Near Palm Springs in Riverside County, California — The American West (Pacific Coastal)

The Mountain Rocks

San Jacinto Peak towers over the Peninsular Ranges

Photographed by Adam Margolis, October 16, 2022

1. The Mountain Rocks Marker

Inscription. At 10,834 feet, San Jacinto Peak is the second highest peak in southern California. Its north face rises over the desert floor, creating one of the steepest escarpments in the United States. The peak also helps create a landscape of extremes. Mount San Jacinto State Park is home to the state parks' highest point and within view of its lowest point, the Salton Sea State Recreation Area.

You are standing on remnants of the Southern California Batholith, the rocky backbone of the Peninsular Ranges. Hundreds of millions of years ago, two crustal plates collided. The resulting geological processes caused rock to melt and form magma. As this material cooled it formed the granitic rocks of a batholith deep below Earth's surface.

Several million years ago, movement along the San Andreas and San Jacinto faults uplifted the batholith and created the Peninsular Ranges. Eroded by wind and water, the batholith's jagged crests and rocky outcrops are visible today.

Erected 2012 by California State Parks.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Natural Features.

Location. 33° 48.757′ N, 116° 38.29′ W. Marker is near Palm Springs, California, in Riverside County. It can be reached

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from Tram Way. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1 Tram Way, Palm Springs CA 92262, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Greater Los Angeles,

in the Coachella Valley,

and in the Peninsular Ranges.

It is also in the American Southwest.

Globally, it is in North America,

on the Ring of Fire,

in the Pacific Rim,

in the Western Hemisphere,

in the Western World,

and in the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain

and also Mexico’s Alta California.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 6 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: The Wilderness Before You (within shouting distance of this marker); The Accidental Sea (within shouting distance of this marker); The Valley's Faults (within shouting distance of this marker); Wilderness Preservation (within shouting distance of this marker); Palm Springs Aerial Tramway Valley Station (approx. 2.2 miles away); Original Cabin #2 (approx. 2.2 miles away); Tahquitz Rock History (approx. 4.3 miles away); The Willows (approx. 5.1 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Palm Springs.

Photographed by Adam Margolis, October 16, 2022

2. The Mountain Rocks Marker

Credits. This page was last revised on November 30, 2023. It was originally submitted on November 19, 2022, by Adam Margolis of Mission Viejo, California. This page has been viewed 277 times since then and 22 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on November 19, 2022, by Adam Margolis of Mission Viejo, California. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.

Editor’s want-list for this marker. Photo of the mountain rocks, viewed from the marker. • Can you help?