Palomar Mountain ( / ˈ p æ l ə m ɑːr / PAL -ə-mar ; Spanish : Monte Palomar [paloˈmaɾ] ) is a mountain ridge in the Peninsular Ranges in northern San Diego County, California . It is known as the location of Palomar Observatory and Hale Telescope, and known for Palomar Mountain State Park .
30-525: The Luiseño name for Palomar Mountain was Paauw and High Point was called Wikyo . The Spanish name Palomar , meaning "pigeon roost" or “place of the pigeons”, comes from the Spanish colonial era in Alta California when Palomar Mountain was known as the home of band-tailed pigeons . The peak was once called Mount Joseph Smith but reverted to its Spanish name, Palomar, in 1901. During
60-455: A California State Park . There are campgrounds for vacationers, and a campground for local school children until San Diego Unified School District was forced to close it due to state budget cuts. The park averages 70,000 visitors annually. The campgrounds in the park were temporarily closed on October 2, 2011, due to state budget cuts. The park was among 70 California State Parks threatened by budget cuts in fiscal years 2011-2012 and 2012-2013, but
90-574: A Catholic priest. His orthography leaned heavily on Spanish, which he learned in his youth. Although Luiseño has no standardized spelling, a commonly accepted orthography is implemented in reservation classrooms and college campuses in San Diego where the language is taught. The alphabet taught in schools is: Current orthography marks stress with an acute accent on the stressed syllable's vowel, e.g. chil ú y "speak Spanish", koy óo wut "whale". Formerly, stress might be marked on both letters of
120-733: A forest of oak, pine, fir and cedar on large swaths of the mountain. The upper elevations of the Palomar Mountain range have notably different habitats than its lower elevation foothills. The lower regions are in the California montane chaparral and woodlands sub-ecoregion, adapted to the xeric/dry Mediterranean climate with chaparral and woodlands flora. The higher regions are in the California mixed evergreen forest sub-ecoregion, with California black oaks , closed-cone pines , firs, and other California oaks and conifers . Higher elevations receive considerably more moisture than
150-457: A glottal stop instead: ch [ʔt͜ʃ] , kw [ʔkʷ] , qw [ʔqʷ] , ng [ŋʔ] , th [ðʔ] , v [vʔ] , x [xʔ] (Elliot 1999: 14–16.) As a rule, the possessive prefixes are unstressed. The accent remains on the first syllable of the root word, e.g. no kaa may "my son" and never * no kaamay . One rare exception is the word pó -ha "alone" (< po- "his/her/its" + ha "self"), whose invariable prefix and fixed accent suggests that it
180-604: A graduate-level Cal State San Bernardino Luiseño class, one of the few for-credit university indigenous-language courses in the country." In 2012, a Luiseño video game for the Nintendo DS was being used to teach the language to young people. Juaneño, the Luiseño dialect spoken by the Acjachemen , went extinct at an earlier date. Linguist John Peabody Harrington made a series of recordings of speakers of Luiseño in
210-474: A long vowel, e.g. koy óó wut , or by underlining, e.g. koy oo wut "whale"; stress was not marked when it fell on the first syllable, e.g. h ii cha "what" (currently h íi cha ). The marking of word-initial stress, like the marking of predictable glottal stop, is a response to language revitalization efforts. The various orthographies that have been used for writing the language show influences from Spanish, English and Americanist phonetic notation . Luiseño
240-637: A popular tourist route called Harrison's grade . According to an article by Daniel Weiss, "Harrison was briefly married twice, both times to Luiseño Indian women who were part of a community that lived on the mountain," and he was baptized into the Catholic faith "by a Luiseño chief in Rincon who had converted to Catholicism." Harrison's tall tales of the mountain's fauna, including his overcoming of countless grizzlies and aggressive mountain lions, and his blithesome, joking disposition, made him locally famous among
270-539: A relatively short 52 miles to the north, in San Bernardino County , the 10,000 feet (3,000 m) San Jacinto Mountains 30 miles north in Riverside County and the 14,500 feet (4,420 m) high Mount Whitney some 250 mi (402 km) farther north. High Point is located approximately two miles east of the observatory. However, it is not accessible by the public from that direction as
300-460: Is also a point of interest. Tree species found on the mountain peak include Jeffrey pine , ponderosa pine , white fir , incense cedar , and sugar pine . From 2010 through 2012, the mountain and the surrounding land were leased by the tribe to a military training business, Eagle Rock Training Center. The business was evicted in early 2012 at the conclusion of an acrimonious court dispute. This San Diego County, California –related article
330-764: Is an agglutinative language, where words use suffix complexes for a variety of purposes with several morphemes strung together. The Lord's Prayer (or the Our Father) in Luiseño, as recorded in The Sparkman Grammar of Luiseño . Hot Springs Mountain Hot Springs Mountain is a peak in the Peninsular Ranges in San Diego County, California . The mountain rises to an elevation of 6,533 feet (1,991 m) and
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#1732782856932360-557: Is now considered a single lexical item (compare no ha "myself", po ha "him/herself", etc.). Luiseño has a fairly rich consonant inventory. Along with an extensive oral tradition , Luiseño has a written tradition that stretches back to the Spanish settlement of San Diego. Pablo Tac (1822–1841), a native Luiseño speaker and Mission Indian, was the first to develop an orthography for his native language while studying in Rome to be
390-471: Is the highest point in the county. Some snow falls on the mountain peak during winter. It is located in a remote region of the county, four miles from the community of Warner Springs , 12 miles from Borrego Springs , and 50 miles from San Diego . The mountain and its immediate surroundings belong to the Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla and Cupeno Indians . The summit and fire tower can be hiked via
420-666: Is visible, along with the Salton Sea . Visible to the south is Cuyamaca Peak , the second highest point in San Diego County. On a very clear day, urban San Diego can be seen across the mountains. Finally, to the west, the extreme vastness of the Pacific Ocean is visible, even Catalina Island . The furthest point visible is the Topatopa Mountains of Ventura County over 150 miles away. Palomar Mountain
450-495: The allophones [ə] and [ɨ] are free variants of [e] and [i] respectively. However, other speakers do not use these variants. Sparkman records fewer than 25 Luiseño words with either [ə] or [ɨ] . For one of these words ( ixíla "a cough") the pronunciations [ ə xɨla] and [ ɨ xɨla] are both recorded. Unstressed [u] freely varies with [o] . Likewise, unstressed [i] and [e] are free variants. Vowels are often syncopated when attaching certain affixes , notably
480-473: The 1890s, the population was sufficient to support three public schools , and it was a popular summer resort for Southern California , with three hotels in operation part of the time, and a tent city in Doane Valley each summer. Nathan Harrison, the first African American homesteader in San Diego area, purchased several acres on the western slope of the mountain in the 1880s and graded a road that became
510-812: The 1930s. Those recordings, made on aluminum disks , were deposited in the United States National Archives . They have since been digitized and made available over the internet by the Smithsonian Institution . Luiseño has ten vowel phonemes , five long and five short. Diphthongs include ey [ej] , ow [ow] and oow [oːw] . Luiseño vowels have three lengths. Overlong vowels are rare in Luiseño, typically reserved for absolutes, such as interjections , e.g. aaa shisha , roughly "haha!" (more accurately an exclamation of praise, joy or laughter). For some native speakers recorded in The Sparkman Grammar of Luiseño ,
540-869: The Oak Grove Trail, the oldest established trail on the Palomar Ranger District. The hike is 13.5 miles roundtrip. There is an operational USFS fire lookout tower on High Point, built in 1964. It is 70 feet tall, making it the tallest USFS fire tower in California. It was brought back into service in 2009 and is staffed by the San Diego/Riverside County Chapter of the FFLA Forest Fire Lookout Association - San Diego/Riverside . Other local peaks include: South Grade Road,
570-672: The State Park, is home to the Camp Palomar Outdoor School for 6th grade students in San Diego Unified School District. At the base of Palomar Mountain on County Route S6 is Oak Knoll Campground, formerly known as Palomar Gardens. In the 1950s and 1960s, Palomar Gardens was made famous by its owner and resident, UFO contactee George Adamski . Adamski had a self-built, wooden observatory at Palomar Gardens and photographed objects in
600-526: The Sukat Road route from the campground. Hikers and campers must pay an entry fee to access the area. The peak offers views of San Diego, Riverside, San Bernardino , and Imperial counties on a clear day. To the north, Mount San Jacinto and Mount San Gorgonio can be seen, and on a very clear day, Mount Baldy ( Mount San Antonio ) can be seen too. Toro Peak and San Rosa Mountain are visible due northeast. Looking east, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park
630-506: The coastal and inland valley lower slopes, with 30–35 in (76–89 cm) of precipitation. They can also receive snow from winter storms. Luise%C3%B1o language The Luiseño language is a Uto-Aztecan language of California spoken by the Luiseño , a Native American people who at the time of first contact with the Spanish in the 16th century inhabited the coastal area of southern California, ranging 50 miles (80 km) from
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#1732782856932660-491: The county's travelers. Palomar Mountain is most famous as the home of Palomar Observatory which includes the Hale Telescope . The 200-inch telescope was the world's largest and most important telescope from 1949 until 1992. The observatory currently has four large telescopes, the most recent one being a 40-in robotic infrared one operational since 2021. Palomar Mountain is the location of Palomar Mountain State Park,
690-399: The monster in a lake. High Point, in the Palomar Mountain range, is one of the highest peaks in San Diego County. At an elevation of 6,140 feet (1,871 m), it is surpassed by Cuyamaca Peak (at 6,512 feet (1,985 m)) and Hot Springs Mountain (the county's highest point, at 6,533 feet (1,991 m)). They are dwarfed by the higher 11,500 feet (3,505 m) San Bernardino Mountains
720-405: The night sky that he claimed were UFOs. Adamski co-authored the bestselling Flying Saucers Have Landed in 1953, about his alleged alien encounter experiences, and in particular his meetings with a friendly "Space Brother" from Venus named Orthon. The 1977 film The Crater Lake Monster had many scenes filmed on Palomar Mountain, including scenes shot at the summit restaurant, but not the scenes of
750-406: The observatory itself and adjacent land are private property, and the road to High Point from the observatory is blocked by a permanently closed gate. It may be reached via Palomar Divide Truck Trail, a dirt road that starts off Highway 79 near Warner Springs, California . The trip is 13 miles one way with 3000 feet of elevation gain via Palomar Divide Truck Trail. High Point can also be hiked on
780-444: The park and the campgrounds remain open. Palomar Mountain, especially in the state park area, is densely wooded with abundant oak and conifer tree species (pine, cedar, fir). Ferns are abundant everywhere in the shady forest. The forest is supported by annual precipitation totals in excess of 30 inches. Beginning in the 1920s a fire lookout tower has been present on Boucher Hill on Palomar Mountain. The tower had been active until it
810-418: The possessive prefixes no- "my", cham- "our", etc. Hence p o lóv "good", but o-plovi "your goodness"; kich u m "houses" ( nominative case ), but kichmi "houses" ( accusative case ). A stress accent most commonly falls on the first syllable of a word. A single consonant between a stressed and unstressed vowel is doubled. Most are geminate, such as w [wː] and xw [xːʷ] . However, some take
840-672: The southern part of Los Angeles County , California , to the northern part of San Diego County , California , and inland 30 miles (48 km). The people are called "Luiseño", owing to their proximity to the Mission San Luis Rey de Francia . The language went extinct in the early 2010's, but an active language revitalization project is underway, assisted by linguists from the University of California, Riverside . The Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians offers classes for children, and in 2013, "the tribe ... began funding
870-751: The stretch of San Diego County Route S6 going from State Route 76 to the summit provides access with over 20 hairpin turns over the distance of less than 7 mi (11 km). According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Palomar Mountain has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate , abbreviated "Csa" on climate maps. Annual precipitation on the mountain averages 30–35 inches (highly variable from year to year), mostly falling between October and April. Snow falls during cold winter storms. Summers are mostly dry, except for thunderstorms in July to early September. The humid climate supports
900-453: Was abandoned in 1983 and then was reactivated when the San Diego/Riverside County Chapter of the FFLA Forest Fire Lookout Association - San Diego/Riverside Chapter began manning it in 2012. Boucher Hill sees more than 11,000 visitors a season. The tower opens around May 1 in conjunction with the fire season and closes in early December. During this period the tower is typically staffed 7 days a week from 9am to 5pm. Doane Valley, located within
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