Mount Tamalpais
Mount Tamalpais | |
---|---|
Highest point | |
Elevation | 2,579 ft (786 m) NAVD 88[1] |
Prominence | 2,456 ft (749 m)[1] |
Listing | California county high points 55th |
Coordinates | 37°55′45″N 122°34′40″W / 37.929088°N 122.577829°W[1] |
Naming | |
Native name |
|
Geography | |
Location | Marin County, California, U.S. |
Parent range | California Coast Ranges |
Topo map | USGS San Rafael |
Geology | |
Mountain type | Sedimentary |
Climbing | |
First ascent | 1830s by Jacob P. Leese (first recorded ascent)[2] |
Easiest route | Railroad Grade fire trail |
Mount Tamalpais (
Toponym
The name Tamalpais was first recorded in 1845. It comes from the Coast Miwok name for this mountain, támal pájiṣ, meaning "west hill".[3]
Various different
Geography
Mount Tamalpais is the highest peak in the
The majority of the mountain is contained in protected public lands, including Mount Tamalpais State Park,
Natural history
Geology and soils
Like the rest of the California Coast Ranges, Mount Tamalpais is the result of uplift, buckling, and folding of the
In 2004, a team of Penn State geoscientists suggested that a
Major Mount Tamalpais rockforms include
Hydrology
Since the steep slopes of Mount Tamalpais force out moisture from passing storms and/or fog, the mountain supports several year-round streams like Redwood Creek on the southern face of the mountain down into Muir Woods. The steep southeastern slopes of Mount Tamalpais drain to Arroyo Corte Madera del Presidio, which in turn discharges to Richardson Bay.
Climate
With its height, various faces, and proximity to the ocean and bay, the mountain contains many
Annual precipitation[13] around Mount Tamalpais varies greatly from around 27.5–31.5 inches (700–800 mm) in the drier, eastern foothills to about 59 inches (1,500 mm) near the Bolinas Ridge, close to the Pacific Ocean. Both Mount Tamalpais and the Bolinas Ridge force moisture out of the air efficiently, since the air is cooled rapidly as it ascends the steep mountain faces and thus Mount Tamalpais's western part is heavily forested with tall redwoods and Douglas firs. The same fact holds for the steep, south-facing bowl canyon that Muir Woods is located in, with precipitation in Redwood Canyon at around 39.4–47.2 inches (1,000–1,200 mm).[14]
As in San Francisco, most of the annual precipitation falls during the winter months. During cold, wet winter storms, the mountain also regularly gets some snowfall, sometimes as much as 6 inches (15 cm) overnight, as observed in February 2001, March 2006, and February 2011.[15] The region sometimes gets hit with strong Pacific storms that may topple trees, and bring hurricane-force winds to exposed, barren areas like the Bolinas Ridge and the summit of Mount Tamalpais. In summer, the area gets almost no precipitation, except for fog drip[16] that occurs in Muir Woods, the Bolinas Ridge and the western end of Mount Tamalpais, where summer fog and oceanic breezes are more prevalent. In contrast, the eastern foothills, sheltered from the oceanic breezes and fog, are drier, since the foothills force little moisture out of the air. This leads to the fact that the eastern slopes contain only oak, pine, chaparral shrub, coastal sage scrub, grassland and sparse Douglas-fir forest. Coastal sage scrub also occurs on some of the exposed coastal slopes.
Temperatures on top of Mount Tamalpais are generally somewhat cooler than places next to the San Francisco Bay or the ocean due to elevation. In summer, however, the top of Mount Tamalpais may actually be warmer than the middle, foggy elevations due to a
Plant communities
Hardwood woodland types are generally subtypes of
The great diversity of microclimates on Mount Tamalpais ensures a wide variety of
Various kinds of
Grassland areas are also common on Mount Tamalpais. Native perennial
Wetland vegetation types found on Mount Tamalpais include coastal riparian forests,
Several species of endemic plants are found only on serpentine soils; these species may be widespread, but only occur on serpentine soils, or the may be more restricted, only growing in a few other places besides Mount Tamalpais, or may even be restricted just to Mount Tamalpais. The Mount Tamalpais thistle (Cirsium hydrophilum var. vaseyi), for example, is a rare variety of thistle known only from the serpentine seeps of the mountain.[19] The Mount Tamalpais jewelflower (Streptanthus batrachopus) is also limited to the area.
Wildlife
Mount Tamalpais provides one of the last remaining wildlife refuges in the Bay Area. Urbanization has invaded wildlife habitat, forcing many fauna in southern Marin County to retreat up onto Mount Tamalpais, Muir Woods, and the Bolinas Ridge. A wide variety of avifauna, amphibians, arthropods and mammals are found on Mount Tamalpais, including a number of rare and endangered species. Mt. Tamalpais and the neighboring Golden Gate Recreation Area together encompass over 115 square miles (298 square kilometers) of land, forming one of the largest preserved parklands located near a U.S. urban center.[citation needed]
History
The Coast Miwok are said to have believed that an evil witch dwelled at the top of Mount Tamalpais and therefore never set foot on the peak.[6]
Tamalpais was home to the
Early wireless towers were constructed on the mountain in the early 20th century, only to be destroyed by one of the periodic hurricane-force windstorms.[citation needed]
In late November 1944, a US Navy plane crashed into the mountain after developing engine trouble shortly after takeoff from
The U.S. Weather Bureau operated a weather station at the site of the now defunct
The peak and its surrounding areas are the birthplace of mountain biking in the 1970s, where early mountain bikers such as Gary Fisher, Charlie Kelly, and Joe Breeze were active.
British philosopher Alan Watts owned a cabin on Mount Tamalpais later in his life where he ultimately died in his sleep of heart failure on November 16, 1973.[23][24]
In 1979 and 1980, Mount Tamalpais was the scene of a series of murders of hikers carried out by serial killer David Carpenter, also known as the "Trailside Killer."[25][26]
On top of the East Peak is a
Recreation
Mount Tamalpais is a hiking, picnicking, mountain and road cycling, horseback riding, and hang-gliding destination for residents of the San Francisco Bay Area, with over 100 miles (160 km) of trails and fire roads. With numerous trailheads, a well-networked trail and road system, and hikes of greatly varying length and difficulty, the mountain offers a compelling range of attractions. Marin Municipal Water District maintains several reservoirs on the north slopes of Mount Tamalpais, including Alpine Lake, Kent Lake, Bon Tempe Lake, Phoenix Lake, and Lake Lagunitas.
The western slopes of the mountain descend to the Pacific Ocean at
Hiking and mountain biking
Since the Mount Tamalpais area contains large expanses of undeveloped, natural land, there are many trails and trailheads that criss-cross the area. Many of these trails are used by hikers and bikers seeking refuge from the urban landscape of the San Francisco Bay Area.[
The many roads, paved and unpaved, that cross the Mount Tamalpais region are used by mountain bikers, especially on weekends. Mount Tamalpais played an instrumental role in the birth of mountain biking many years ago, with pioneer frame builders such as Tom Ritchey, Gary Fisher, and Joe Breeze setting up shops in nearby. There has been considerable controversy over trail access for mountain bikes, both in terms of environmental impact and the safety of other trail users. As a result, bicycles have been banned from the majority of narrow, single-track trails, though bicycles are still allowed on fire roads. The fire roads on Mt. Tam are mixed-use and they are commonly used as running, hiking, biking and horseback riding routes.[28]
The
Art
Theater
Broadway musicals are performed outdoors, several times each summer, in the stone open air Cushing Memorial Amphitheatre on the southern side of Mt. Tam.[31]
Popular culture
- Tamalpais is referenced in the state song of California, "I Love You, California".
- Beat Generation writer Jack Kerouac depicted scenes of Mount Tamalpais in The Dharma Bums (1958).
- Another Beat Generation writer, Gary Snyder, in his book Mountains and Rivers Without End, (Counterpoint, 1996), has a poem entitled "The Circumambulation of Mt. Tamalpais."
- Track 3 of Tamalpais High (At About 3)".
- Mt. Tamalpais was the "undisclosed" filming location of the jungle scenes in the 2011 "Jaguar at Play" television commercial.[32]
- In the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series by Rick Riordan, Mount Tamalpais is the modern site of several mythological locations, including the Garden of the Hesperides, the prison of Atlas, and Mount Othrys.
- Cookie Mueller, in her book Walking Through Clear Water In A Pool Painted Black,[33] lists Mount Tamalpais as the location she goes with her friend Patrick to watch him perform a ceremony to evoke one of Beelzebub's footmen after collecting the necessary supplies from Anton LaVey, "America's foremost demonologist and devil worshipper of the moment".
- Mt. Tamalpais State Park is the home location of the apes in "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes." A "Mt. Tamalpais State Park" sign can be seen as the apes return home from their hunting expedition early in the movie.
- Mount Tam is a major location in the Defiance video game. Originally it was built up as the community of Tranquility where Humans and Votans could live side by side but was actually an Earth Military Coalition experiment to create a virus to kill the Votans. After the Pale Wars, it became home to the Mutants, former EMC soldiers altered in terraforming blasts. The Earth Republic stratocarrier, the EMS New Freedom, was shot down and crashed at Mount Tam.
See also
- List of highest points in California by county
- List of summits of the San Francisco Bay Area
- Mount Tamalpais and Muir Woods Railway
- Mount Tamalpais State Park
References
- ^ a b c "Mount Tamalpais, California". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 2013-01-24.
- ^
Skolnick, Sharon; Lustgarten, Bernie (1989). Dreams of Tamalpais. San Francisco, CA: Last Gasp of San Francisco Press. ISBN 978-0-86719-357-2.
- ^ Callaghan, Catherine. (1970). Bodega Miwok Dictionary. University of California Publications in Linguistics 60.
- ^ "Mt. Tamalpais" Archived 2006-12-21 at the Wayback Machine by Kathleen Goodwin, Point Reyes Visions.
- ^ a b Hill, Allison (June 1997). "Legends of Mount Tam". SFGate Get Outside! Blog. San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on January 12, 2011. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
- ^ a b c "Miwok and Rancho Days". San Anselmo Historical Museum. San Anselmo Historical Society. November 11, 2006. Archived from the original on November 12, 2006.
- ^ a b Robertson, David. (1991). Mt. Tamalpais: The Legendary Birth of a Holy Mountain. California History 70(2):146–161.
- ISBN 0-86719-357-3
- ^ Billiter, Bill (January 1, 1985). "3,000-Year-Old Connection Claimed : Siberia Tie to California Tribes Cited". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles. Archived from the original on 2014-11-28. Retrieved 2014-11-28.
Another word with current Siberian translation, he said, is Tamalpais, the name of the mountain that is a landmark in the San Francisco Bay Area. "Pais" means place, he said, and "tamal" is a word used to describe one of the Siberian tribes.
- ^ "Mount Tamalpais-West Peak, California". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 2013-01-24.
- ^ "Mount Tamalpais State Park" (PDF). California State Parks. Retrieved 2021-09-29.
- ^ Davidson, Keay (December 16, 2004). "Sinister quake hazard may lurk beneath Mount Tam". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2015-04-07.
- ^ San Francisco State University SFSU Bay Area Rainfall Map
- ^ Worldclimate.com Rainfall station at about 950 feet (290 m) elevation.
- ^ Davidsanger.com Photograph of snow on Mount Tamalpais.
- ^ Sightseeingworld.com Archived 2007-02-13 at the Wayback Machine Climate description of the local area.
- ^ ISBN 0-943460-15-8
- ISBN 0-520-05621-3
- ^ "California Native Plant Society: Cirsium hydrophilum var. vaseyi". Retrieved 19 July 2023.
- ^ The Mount Tamalpais and Muir Woods Railway Archived 2006-12-14 at the Wayback Machine (website) by Don Hargraves.
- ISBN 0-87046-063-3
- ^ "Mount Tamalpais Aircraft Crash Site: Mill Valley, California". www.atlasobscura.com. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
- ^ Brown, Patricia Leigh, "Oasis for Resisting Status Symbols Just Might Get One", New York Times, January 25, 2012. Date in 1973 and cause of death not specified in this source. Retrieved 2016-09-14.
- ^ "Think of Nothing – Alan Watts", inspiretochangeworld.com, May, 2015. Cause of death not specified in this source. Retrieved 2016-09-14.
- ^ "David J. Carpenter: The Trailside Killer" Archived 2007-02-25 at the Wayback Machine, Francis Farmer's Revenge.
- ^ "David Carpenter", Serial Killers A-Z
- ^ Bootjack Campground and Trail reopening parks.ca.gov[dead link]
- ^ "Single-Track Trail Mix" Archived 2004-11-04 at archive.today by Gordy Slack, California Wild 53:2, Spring 2000.
- ^ "The Dipsea Race".
- ^ Catalog Raisonne of the American landscape painter Gilbert Munger [1837–1903]. D.umn.edu. Retrieved on 2013-07-21.
- ^ Mountainplay.org: The Mountain Play Archived 2008-12-26 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2013-07-21.
- ^ Jaguar News: The Jaguar Poll Archived 2012-02-05 at the Wayback Machine. Jaguarnewsletter.com. Retrieved on 2013-07-21.
- ISBN 0936756616.
Further reading
- Fairley, Lincoln. (1987). Mount Tamalpais: A History. San Francisco: Scottwall Associates. ISBN 0-942087-01-1(paperback)
- Spitz, Barry. (1998). Tamalpais Trails. San Anselmo, CA: Potrero Meadow Publishing Co. ISBN 0-9620715-2-8
- Skolnick,Sharon. (1989) Dreams of Tamalpais. San Francisco,CA: Last Gasp of San Francisco. ISBN 978-0-86719-357-2
External links
- Mount Tamalpais State Park – official site
- Mount Tamalpais Watershed – official site
- Friends of Mt Tam – official cooperating association of the state park
- About Mt. Tam – information the site of the Tamalpais Lands Collaborative
- SFAA Tam Star Parties Information on monthly star-gazing and lecture series.
- Mt Tamalpais West Peak History Project Interactive timeline of the history of the true summit of Mt. Tamalpais.
Video and photographs
- A Day in the Life of a Fire Lookout on Mt. Tam's East Peak, video by Gary Yost
- The Invisible Peak, a short documentary about Mt. Tam's West Peak by Gary Yost
- Mt. Tamalpais Sunrise to Moonset, time-lapse video by Gary Yost
- 2010 - Timelapse of fog rolling around Mt. Tamalpais, more video by Gary Yost
- CA State Parks Photo Slideshow: Mount Tamalpais SP
Hiking and cycling
- Mount Tamalpais State Park, Marin County Visitors Bureau