Magic Mountain (California)

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Magic Mountain is a mountain in the western San Gabriel Mountains in Los Angeles County, California. It is part of the Angeles National Forest and the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument. The mountain is the namesake of Six Flags Magic Mountain in nearby Santa Clarita, California. A U.S. Wilderness area of the same name is located on the north slopes of the mountain.

Contents

Magic Mountain
Vasquez Rocks (15877997912) (cropped).jpg
Magic Mountain viewed in the distance from Vasquez Rocks Natural Area Park in Agua Dulce, California.
Highest point
Elevation 4,864 feet (1,487 m) [1]
Prominence 549 feet (168 m) [1]
Isolation 3.02 miles (4.87 km) [1]
Coordinates 34°23′12″N118°19′47″W / 34.38667°N 118.32972°W / 34.38667; -118.32972 [1]
Geography
U.S. - Los Angeles Metropolitan Area location map.svg
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Magic Mountain
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Magic Mountain
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Magic Mountain
Parent range San Gabriel Mountains
Topo map USGS Agua Dulce
Climbing
Easiest route Forest Route 3N17 from Bear Divide, Class 1

History

Name

Magic Mountain was originally known as Iron Mountain on United States Geological Survey topographic maps, first appearing in the year 1900. [2] The name Magic Mountain first appeared on these maps in 1939. [3] [4]

Nike missile site (1955 – 1963)

In 1955, Magic Mountain was selected by Project Nike to be an Integrated Fire Control site for Nike Ajax missiles as part of the Los Angeles Defense Area. Construction included the improvement of the access road to the peak from Bear Divide, [5] installation of water infrastructure, and construction of a transmission line. These projects, along with the IFC technology itself, were completed by the end of 1956 and the base was given the designation LA-98-C. [6] The missile launch site itself was constructed in Lang, just east of Canyon Country. [7]

Army housing for the families of soldiers stationed at Magic Mountain (as well as nearby Los Pinetos) was completed in Sand Canyon in early 1959. [8] The site was operational from 1957 until 1961, when the missile launch site at Lang was upgraded to use Nike Hercules missiles but control was transferred to another nearby IFC site. [6]

Marquardt Corporation laboratory (1964 – 1970)

The former IFC site was transferred back to the US Forest Service after 1962, before being leased out to the Marquardt Corporation. Marquardt constructed their Rocket Test Laboratory on the peak. They chose this site to test "highly reactive or toxic propellants" at a safe distance from the populated areas their existing test sites were located in, such as Saugus and Van Nuys. [9] The lab was dedicated on October 30, 1964. [10] While in operation, various tests were conducted at the site as part of the Apollo program. [11]

In December 1967, three residents of the San Fernando Valley died in a plane crash on the mountainside. [12]

Recent history (1970 – Present)

In the 1980s, Phil Gillibrand of the P.W. Gillibrand Company made plans to strip mine ilmenite and magnetite at multiple sites in what would later become the Magic Mountain Wilderness between the peak and Soledad Canyon. [13] These plans were approved in 1991 but never materialized. [14]

Following the closure of the Marquardt lab, management of the peak was once again returned to the Forest Service. The Magic Mountain Wilderness area and the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument were established in 2009 and 2014, respectively. [15] [16]

Geography

Magic Mountain is located in the western San Gabriel Mountains, as well as the Angeles National Forest and the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument. The most common ascent route starts at Bear Divide, a mountain pass between Canyon Country and the San Fernando Valley, and follows Forest Service Road 3N17, a paved but unmaintained fire road. [17] This road is currently closed to motor vehicles indefinitely but open to non-motorized transportation such as hikers or mountain bikers. [18]

Magic Mountain Wilderness

12,282 acres of undisturbed land on the north slopes of the mountain were designated as the Magic Mountain Wilderness by the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009. [19] Representative Buck McKeon, who led a last-minute effort to add the mountain to the bill, [20] described the land around Magic Mountain as "some of the most magnificent in California and the country." [15]

The peak itself is excluded from the wilderness area due to the improvements made by Project Nike and Marquardt. [21]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Magic Mountain, California". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved August 30, 2024.
  2. ↑ "1900 Map of San Fernando" . Retrieved 1 September 2024.
  3. ↑ "Little Tujunga Quadrangle, 1934". National Geologic Map Database, USGS . Retrieved 2024-08-30.
  4. ↑ "Little Tujunga Quadrangle map, Los Angeles County, 1939". CSUN University Library Digital Collections. Retrieved 2024-08-30.
  5. ↑ Benson, W.T.; Engel, A.L.; Heinen, H.J. (23 April 1962). "Titaniferous Magnetite Deposits, Los Angeles County, Calif" (PDF). United States Bureau of Mines .
  6. 1 2 Hatheway, Roger; Schilz, Alan P.; Van Wormer, Stephen (February 1987). "Historical Cultural Resources Survey and Evaluation of the Nike Missile Sites in the Angeles National Forest, Los Angeles County, California" (PDF). Defense Technical Information Center .
  7. ↑ "SCVHistory.com LW2611 | Lang | Map: Nike Missile Battery; DTSC Cleanup Site". scvhistory.com. Retrieved 2024-08-30.
  8. ↑ "SCVHistory.com AP0825 | Nike Bases | Dedication of Army Housing in Sand Canyon, 1959". scvhistory.com. Retrieved 2024-09-01.
  9. ↑ Coulbert, C.D.; FioRito, R.J. (11 June 1969). "Space Storable Thrustor Investigation" (PDF). National Aeronautics and Space Administration .
  10. ↑ "Address by dr. george e. mueller, associate administrator for manned space flight, national aeronautics and space administration, at the dedication of the magic mountain laboratory of the marquardt corporation, van nuys, california, october 30, 1964". NASA Technical Reports Server. Retrieved August 30, 2024.
  11. ↑ Brooks, Courtney G.; Grimwood, James M.; Swenson Jr., Loyd S. (1979). Chariots for Apollo. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. p. 157.
  12. ↑ "Plane Crash Kills Three from Valley". Van Nuys News. 3 December 1967. Retrieved 1 September 2024.
  13. ↑ Warnagieris, Greg (5 April 1987). "Mining Plans Irk Neighbors". The Newhall Signal and Saugus Enterprise . Retrieved 1 September 2024.
  14. ↑ Whyte, Tim (18 November 1991). "Forest Service Approves Titanium Mining Proposal". The Newhall Signal and Saugus Enterprise . Retrieved 1 September 2024.
  15. 1 2 "U.S. Rep. Howard "Buck" McKeon Press Conference: Passage of the Eastern Sierra and Northern San Gabriel Mountains Wild Heritage Act". scvtv.com. 27 March 2009. Retrieved 2024-08-31.
  16. ↑ Barron-Lopez, Laura (2014-10-10). "Obama names new national monument". The Hill. Retrieved 2024-08-31.
  17. ↑ "Strava's Global Heatmap". Strava. Retrieved 2024-08-31.
  18. ↑ "Angeles National Forest - Alerts & Closures". US Forest Service . July 11, 2024. Retrieved August 30, 2024.
  19. ↑ "Magic Mountain Wilderness". US Forest Service . Retrieved 31 August 2024.
  20. ↑ Cart, Julie (2009-02-15). "Bill would protect (the other) Magic Mountain". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2024-08-31.
  21. ↑ Hoover, Katie; Johnson, Sandra L. (January 17, 2018). Wilderness: Issues and Legislation (PDF). Washington, DC: Congressional Resrach Service. Retrieved 27 January 2018.
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