In the early days of settlement of Lake County, the mountain was called Harbin Mountain after a settler named James M. Harbin who around 1856 took control of the land occupied by the Harbin Hot Springs, and gave his name to the springs and the mountain.[1] An 1890 description by the State Mineralogist used this name to refer to the mountain.[2] Later the mountain took the name Boggs Mountain.[3] This name honors Henry C. Boggs (1820–1898), an early settler and entrepreneur in Lake County.[4] The name Harbin Mountain survives, referring to a high point above Harbin Hot Springs on a ridge that comes down to the south from Boggs Mountain.[5][lower-alpha 1]
Location
Topo map showing Boggs Mountain between Kelsey Creek and Putah Creek to the southwest, and Big Canton Creek to the northeast
Boogs Mountain is located in Lake County, California. It is 3,740 feet (1,140m) high, in the heart of the Mayacamas Mountains, facing the 4,728 feet (1,441m)Cobb Mountain across Cobb Valley.[7] The mountains are in the California Coast Ranges.[8] Boggs Mountain is one of the mountains in the Cobb Mountain Area, many of which have volcanic origin. Others are Cobb Mountain, the most dominant, Mount Hannah and Seigler Mountain. There are isolated small valleys and basins between the mountain peaks.[9]
A deep gap more than 1,500 feet (460m) deep separates Boggs Mountain from the taller Cobb Mountain to the west.[10] A ridge runs southeast from Mount Hannah to Boggs Mountain, separating Seigler Creek from Kelsey Creek.[11] Boggs Mountain forms a topographical divide separating Big Canyon Creek to the east from Kelsey Creek to the west.[4]
Description
Boggs Mountain is an elongated rolling highland.[12] The mountain takes the form of a simple ridge crest from which long spurs run southeast to Putah Creek.[2] It is a prominent feature at the southeast end of the Clear Lake Volcanic Field.[13] Around 3,000 feet (910m) above sea level the topography levels out. The upper part of the mountain is similar to a plateau cut by several drainage channels.[4]
The mountain is capped with andesitic lavas covering about 5 square miles (13km2).[12] The well-drained soils have been formed from volcanic materials that overlay the Franciscan assemblage, which include sandstone, shale, chert, greenstone and igneous and metamorphics, including serpentinite.[14]
Forestry
Bogg Mountain State Forest, Cobb Mountain in background
Henry C. Boggs was an early settler in Lake County who was active in ranching, property, timber and banking in the late 19th century.[4] In 1878 he bought timberland tracts within what is now Boggs Mountain Demonstration State Forest.[15] He and his partners began logging the Boggs Mountain in the early 1880s, the first known use by Europeans.[16] From 1880 to 1885 one of his sons ran two sawmills on the northeast of the mountain.[17] Lumber was need for underground supports in the borax mine at Borax Lake, north of Clearlake, and in the Sulphur Bank Mine. Wood was also needed for the mines' reducing furnaces. Most of this came from the volcanic uplands of Kelsey Creek and neighboring watersheds.[18]
By the end of the 19th century most of the prime timber in the Boggs Mountain area had been cleared, and the land was mainly being used for pasturage rather than timber.[18] As of 1890 the higher crest of the mountain was volcanic and still densely timbered. Lower down the spurs were unaltered or slightly altered sandstone and shales, with scattered oaks, partly covered with chamise.[2]
Jim McCauley became the owner of the mountain in the 1920s. In the 1920s and 1930s he limited logging in the forest to scattered, over-mature trees, with no clear cutting.[19] When McCauley died in 1941 his property was divided between seven nieces and nephews.[20] In the mid-1940s a major fire swept through the northwestern part of the Boggs Mountain forest.[20] In 1944 MCauley's Calso Company sold the timber rights of almost 3,000 acres (1,200ha) of the Boggs Mountain forest to Setzer Forest Products Inc. Setzer Forest Products did not start logging until 1947.[20] After World War II (1939–1945) there was a boom in construction, and all the usable old-growth and secondary forest was clear cut.[18]
The 3,453 acres (1,397ha)Boggs Mountain Demonstration State Forest covers the relatively flat top of Boggs Mountain.[21] The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) purchased the land in 1949.[22] The state bought the land for just $38,700 because it held no timber of commercial value.[18] The 200 acres (81ha) Boggs Mountain Inner Coast Range Reserve has steeper slopes that have virtually undisturbed vegetation. It is under a conservation easement with the Napa County Land Trust.[23] The Valley Fire of 6 October 2015 burned many of the trees on the mountain.[7]
Notes
↑ The 1890 description says Harbin's Spring are in a little valley immediately south of Mount Esther, a small peak on one of the spurs of the mountain.[6] Possibly Mount Esther is what is called Harbin Mountain today
Goodyear, W.A. (1890), "Lake County", Report of the State Mineralogist, San Francisco: California Department of Conservation, Division of Mines and Geology
Lake County is a county located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 68,163. The county seat is Lakeport. The county takes its name from Clear Lake, the dominant geographic feature in the county and the largest non-extinct natural lake wholly within California.
Cobb is a census designated place (CDP) in Lake County, California, United States. Cobb is located 1 mile (1.6 km) northwest of Whispering Pines, at an elevation of 2,631 feet (802 m). The population was 1,778 at the 2010 census, up from 1,638 at the 2000 census.
Lassen National Forest is a United States national forest of 1,700 square miles (4,300 km2) in northeastern California. It is named after pioneer Peter Lassen, who mined, ranched and promoted the area to emigrant parties in the 1850s.
Cobb Mountain is the tallest mountain in the Mayacamas Mountains of California.
Big Sulphur Creek is a westward-flowing stream in northern Sonoma County, California, United States, which springs from The Geysers in the Mayacamas Mountains and runs 20 miles (32 km) to empty into the Russian River.
Boggs Mountain Demonstration State Forest is a state forest in Lake County, California that covers the northwest of Boggs Mountain. It was founded in 1949, and came into operation in 1950 when most of the site had been clear cut. The purpose was to demonstrate good practices in restoring and managing a forest. The state forest was open for recreational use, including camping, hiking, mountain biking etc. The 2015 Valley Fire destroyed 80% of the trees. The state forest as of 2021 was replanting saplings.
The Boggs Lake Ecological Reserve is a nature reserve in Lake County, California. The land area is about one quarter of a square mile and contains a large vernal pool as well as endangered plants such as the Boggs Lake hedge-hyssop.
The Golden Trout Wilderness is a federally designated wilderness area in the Sierra Nevada, in Tulare County and Inyo County, California. It is located 40 miles (64 km) east of Porterville within Inyo National Forest and Sequoia National Forest.
Adams is an unincorporated community in Lake County, California. It was formerly Adams Springs, a summer resort developed around a small group of mineral water springs.
Forest Lake Resort was a resort in the Cobb Mountain area of Lake County, California, in an area of wet meadows along Kelsey Creek. Originally a campground, it was developed into a resort in the 1930s to exploit the growing automobile-based recreation market. The resort was sold in 1963. By 1989 it was longer operational, and was being considered for development as a community park site.
Glenbrook was a resort in Lake County, California. It was located 10 miles (16 km) south-southeast of Kelseyville, at an elevation of 2293 feet.
Soquel Demonstration State Forest is one of eight Cal Fire–operated Demonstration State Forests, which total 71,000 acres (29,000 ha).
The Valley Fire was a wildfire during the 2015 California wildfire season that started on September 12 in Lake County, California. It began shortly after 1:00 pm near Cobb with multiple reports of a small brush fire near the intersection of High Valley and Bottlerock Roads. It quickly spread and by 6:30 PM PDT, it had burned more than 10,000 acres (40 km2). By Sunday, the thirteenth of September, the fire had reached 50,000 acres (202 km2) and had destroyed much of Cobb, Middletown, Whispering Pines, and parts in the south end of Hidden Valley Lake. The fire ultimately spread to 76,067 acres (308 km2), killed four people and destroyed nearly 2,000 buildings, before it was fully contained on October 15, 2015, causing at least $921 million in insured property damage. At the time, the fire was the third-most destructive fire in California history, based on the total structures burned, but the Camp Fire (2018) and the North Complex fire in 2020, exceeded that total.
Mountain Home Demonstration State Forest (MHDSF) is a state forest located on Bear Creek Road (Tulare County Route 220), 28 km (17 mi) northeast of Springville in Tulare County, California. The protected land covers an area of 4,807 acres (19 km2) with an elevation range between 1,463 m (4,800 ft) and 2,377.5 m (7,800 ft). The forest is best known for its namesake giant sequoia grove, Mountain Home Grove, which is home to some of the largest giant sequoias in the world.
Henry Carroll Boggs was a farmer, businessman and banker who was prominent in Lake County, California in the late 19th century. His name was given to Boggs Mountain and Boggs Lake.
Kelsey Creek is a watercourse in Lake County, California, United States, that feeds Clear Lake from the south. Originally forest-covered, the watershed has been converted in the lower parts to farmland and for urban use. Higher up, the forests have been cleared, regrown, and cleared again. The northern part of the creek flows through a geothermal field that feeds power plants and hot springs. The wooded Cobb area in the higher part of the watershed was once home to resorts as early as the 1850s.
Seigler Mountain is a mountain in the Mayacamas Mountains of the Northern California Coast Ranges. It is in Lake County, California.
Mount Hannah is a mountain in the Mayacamas Mountains of the Northern California Coast Ranges. It is in Lake County, California.
Big Canyon Creek is a creek in Lake County, California. It is a tributary of Putah Creek.
Harbin Mountain is a mountain in Lake County, California. It may be seen as a high point on a spur of Boggs Mountain or as a connected mountain to the southeast of Boggs Mountain.
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