Buried Mountain is a mountain in the Orocopia Mountains, visible from Interstate 10. The mountain, which is visually isolated, gains its name due to its appearance of being "buried" into the ground, as it is 500 feet shorter than the rest of the Orocopia Mountains lying in the background.[2]
| Buried Mountain | |
|---|---|
  Buried Mountain Location in California | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 1,472 ft (449 m) |
| Prominence | 152 ft (46 m)[1] |
| Coordinates | 33°38′58″N 115°51′25″W / 33.649422°N 115.856946°W |
| Geography | |
| Location | Riverside County, California, U.S. |
| Parent range | Orocopia Mountains |
| Topo map | USGS Cottonwood Spring |
| Climbing | |
| Easiest route | Scramble |
Geography edit
The mountain sits between Interstate 10 and Box Canyon Road, the old alignment of California State Route 195. The land is owned by the Bureau of Land Management, and the surrounding wash is occasionally used as a campsite and staging area for utility companies and youth groups. Immediately to the north of the mountain is the Buried Mountain Wash, which can be accessed through a dirt road, originally routed in the 1930s for utility purposes. To the south is the Box Canyon Wash, through which Box Canyon Road traverses. Box Canyon Wash travels through the eponymous Box Canyon of the nearby Mecca Hills, a popular area for geology instruction.[3]
A series of wells were present at Buried Mountain, which supplied water for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. A transmission line runs to the south of the mountain.[4]
Geology edit
The summit consists primarily of aplitic Mesozoic granite, younger than the Orocopia schist that it overlies. The base of the mountain is cut by a large fault, creating a significant non-conformity between the steep slopes of the mountain and lower shallow reaches, which are conglomerates and breccias of the Eocene Maniobra Formation.[5]
References edit
- ^ "Buried Mountain, United States". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 2014-04-13.
- ^ The Salton Sea
- ^ This is obvious from the large amount of instructional material on the area, e.g. UIUC field trip bibliography Archived May 17, 2014, at the Wayback Machine and teaching slides.
- ^ MWD Formation Archived February 25, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Dibblee, T.W., and Minch, J.A., 2008, Geologic map of the Cottonwood Spring & Canyon Spring 15 minute quadrangles, Riverside County, California: Dibblee Geological Foundation, Dibblee Foundation Map DF-375, scale 1:62,500