Echo Mountain is a mountain promontory of the

San Gabriel Mountains The San Gabriel Mountains () are a mountain range located in Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties, California, United States. The mountain range is part of the Transverse Ranges and lies between the Los Angeles Basin and the Mojave Desert ...

, in the

Angeles National Forest The Angeles National Forest (ANF) of the United States Forest Service is located in the San Gabriel Mountains and Sierra Pelona Mountains, primarily within Los Angeles County in Southern California. The ANF manages a majority of the San Gabri ...

above

Altadena Altadena () is an unincorporated area, and census-designated place in the San Gabriel Valley and the Verdugos regions of Los Angeles County, California. Directly north of Pasadena, it is located approximately from Downtown Los Angeles. Its po ...

, in

Los Angeles County, California Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles and sometimes abbreviated as LA County, is the List of United States counties and county equivalents, most populous county in the United States, with 9,663,345 residents estimated in 202 ...

Geography

Echo Mountain was shaped from an

alluvial fan An alluvial fan is an accumulation of sediments that fans outwards from a concentrated source of sediments, such as a narrow canyon emerging from an escarpment. They are characteristic of mountainous terrain in arid to Semi-arid climate, semiar ...

between Rubio and Las Flores canyons. It is geographically defined by Castle Canyon to its

leeward In geography and seamanship, windward () and leeward () are directions relative to the wind. Windward is ''upwind'' from the point of reference, i.e., towards the direction from which the wind is coming; leeward is ''downwind'' from the point o ...

side, Rubio Canyon at its foot, and Las Flores Canyon on its windward side. Echo has a mean elevation of . It is most visible as a short mountain extension whose ridge protrudes below the peak of Inspiration Point. Echo Mountain's name is derived from the number of repetitions one's voice could emit into Castle Canyon. Boy Scout projects were made to find the "sweet spot" where the largest number of repetitions could be heard. During the days of the

Mount Lowe Railway The Mount Lowe Railway was the third in a series of scenic mountain railroads in the United States created as a tourist attraction on Echo Mountain and Mount Lowe (California), Mount Lowe, north of Los Angeles, California. The railway, original ...

"echophones" were set up to assist in voice projections near the best sweet spots.

History

On January 6, 1993, Echo Mountain, also referred to as Mount Echo, was delineated as part of the Mount Lowe Railway monument area listed by the

U.S. Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency within the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands covering of land. The major divisions of the agency are the Chief's ...

on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. On top of the mountain are the ruins of "White City", a resort along the scenic

, which could easily be seen from the valley below. From its point and down an incline to its foot in Rubio Canyon was the Great Incline

funicular A funicular ( ) is a type of cable railway system that connects points along a railway track laid on a steep grade (slope), slope. The system is characterized by two counterbalanced carriages (also called cars or trains) permanently attached to ...

of the Mount Lowe Railway, whose white cars could be seen ascending and descending Echo.

Trail access

Echo Mountain can be reached by the Sam Merrill Trail located at the top of Lake Avenue, or via the fire road which extends from Millard Canyon to a point along the old right of way, which will lead to the backside of the promontory.

Gallery

File:Echo phone.jpg , Replica of an "echophone" mounted over the edge of Castle Canyon for visitors' use. The few echophones that still exist are part of personal or museum collections. File:White City.jpg , The Echo Mountain Promontory (ca. 1896) after a snowfall, and the White City resort of the Mount Lowe Railway as seen from a higher spot on the ridge and overlooking Altadena, CA. Buildings viewed from left to right: The Echo Chalet, Echo Mountain House, Incline Powerhouse, Dormitories, and Car Barn. Behind the car barn, note an inflatable reservoir for the storage of hydrogen gas produced in Pasadena and piped some to Echo. Echo Mountain is also known for its incredible echoes.

References

External links

* * * {{Cite web , title=Mount Lowe Volunteers , url=http://www.mtlowe.co , access-date=2012-02-22 San Gabriel Mountains Mountains of Los Angeles County, California Altadena, California Angeles National Forest Mountains of Southern California