geo.wikisort.org - Mountains

Cow Mountain Ridge is a ridge in Lake County, California and Mendocino County, California It joins Cow Mountain from the south.

Cow Mountain Ridge
Cow Mountain Ridge Show map of California Cow Mountain Ridge Show map of the United States
Highest point
Elevation	3,572 ft (1,089 m)
Prominence	612 ft (187 m)
Isolation	2.37 mi (3.81 km) to Cow Mountain
Coordinates	39.1307260°N 123.0766681°W / 39.1307260; -123.0766681[1]
Geography
Country	United States
State	California
County	Lake County
Parent range	Mayacamas Mountains
Topo map	Cow Mountain O39123b1 1:24,000

Location

Cow Mountain Ridge is in the Mayacamas Mountains of the northern California Coast Ranges.[2] It is in Lake and Mendocino counties.[3] It is between Clear Lake to the east and the Russian River Valley and Ukiah to the west.[4] Eight Mile Valley on the east side of Cow Mountain Ridge and holds a variety of native species in grasslands, oak woodlands, and areas of chaparral.[5]

Name

Cow Mountain and Cow Mountain Ridge got their names from longhorn cattle introduced around 1839 by Salvador Vallejo and later ranched by Ben Kelsey and Andrew Kelsey, which left many rogue cattle roaming the countryside.[6] When settlers arrived in the land around Clear Lake about 1853 they did not want the long horn cattle to breed with their exotic cattle bred for meat prooduction, so began a program of shooting the long horns. Cow Mountain was one of they last refuges for the long horns, but they had been eliminated by the 1870s by the Hurt family of Scotts Valley.[7]

Terrain

Cow Mountain Ridge is a north-south trending ridge that extends about 6 miles (9.7 km) north from Lost Valley to Cow Mountain.[3] It has an elevation of 3,572 feet (1,089 m) and clean prominence of 612 feet (187 m), with isolation of 2.37 miles (3.81 km) from Cow Mountain to the north-northeast.[2] The ridge extends 3.5 miles (5.6 km) south from Cow Mountain to Lyons Valley. Mendo Rock Road runs along the top of the ridge. From Mendo Rock there are dramatic views in all directions. The highest point on the ridge is a hill at 3,572 feet (1,089 m) on which there are radio antennas.[4]

Notes

Sources

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