California. It was brought back into service in 2009 and is staffed by the FFLA (Forest Fire Lookout Association).

Other local peaks include:

• Birch Hill (5,710 ft or 1,740 m)
• Boucher Hill (5,436 ft or 1,657 m).

AccessEdit

South Grade Road, the stretch of San Diego County Route S6 going from State Route 76 to the summit, is popular among motorcycle riders and sports car drivers due to its challenging nature (over 20 hairpin turns over the distance of less than 7 mi (11 km)). According to fire department records, there have been 26 reported motorcycle injury accidents on the mountain in 2005. In 2004, the figure was 23. In 2003 there were 26.

ClimateEdit

According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Palomar Mountain has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate, abbreviated "Csa" on climate maps. Annual precipitation on the mountain averages about 30 inches (highly variable from year to year), mostly falling between October and March. Snow falls during cold winter storms. Summers are mostly dry, except for occasional thunderstorms in late July to early September. The humid climate supports woods of oak, pine, fir and cedar on large swaths of the mountain.

Natural historyEdit

The upper elevations of the Palomar Mountain Range have notably different habitats than its lower elevation foothills. The lower regions are in the California montane chaparral and woodlands sub-ecoregion, adapted to the xeric/dry Mediterranean climate with chaparral and woodlands flora. The higher regions are in the California mixed evergreen forest sub-ecoregion, with California black oaks, closed-cone pines, firs, and other California oaks and conifers. Higher elevations receive considerably more moisture than the coastal and inland valley lower slopes, with 30â€"60 in (76â€"152 cm) of precipitation. They can also receive snow from winter storms.

See alsoEdit

• California montane chaparral and woodlands
• California oak woodlands
• Closed-cone pine forests

ReferencesEdit

SourcesEdit

• "High Point". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 2009-08-07. 
• "Palomar Mountain East Grade (S7)". SundayMorningRides.com. Retrieved 2011-05-09. 
• "Palomar Mountain South Grade (S6)". SundayMorningRides.com. Retrieved 2011-05-09. 
• "Palomar Mountain". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 2014-08-10. 

External linksEdit

• California State Parks: official Palomar Mountain State Park website
• Friends of Palomar Mountain State Park
• Palomar Mountain History (book)
• Borrego Springs Chamber of Commerce: Palomar Mountain