Talk:Palm Springs Aerial Tramway

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Requested info[edit]

How long is Palm Springs Aerial Tramway? How tall are the support towers of Palm Springs Aerial Tramway?

Many details can be found here: http://www.pstramway.org/history-tech/technical-detail.asp -23:52, 26 May 2006 (UTC)

Coming quick. Big oversight on my part. The towers are, quite frankly, incredible. FWIW: I did some of the voiceovers on the video presentations about four years ago (and which I'd forgotten about). I was just there today for the first time in ages and my mind was blown in the theater! Damn, I'm part of a major SoCal attraction! - Lucky 6.9 04:29, 7 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

8th Wonder of the World?[edit]

A google search for "palm strings aerial tramway" "eigth wonder of the world" only returns results promoting the tramway. We need a reliable source calling the tramway the 8th wonder of the world (specifically, not a source promoting the tramway). Sagsaw 23:30, 30 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I'd bet there is more than one "Eighth Wonder of the World". I think we should omit it. ·:·Will Beback ·:· 06:17, 31 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Travel Time[edit]

The most important question that everybody would ask is: How long does it take to get up there? The article fails to answer that.--dunnhaupt (talk) 14:48, 31 July 2008 (UTC)[reply]

From personal experience it's less than ten minutes. The website has a page of statistics [1]. From those it's possible to calculate that it may take something like 6 minutes at maximum speed. However I woulnd't add anything to the article until we can find a direct source for the time. ·:· Will Beback ·:· 18:34, 31 July 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Tundra?[edit]

The trip has been likened in terms of geologic and climatic change to a motor trip from Sonora to the Canadian tundra.

Aside from the fact that this statement is unsourced and phrased in passive voice, it's inaccurate to describe the environment at the top of the tramway as being like the Canadian tundra. Tundra landscapes are treeless and typically have permafrost. San Jacinto Peak has trees even at its summit--and that summit is more than 2000 feet higher than the top of the tramway. 206.208.105.129 (talk) 20:07, 19 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Good point. The range of altitude is known for spanning different biomes, but the existing language is imprecise if not downright wrong. I'm sure we can find a more scientific description. Will Beback talk 20:12, 19 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I've found a passable source and re-wrote it to say:

Travelers start in the Sonoran Desert and arrive at an alpine forest.
- Parsell, Reed (April 3, 2005). "Palm Springs aerial tram lifts travel to new level". The Sacramento Bee. p. M.2.

It'd be better to find a more scientific source though. Will Beback talk 21:03, 19 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

The state park web page (http://www.parks.ca.gov/default.asp?page_id=636) refers to San Jacinto's "subalpine forests," which is more plausible. The alpine zone is by definition above the treeline. 206.208.105.129 (talk) 14:02, 20 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I also found http://www.biogeog.ucsb.edu/projects/gap/data/cnddb/86500.html and http://geography.berkeley.edu/ProjectsResources/CalPlants/califplanttable.html which describe the altitude range of subalpine forest in Southern California as 8,000-11,500 feet. And page 506 of the pdf at http://earthscience.ucr.edu/docs/chapter%2018.pdf says that the southernmost subalpine forest in California is on San jacinto. (Thanks for responding so quickly, by the way!) 206.208.105.129 (talk) 14:15, 20 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

On the other hand....a little more searching brings up this: The elevational profile of the San Jacinto Mountains consists of six vegetation zones that are based primarily on temperature and precipitation. Temperature and precipitation are in turn regulated by elevation and latitudinal location. Due to effects from the Pacific Ocean, the western slopes of the San Jacintos are cooler and receive significantly more moisture, while the eastern side is hotter and drier. Below 4,000 feet on the western side, Coastal Sage Scrub and Valley Grassland dominates. This zone, however, is outside of the National Monument. Also on the western slopes, between 4,000 and 6,000 feet, chaparral is the dominant vegetation. Common chaparral species include chamise, manzanita, and ribbonwood. On both sides of the mountains, montane coniferous forest occurs from roughly 5,500 to 9,000 feet in elevation. Vegetation in this area includes: Jeffery pine, ponderosa pine, incense cedar, and sugar pine. At the uppermost 2,000 feet of the San Jacinto Mountains, limber and lodgepole pine dominate, and is known as the Sup alpine Forest zone. (Source: http://www.blm.gov/ca/pdfs/palmsprings_pdfs/santarosa/DEIS_09_CH-3-Monument.pdf) That would seem to imply that the top of the tram is in the upper part of the montane coniferous forest, though not far below the true subalpine forest. 206.208.105.129 (talk) 14:28, 20 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Excellent work! Would you care to summarize this material for the article? If you have any trouble with formatting or citations I can help. Will Beback talk 21:09, 20 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

As you note, it's important that we differentiate the tram stop (the subject of interest for this article) from the higher summit, which is near treeline. Will Beback talk 11:39, 21 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

External links modified (January 2018)[edit]

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Slightly more history[edit]

One aspect of the history is missing; the 1967 movie "The Cool Ones" had a musical number ("High") performed on the Tramway... or a least a set made to look like the tramway. ---------User:DanTD (talk) 21:01, 5 October 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Which desert?[edit]

I’m relatively certain that the aerial tramway is in the Mojave Desert not the Sonoran. The Sacramento Bee reference must have been wrong. The Sonoran gives way east of here at the Colorado River and enters a Transition Zone sometimes called the Colorado Desert. Effort becoming the Mojave. 65.197.217.249 (talk) 19:45, 14 November 2021 (UTC)[reply]