Big Bear Lake is a reservoir in the western United States, located in the San Bernardino Mountains in San Bernardino County, California. It is a snow and rain-fed lake, having no other means of tributaries or mechanical replenishment.
The San Bernardino Mountains are a high and rugged mountain range in Southern California in the United States. Situated north and northeast of San Bernardino and spanning two California counties, the range tops out at 11,503 feet (3,506 m) at San Gorgonio Mountain – the tallest peak in Southern California. The San Bernardinos form a significant region of wilderness and are popular for hiking and skiing.
The Angeles National Forest (ANF) of the United States Forest Service is located in the San Gabriel Mountains and Sierra Pelona Mountains, primarily within Los Angeles County in southern California. The ANF manages a majority of the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument.
Benjamin Davis Wilson, commonly known as Don Benito Wilson, was an American-Mexican politician, fur trapper, and ranchero of California. Born in Tennessee to parents from Virginia, Wilson eventually settled in Alta California when it was part of the Republic of Mexico, and acquired Rancho Jurupa. He became a naturalized Mexican citizen and married into a prominent Californio family.
Located in Los Angeles County, California's San Gabriel Valley, the Boy Scouts of America's San Gabriel Valley Council (#40) was one of five councils serving Los Angeles County. It was headquartered in Pasadena.
Fawnskin is an unincorporated community in San Bernardino County, California, United States. It is located on the northwest side of Big Bear Valley, in the heart of the San Bernardino Mountains, at an altitude of 6,827 feet (2,081 m). The tiny community has a "permanent" population of 380, and many vacation homes that range from multi-million dollar mansions to decaying log cabins. Fawnskin has its own US Post Office, established on May 18, 1918, but to this day, mail must be picked up because there is no delivery service.
Holcomb Valley is a valley located in the San Bernardino Mountains about five miles north of Big Bear Lake. It was the site of some of the most prolific gold mines in Southern California. It was named after William F. Holcomb, who found gold there in 1860. Holcomb's discovery spurred the largest gold rush in the Southern California region. The boomtown of Belleville was founded near there and flourished for about ten years before being abandoned. The site is now registered as California Historical Landmark #619.
Eremogone ursina is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae known by the common name Bear Valley sandwort.
William Francis "Grizzly Bill" Holcomb, was an American prospector and the first to discover gold in the region which became known as Holcomb Valley, near present-day Big Bear Lake, California. Holcomb Valley had the most gold of any Southern California field. The boomtown of Belleville grew up there and for a time was the third or fourth largest in Southern California. Holcomb was the first justice of the peace in Belleville and later was elected to county offices.
Starvation Flats is an area in the San Bernardino Mountains near Big Bear Lake, California. It was originally a settlement of the Native American Serrano people for thousands of years.
Linanthus killipii, known by the common name Baldwin Lake linanthus, is a rare species of flowering plant in the phlox family.
Belleville, California was a gold mining boomtown in the San Bernardino Mountains of San Bernardino County, California. The settlement grew up rapidly following the discovery of gold by William F. Holcomb in Holcomb Valley early 1860. Which helped the town challenge the seat of San Bernardino County. Belleville was named after Belle, the first child born in the new town. It was a busy mining town for ten years, it was virtually abandoned before the end of the 19th century. It is now a ghost town.
Bear Creek is an approximately 17-mile (27 km) tributary of the Santa Ana River in the San Bernardino Mountains of the U.S. state of California.
Phlox dolichantha is a species of phlox known by the common name Big Bear Valley phlox. It is endemic to San Bernardino County, California, where it is limited to the area around Big Bear Lake in the San Bernardino Mountains. It grows in forests and the unique local pebble plain habitat. It occurs at elevations over 2,000 meters (6,600 ft). It is an erect, branching perennial herb growing up to 30 centimeters (12 in) tall. The linear or narrowly lance-shaped leaves are 2 to 5 centimeters long and are oppositely arranged on the slender stems. The inflorescence is made up of one or more showy flowers at the tip of the stem. Each flower has a very slender tubular throat up to 5 centimeters (2.0 in) long which can be white, pink, or lavender.
Pyrrocoma uniflora is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common name plantain goldenweed. It is native to western North America from central Canada to California to Colorado, where it grows in several types of habitat, including forest and meadows with alkali soils, such as those near hot springs. It is a perennial herb growing up to 40 centimeters tall, the stems reddish and usually with a thin to thick coating of woolly fibers. The lance-shaped, toothed leaves are usually woolly, the largest near the base of the plant reaching up to 12 centimeters in length. The inflorescence is a single flower head or a cluster of a few heads, each lined with woolly phyllaries. The head contains yellow disc and ray florets. The fruit is an achene which may be over a centimeter long including its long pappus.
William Robert "Bob" Holcomb was an American politician and attorney. Holcomb was the longest serving mayor of San Bernardino, California, to date. He held office as San Bernardino's mayor from 1971 until 1985, and returned to office again from 1989 until 1993. Holcomb has been widely credited with preserving the independence of the San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water District and its local water supply.
Big Bear Discovery Center is a regional visitor center and nature center, located in the Big Bear Valley of the San Bernardino Mountains, and within the San Bernardino National Forest, in San Bernardino County, southern California. It is in the Mountaintop Ranger District Office complex of the National Forest.
The Holcomb Fire was a wildfire that burned due north of Big Bear Lake near Highway 18 in the San Bernardino National Forest in San Bernardino County, California. Within several days, the fire would consume some 1,500 plus acres as it threatened the areas of Baldwin Lake and Highway 18. However, while the fire rapidly grew in size, the head of the fire was seen to be moving away from structures, thus leaving evacuated areas under voluntary evacuation.
Big Bear Valley is a valley in San Bernardino County, California, United States. The valley, in the San Bernardino Mountains, includes Big Bear Lake, Big Bear City, Fawnskin, Holcomb Valley, Sugarloaf, Erwin Lake, Baldwin Lake, Bluff Lake and Lake Williams.
Bluff Lake is a lake in the Big Bear Valley of the San Bernardino Mountains, in San Bernardino County, California. It is located southwest of Big Bear Lake reservoir and Big Bear City.
