Saddleback (Orange County, California)

Last updated
An aerial view of Santiago and Modjeska peaks of Saddleback from the west, looking eastward toward the San Jacinto Mountains and beyond Santiago Peak and Modjeska Peak Saddleback photo D Ramey Logan.jpg
An aerial view of Santiago and Modjeska peaks of Saddleback from the west, looking eastward toward the San Jacinto Mountains and beyond

Saddleback, sometimes called Old Saddleback or Saddleback Mountain, [1] is a natural landmark formed by the two highest peaks of the Santa Ana Mountains and the gap between them. Resembling a saddle as viewed from most of Orange County, California, this landform dominates the county's eastern skyline. On the clearest days, Saddleback is visible from most of the Greater Los Angeles area.

Santiago Peak is the highest peak in the range and the highest point in the county at 5,689 ft (1,734 m). [2] Modjeska Peak is the second highest at 5,496 ft (1,675 m). The two peaks form part of the border between Orange and Riverside counties.

The hilly landscape in south Orange County is known colloquially as Saddleback Valley, and hence many institutions are named after Saddleback, including Saddleback Church, Saddleback College, and the Saddleback Valley Unified School District.

The presence of volcanic rocks in Silverado Canyon indicates that Saddleback Mountain was formed prior to the development of the San Andreas Fault, back when a subduction zone occurred where the Pacific Plate went under California.

Related Research Articles

Orange County, California County in California, United States

Orange County is located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California. As of the 2010 census, the population was 3,010,232, making it the third-most populous county in California, the sixth most populous in the U.S., and more populous than 21 U.S. states. Although mostly suburban, it is the second most densely populated county in the state, behind San Francisco County. The county's three most populous cities are Anaheim, Santa Ana, and Irvine, each of which has a population exceeding 300,000. Santa Ana is also the county seat. Six cities in Orange County are on the Pacific coast, including Seal Beach, Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, Laguna Beach, Dana Point, and San Clemente.

Santa Ana Mountains

The Santa Ana Mountains are a short peninsular mountain range along the coast of Southern California in the United States. They extend for approximately 61 miles (98 km) southeast of the Los Angeles Basin largely along the border between Orange and Riverside counties.

Saddleback Valley Large valley in Orange County, California

Saddleback Valley refers to the flat and foothill areas west-southwest of the Saddleback mountain peak of the Santa Ana Mountains and east-northeast of the hilly Crystal Cove State Park in South Orange County, California. The region primarily encompasses the cities of Mission Viejo, Lake Forest, and Rancho Santa Margarita, as well as the communities of Coto de Caza and Ladera Ranch. The cities of Aliso Viejo, Laguna Woods, Laguna Hills, and Laguna Niguel, as well as some of Orange County's eastern canyon communities, partially reside within the valley. The southeastern portion of Irvine also encroaches upon the area, but the two are not typically associated with each other.

Never Summer Mountains Mountain range in Colorado, US

The Never Summer Mountains are a mountain range in the Rocky Mountains in north central Colorado in the United States consisting of seventeen named peaks. The range is located along the northwest border of Rocky Mountain National Park, forming the continental divide between the headwaters of the Colorado River in Rocky Mountain National Park to the local-east and the upper basin of the North Platte River to the local-west; the continental divide makes a loop in these mountains. The range is small and tall, covering only 25 sq mi (65 km2) with a north-south length of 10 mi (16 km) while rising to over 12,000 ft (3,700 m) at over ten distinct peaks. The range straddles the Jackson-Grand county line for most of its length, and stretches into Jackson and Larimer county at its northern end. A panoramic view of the range is available from sections of Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park. One of the northernmost peaks, Nokhu Crags, is prominently visible from the west side of Cameron Pass.

San Emigdio Mountains

The San Emigdio Mountains are a part of the Transverse Ranges in Southern California, extending from Interstate 5 at Lebec and Gorman on the east to Highway 33–166 on the west. They link the Tehachapis and Temblor Range and form the southern wall of the San Joaquin Valley. The range is named after Emygdius, an early Christian martyr.

KSBR Jazz music radio station at Saddleback Community College in Mission Viejo, California

KSBR is a non-commercial educational radio station licensed to Mission Viejo, California and broadcasting to the Orange County area. The station is owned by Saddleback College and airs adult album alternative (AAA) and Americana music with a mix of legends, new music, and local music with some specialty programming on weekends. KSBR is simulcast with KCSN in Northridge, California.

Verbank, New York

Verbank is a hamlet in the town of Union Vale in Dutchess County, New York, United States. Verbank is served by a post office with the ZIP code of 12585; the ZCTA for ZIP Code 12585 had a population of 956 at the 2000 census.

Elfin Forest is an unincorporated residential community of San Diego County, in the foothills of the Santa Rosa Mountains. The community is southwest of Escondido and according to the USGS it is located at 33°04′25″N117°09′51″W in the Escondido ZIP code of 92029. It borders the rural, unincorporated town of Harmony Grove to the northeast, San Marcos to the north and west, Olivenhain to the southwest, and Rancho Santa Fe to the south.

Modjeska Peak

Modjeska Peak is the northern mountain of the Saddleback landform in Orange County California. It is the second-highest peak of the Santa Ana Mountains, after Santiago Peak, whose summit is less than 0.6 mi (0.97 km) to the northwest. Modjeska lies within Cleveland National Forest and, despite being shorter than Santiago, has a smaller peak without manmade structures to obstruct views of the Pacific Ocean and San Gabriel Mountains.

Santiago Peak Mountain in California, USA

Santiago Peak is the southern mountain of the Saddleback landform in Orange County, California. It is the highest and most prominent peak of both the Santa Ana Mountains and Orange County, and also marks a border point with Riverside County. The peak is named for Santiago Creek, which begins on its southwestern slope. During wintertime, snow does fall on the peak. A telecommunication antenna farm with microwave antennas sits atop the peak.

Turtle Rock, Irvine, California

Turtle Rock is a neighborhood in the south part of Irvine, Orange County, California, near Concordia University, Irvine and the University of California, Irvine. It is bounded to the north by University Drive and Mason Regional Park, to the east by the Strawberry Farms Golf Club and Ridgeline Drive, to the south by Shady Canyon Drive, and to the west by Culver Drive. Turtle Rock is one of the five "villages" originally forming Irvine; its 1967 founding is commemorated by a sculpture of a turtle in Turtle Rock Community Park, at the corner of Turtle Rock and Sunnyhill Drives. A two-lane internal loop road, Turtle Rock Drive, encircles the village and carries traffic between housing developments and the city's main streets.

Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana was a 63,414-acre (256.63 km2) Spanish land concession in present-day Orange County, California, given by Spanish Alta California Governor José Joaquín de Arrillaga in 1810 to Jose Antonio Yorba and his nephew Pablo Peralta. The grant extended eastward from the Santa Ana River to the Santa Ana Mountains, with a length of more than 22 miles (35 km).

Santiago Canyon, California Unincorporated area in Orange County, California, United States

Santiago Canyon is a canyon and unincorporated community in Orange County, California. According to the 2000 census, Santiago Canyon has several hundred residents living within its borders. Trabuco Canyon, Silverado Canyon, Modjeska Canyon and Williams Canyon are tributaries of Santiago Canyon. Santiago Creek flows northwest from the canyon, then west into the Santa Ana River. Neighborhoods in Santiago Canyon include Santiago Canyon Estates and Falcon View Estates. The landmark Cook's Corner motorcycle restaurant is also located within Santiago Canyon.

Orange County Council

Founded in 1920 as the Orange County Council, the council was formed by the merger of the North Orange Council (#037) and the Orange Empire Council (#039) in 1972. The North Orange Council was founded in 1944 as the Northern Orange County and changed its name to North Orange in 1965.

Santiago Creek

Santiago Creek is a major watercourse in Orange County in the U.S. state of California. About 34 miles (55 km) long, it drains most of the northern Santa Ana Mountains and is a tributary to the Santa Ana River. It is one of the longest watercourses entirely within the county. The creek shares its name with Santiago Peak, at 5,687 ft (1,733 m) the highest point in Orange County, on whose slopes its headwaters rise.

Rancho Lomas de Santiago was a 47,227-acre (191 km2) Mexican land grant given by Mexican Governor Pío Pico to Teodosio Yorba in 1846. The name means "Hills of St. James". The rancho included parts of present-day Irvine and Tustin in what is now eastern Orange County, California.

Cañada Gobernadora

Cañada Gobernadora is a tributary to San Juan Creek, about 8.5 miles (13.7 km) long, in southern Orange County in the U.S. state of California. The creek begins in the foothills of the Santa Ana Mountains, at an elevation of 1,040 feet (320 m), and flows south through residential, agricultural and finally undeveloped land, to its confluence with San Juan Creek a few miles upstream of the city of San Juan Capistrano. The upper half of the stream is largely channelized and flows through golf courses, while the lower half is a wash-like channel that can be up to 700 feet (210 m) wide. The stream receives some urban runoff from the residential communities higher in its watershed. The watershed includes several geologic formations, including the Tertiary Sespe Formation and Santiago Formation, and Holocene sedimentary and alluvial deposits embedded in its narrow floodplain. Cañada Gobernadora forms an unofficial dividing line for the lower portion of the San Juan watershed; most urban development is confined to west of the creek's valley, while agricultural and undeveloped lands lie to the east of the creek.

San Mateo Creek (Southern California)

San Mateo Creek is a stream in Southern California in the United States, whose watershed mostly straddles the border of Orange and San Diego Counties. It is about 22 miles (35 km) long, flowing in a generally southwesterly direction. Draining a broad valley bounded by the Santa Ana Mountains and Santa Margarita Mountains, San Mateo Creek is notable for being one of the last unchannelized streams in Southern California.

Silverado Canyon

Silverado Canyon is a roughly 2,500-foot-deep gorge in the Santa Ana Mountains, in the U.S. state of California. The small stream it is associated with, Silverado Creek, rises on the north slope of Modjeska Peak at the elevation of 3,980 feet (1,210 m) and flows north and west, past the town of Silverado to join Santiago Creek at 942 feet (287 m) after a journey of just under 5 miles (8.0 km). The main branch, Ladd Canyon, is just over 3 miles (4.8 km) long. Its stream arises on the east flank of Pleasants Peak at about 3,590 feet (1,090 m) and flows southwest into the main stem at about 1,178 feet (359 m) near Silverado. They are part of the Santa Ana River watershed. A hiking trail/fire road runs the entire length of the canyon.

Temescal Mountains

Temescal Mountains, formerly the Sierra Temescal, are one of the northernmost mountain ranges of the Peninsular Ranges in western Riverside County, in Southern California in the United States. They extend for approximately 25 mi (40 km) southeast of the Santa Ana River east of the Elsinore Fault Zone to the Temecula Basin and form the western edge of the Perris Block.

References

  1. "Variant Names of Santiago Peak". Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey . Retrieved 2008-11-28.
  2. "RP 1". NGS data sheet. U.S. National Geodetic Survey . Retrieved 2009-07-16.

Coordinates: 33°42′55″N117°32′29″W / 33.71528°N 117.54139°W / 33.71528; -117.54139