Cobb Mountain

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Cobb Mountain
Cobb Mountain.jpg
Highest point
Elevation 4723+ ft (1440+ m)  NAVD 88 [1]
Prominence 3,160 ft (963 m) [1]
Parent peak Crockett Peak
Listing California county high point 42nd
Coordinates 38°48′27″N122°44′26″W / 38.8074045°N 122.740546°W / 38.8074045; -122.740546 [2]
Geography
Relief map of California.png
Red triangle with thick white border.svg
Cobb Mountain
Location in California
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Cobb Mountain
Cobb Mountain (the United States)
Location Lake County, California, U.S.
Parent range Mayacamas Mountains
Topo map USGS Whispering Pines
Geology
Mountain type Lava dome
Southwest peak seen from the helipad to the south Cobb Moutain SW peak 4777.png
Southwest peak seen from the helipad to the south

Cobb Mountain is the tallest mountain in the Mayacamas Mountains of California.

Contents

Location

Cobb Mountain's 4,723 feet (1,440 m) main summit [1] is located in Lake County, west of the town of Cobb. Like nearby Mount Saint Helena, Cobb Mountain is tall enough to receive winter snowfall. [3] The mountain has a sub-peak referred to as Cobb Mountain – Southwest Peak with an elevation of about 4483+ feet, (1367+ m)  NAVD 88 ; [4] Southwest Peak lies on the Sonoma-Lake county line and is the highest point in Sonoma County. Nearby taller peaks like Mount Saint Helena and Snow Mountain can be seen from this summit. [5]

Cobb Mountain is one of the mountains in the Cobb Mountain Area, many of which have volcanic origin. Others are Boggs Mountain, Mount Hannah and Seigler Mountain. There are isolated small valleys and basins between the mountain peaks. [6]

The east end of Cobb Mountain drains into the headwaters of Putah Creek, then into the Sacramento River, the San Francisco Bay, and the Pacific Ocean. The south slopes of Cobb Mountain drain into Anderson Creek, and thence into Putah Creek. The southwest slopes of Cobb Mountain drain into Cobb Creek, thence into Big Sulphur Creek, the Russian River, and into the Pacific. The northwest slopes of Cobb Mountain drain into Alder Creek, thence into Kelsey Creek, Clear Lake, Cache Creek, and the Sacramento River. The northeast slopes of Cobb Mountain drain into Kelsey Creek. [7]

Much of Cobb Mountain lies within The Geysers Geothermal Field, and several geothermal plants are located on the mountain. Other areas on the mountain are owned by Cobb Mountain Spring Water (now sold as Mayacamas Mountain Spring Water) or are privately held timberlands. Because much of Cobb Mountain is privately owned, it is largely not accessible to the general public.

History

The mountain is named after John Cobb, the first pioneer to settle in the area. Cobb was born in Henry County, Kentucky on May 19, 1814. In 1853 he arrived in California and homesteaded in Cobb Valley and went on to become the county assessor and the road overseer for the Clearlake District in 1855. He built a combined saw and gristmill in 1859, which was later destroyed by fire. He sold his interests and moved to Napa County around 1860. [8]

The Cobb Mountain area was devastated in 2015 by the Valley Fire, including much of the town of Cobb, as well as several geothermal facilities. The catastrophic fire, the third-most destructive in California's history, started on Cobb Mountain as the result of faulty hot tub wiring according to Cal Fire. Four people died and a total 76,000 acres (31,000 ha) were burned over. [9]

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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.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "Cobb Mountain, California". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 2009-07-05.
  2. "Cobb Mountain". Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior . Retrieved 2009-07-05.
  3. "Subsection M261Be Konocti Flows". USDA, Forest Service. Archived from the original on 2011-09-22. Retrieved 2007-10-07.
  4. "Cobb Mountain-Southwest Peak, California". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 2009-07-05.
  5. Height and visual lines-of-sight are based on Google Earth images.
  6. Lake County Planning Department 1989, p. 3.1.
  7. Whispering Pines quadrangle, California (Map). 1:24000. 7.5 Minute Topographic. USGS . Retrieved 2010-01-04.
  8. Mauldin, Henry (1995). Mountains & Pioneers of Lake County. Kelseyville, CA: Earthen Vessels Productions, Inc. p. 10. ISBN   978-1-887400-22-0.
  9. Stoneberg, David (2016-08-10). "Faulty hot tub blamed for last fall's massive Valley Fire". Napa Valley Register. Napa Valley, California. Retrieved 2021-10-29.

Sources