Mica Peak is the name of two separate mountain summits in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

located approximately apart; one in Spokane County,

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

and the other in

Kootenai County Kootenai County ( ) is located in the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 171,362, making it the third-most populous county in Idaho and the largest in Idaho Panhandle, North Idaho, the cou ...

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

. The two peaks are located along the same ridge, which separates the

Spokane Valley The Spokane Valley is a valley of the Spokane River through the southern Selkirk Mountains in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. The valley is home to the cities of Spokane and its suburbs Spokane Valley, Washington, Spokane Vall ...

and

Rathdrum Prairie The Rathdrum Prairie is a flat in the U.S. state of Idaho. The prairie contains the cities A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be ...

from the

Palouse The Palouse ( ) is a geographic region of the northwestern United States, encompassing parts of North Central Idaho, north central Idaho, southeastern Washington (part of eastern Washington), and by some definitions, parts of northeast Oregon. ...

. The mountains have an elevation difference of only and are the southernmost peaks of the

Selkirk Mountains The Selkirk Mountains are a mountain range spanning the northern portion of the Idaho Panhandle, eastern Washington, and southeastern British Columbia which are part of a larger grouping of mountains, the Columbia Mountains. They begin at Mic ...

. Other summits located along the same ridge include the Round Mountain, the Cable Peak, the Shasta Butte, and the Blossom Mountain. During the

Prohibition Era Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacturing, manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption ...

Mica Peak was the site of numerous bootlegging operations. The mountainous and thickly forested terrain provided cover that allowed the bootleggers to hide their stills. Most were small, individual operations but some larger commercial endeavors existed as well. The mountain's location on the state line, which inconsistently demarcated in the area, made the location even more ideal for the illegal ventures as Idaho and Washington authorities could be easily tricked into believing the stills were located just outside of their jurisdiction.

Mica Peak (Idaho)

Mica Peak or Signal Point—located in

—is the higher of the two peaks with an elevation of . State Line is the closest city at away. The name Signal Point is derived from a ski lodge of the same name that operated on the northeast face of the mountain in the The ski lodge utilized a

rope tow A surface lift is a type of cable transport for mountain sports in which skiers, snowboarders, or mountain bikers remain on the ground as they are pulled uphill. While they were once prevalent, they have been overtaken in popularity by higher ...

and the lodge building () can be seen as a dot on topographic maps from the time period but is no longer standing.

Mica Peak (Washington)

Mica Peak (Washington)—located in Spokane County—is the lower of the two peaks with an elevation of . The mountain is the southernmost peak in the Selkirk range. The peak is home to the now-decommissioned Mica Peak Air Force Station. The northern slopes are drained by Saltese Creek. The mountain dominates the view to the east and southeast from the city of

References

https://www.signalpt.com/history

External links

Montana Memory Project
– Signal Point ski tow and lodge (photo) Mountains of Spokane County, Washington Mountains of Kootenai County, Idaho Mountains of Idaho {{KootenaiCountyID-geo-stub

Mica Peak (Idaho)

Mica Peak (Washington)

See also

References

External links