San Gorgonio Mountain

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search
San Gorgonio Mountain
San Gorgonio Mountain.jpg
Elevation 11,503 feet (3,506 m) NAVD 88 [1][2]
Location San Bernardino County, California, USA
Range San Bernardino Mountains
Prominence 8,294 feet (2,528 m) [2]
Parent peak Mount Whitney [3]
Coordinates 34°05′57″N 116°49′29″W / 34.099162°N 116.824853°W / 34.099162; -116.824853Coordinates: 34°05′57″N 116°49′29″W / 34.099162°N 116.824853°W / 34.099162; -116.824853 [2]
Topo map USGS San Gorgonio Mountain 34116-A7
First ascent 1872 by W. A. Goodyear and Mark Thomas
Easiest route Strenuous Hike
Listing Ultra, Hundred Peaks Section [4]
Translation Saint Gorgonius (Spanish)

San Gorgonio Mountain, also known locally as Mount San Gorgonio, or Old Greyback, is the highest peak in Southern California at 11,503 feet (3,506 m). It is in the San Bernardino Mountains, 27 miles (43 km) east of the city of San Bernardino and 12 miles (19 km) north-northeast of San Gorgonio Pass. It lies within the San Gorgonio Wilderness, part of the San Bernardino National Forest. Spanish missionaries in the area during the early 17th century named the peak after Saint Gorgonius.

Since it is the highest point in a region which is separated from higher peaks (e.g. in the Sierra Nevada) by relatively low terrain, San Gorgonio Mountain is one of the most topographically prominent peaks in the United States. It is ranked 7th among peaks in the 48 contiguous states and 18th among overall.[3]

Contents

[edit] Hiking

Several trails lead to the broad summit of San Gorgonio Mountain, which rises only a few hundred feet (100 m) above the tree line. Any route requires well over 4,000 feet (1,200 m) in of elevation gain.

There is, however, one less used trail leading from the Fish Creek Trailhead to San Gorgonio Mountain that has about 3,400 feet (1,000 m) of gain which is far less than the standard routes from the South Fork and Vivian Creek trailheads.

[edit] Aircraft wreckage

On December 1, 1953, a Douglas C-47 Dakota, serial number 45-1124, crashed at the 11,000 feet (3,400 m) level on the eastern face of the mountain. The C-47 was en route from Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska to March Air Force Base near Riverside, California when it struck the mountain at night in the middle of a storm. "The aircraft was last heard from at 9:51 p.m. Pacific Standard Time, Monday." Thirteen people died.[5]

Nearly one month after the C-47 accident a Marine Corps helicopter crashed on the mountain in coordination of the efforts of recovering the victims. The three crewmen of the helicopter survived the impact.[6] Most of the wreckage of the two aircraft remain on the mountain and are accessible via the Fish Creek Trailhead or the South Fork Trailhead.

[edit] References

  1. ^ The National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929 (NGVD 29) elevation of 11,499 feet (3,505 m) has been converted to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88), using the National Geodetic Survey's online vertical conversion tool. "VERTCON Orthometric Height Conversion". National Geodetic Survey website. http://www.ngs.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/VERTCON/vert_con.prl. Retrieved 2009-06-21. 
  2. ^ a b c "San Gorgonio Mountain, California". Peakbagger.com. http://www.peakbagger.com/peak.aspx?pid=1417. Retrieved 2008-11-22 
  3. ^ a b "America's 57 - The Ultras". Peaklist.org. http://www.peaklist.org/USlists/USP5000.html. Retrieved 2008-09-28. 
  4. ^ "San Gorgonio Mountain". Hundred Peaks Section List, Angeles Chapter, Sierra Club. http://angeles.sierraclub.org/hps/guides/24I.htm. Retrieved 2009-08-14. 
  5. ^ Fort Walton, Florida, "Transport Plane Wreckage Hunted", Playground Daily News, Thursday 4 December 1952, Volume 7, Number 44, page 2.
  6. ^ "C47 Transport Crashes on Mount San Gorgonio". Qnet.com. http://www.qnet.com/~carcomm/wreck33.htm. Retrieved 2008-11-24. 

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Gorgonio_Mountain"
Languages