The Santa Margarita Mountains are a

mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have arise ...

, part of the larger

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 southeast of the Los Angeles Basin largely along the border between Orange and Riverside co ...

in the

Peninsular Ranges The Peninsular Ranges (also called the Lower California province) are a group of mountain ranges that stretch from Southern California to the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula; they are part of the North American Coast Ranges, which ...

System. They are located in the coastal

North County North County is a region in the northern area of San Diego County, California. It is the second-most populous region in the county (after San Diego), with an estimated population of 869,322. North County is well known for its affluence, especial ...

region of

San Diego County San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,298,634, making it California's second-most populous county and the fi ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. They are bounded on the northwest by San Mateo Creek, on the northeast by Teneja Canyon Creek, on the east by De Luz Creek and on the south by

Las Pulgas Canyon Camp Las Pulgas also called 43 Area Camp Pendleton is subcamp of Camp Pendleton, California. The camp was built during World War 2. The camp was used for training US Marines before departing to the Pacific War. It also housed them after retu ...

. On the southwest they descend into the coastal foothills in the

Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton is the major West Coast base of the United States Marine Corps and is one of the largest Marine Corps bases in the United States. It is on the Southern California coast in San Diego County and is bordered by Oc ...

. The range's highest summit is

Margarita Peak Margarita Peak is a prominent mountain in San Diego County. It is southwest of Murrieta Hot Springs and northwest of Fallbrook. Its summit is the 32nd most prominent peak in San Diego County. Margarita Peak is owned by the Fallbrook Land Con ...

, at an elevation of 3136 feet. GNIS Feature Detail Report for: Margarita Peak
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Margarita Lookout Margarita Lookout, also known as Santa Margarita Lookout, is a lookout point in the Santa Margarita Mountains, part of the larger Santa Ana Mountains in San Diego County, California. The original fire lookout tower, built in 1935 by the CCC, was ...

lies in the northern part of the subrange.

References

Santa Margarita Mountains The Santa Margarita Mountains are a mountain range, part of the larger Santa Ana Mountains in the Peninsular Ranges System. They are located in the coastal North County region of San Diego County, California. They are bounded on the northwest by ...

North County (San Diego County) Santa Ana Mountains {{SanDiegoCountyCA-geo-stub