Gabilan Range
| Gabilan Range | |
|---|---|
| Gabilán Range | |
 Gabilan Range panorama. | |
| Highest point | |
| Peak | Fremont Peak |
| Elevation | 1,053 m (3,455 ft) |
| Geography | |
  Location of Gabilan Range in California[1] | |
| Country | United States |
| State | California |
| District | San Benito County & Monterey County |
| Range coordinates | 36°36′39.864″N 121°18′52.750″W / 36.61107333°N 121.31465278°W |
| Topo map | USGS Mount Johnson |
The Gabilan Range is a mountain range in the U.S. state of California. It is near the central coast of California in Monterey and San Benito counties. The Gabilan Range is part of the larger California Coast Ranges. The word Gabilán is Spanish for sparrowhawk.[2][3][4] Pinnacles National Park is in the southern section of the range.
Geography[change | change source]
The Gabilan Range goes from northwest to southeast along the border of Monterey County and San Benito County. It is bordered on the east by the Diablo Range, the San Andreas Fault, and State Route 25; and on the west by the Salinas Valley, Santa Lucia Range, and U.S. Route 101. The northern limit of the Gabilan Range is just south of Pinecate Peak[5] and San Juan Bautista, California.[6]
Fremont Peak, which is 3,455 feet (1,053 m) high, is the range's highest point. There are several other peaks also over 3,000 feet (910 m) in the range.
History[change | change source]
In Spanish, gavilán (gabilan is an older spelling) means "sparrow hawk".[7][8] Hawks, especially the red-tailed hawk, are common in the range.
The Gabilan Mountains and other nearby places are mentioned in several novels by John Steinbeck, such as Of Mice and Men and East of Eden. In The Red Pony, the main character (Jody Tiflin) names his pony "Gabilan" after the mountain range.
Fremont Peak was named for John C. Frémont, an American explorer and a Captain in the U.S. Army Corps of Topographical Engineers. He traveled to the peak in 1846 to decide if it was useful for the U.S. military against Mexico. It is now a California State Park.[9]
Ecology[change | change source]
Wild animals can travel through a relatively undeveloped area between the southern Santa Cruz Mountains and the northern Gabilan Range. This area extends from Mount Pajaro in southern Santa Cruz County and Rancho Juristac in southern Santa Clara County, to lands between Pinecate Peak[10] and San Juan Bautista in San Benito County. California State Route 129 and U.S. Highway 101 cross this area.[11] In 2020, The Land Trust of Santa Cruz County bought the first block of land intended to protect the Santa Cruz Mountains-Gabilan Range Wildlife Corridor: the 2,640 acres (4.13 sq mi) Rocks Ranch in Aromas at the border of San Benito and Monterey counties.[12]
References[change | change source]
- ↑ "Gabilan Range". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 2009-05-04.
- ↑ Napa Valley Register - San Benito - California's Hidden Wine Region
- ↑ Historic Spots in California (1966; Hero Eugene Rensch, Ethel Grace Rensch, Mildred Brooke Hoover)
- ↑ Wines & Vines Analytics - Central Coast Vineyard Changes Hands
- ↑ "Pinecate Peak". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.
- ↑ Ross, D.C. (1972). Geologic Map of the Pre-Cenozoic Basement Rocks, Gabilan Range, Monterey and San Benito Counties, California, USGS Miscellaneous Field Investigations Map MF-357 (Report). U.S. Geological Survey. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
- ↑ Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. pp. 133.
- ↑ Gudde, Edwin G. (2004). California place names: The origin and etymology of current geographical names. Berkeley and Los Angeles, California: University of California Press. p. 140. ISBN 0-520-24217-3.
- ↑ "Fremont Peak State Park". Retrieved December 17, 2021.
- ↑ "Pinecate Peak". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.
- ↑ Critical Linkages: Bay Area & Beyond (PDF) (Report). Fair Oaks, California: Science & Collaboration for Connected Wildlands. 2013. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
{{cite report}}: Cite uses deprecated parameter|authors=(help) - ↑ Juan Reyes (September 14, 2020). "Rocks Ranch property sold to Land Trust". The Pajaronian. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
Other websites[change | change source]
