The Temescal Mountains, also known as the Sierra Temescal ( Spanish for "

sweat lodge A sweat lodge is a low profile hut, typically dome-shaped or oblong, and made with natural materials. The structure is the ''lodge'', and the ceremony performed within the structure may be called by some cultures a purification ceremony or simply ...

range"), are one of the northernmost

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 aris ...

s of 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 Pacific Coast Range ...

in western Riverside County, in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

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 ...

. They extend for approximately 25 mi (40 km) southeast of the

Santa Ana River The Santa Ana River is the largest river entirely within Southern California in the United States. It rises in the San Bernardino Mountains and flows for most of its length through San Bernardino County, California, San Bernardino and Riversid ...

east of the Elsinore Fault Zone to the Temecula Basin and form the western edge of the Perris Block. The

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 Riversid ...

lie to the west, the Elsinore Mountains to the south and the Perris Valley and

Lakeview Mountains The Lakeview Mountains are a range of low mountains encompassing approximately of land in western Riverside County, Southern California, at the northern end of the Peninsular Ranges System. Geography The Lakeview Mountains are bordered: *on t ...

to the east. Temescal Mountains Summer

History

The Temescal Mountains were originally named by the Spanish as Sierra Temescal (perhaps from the nearby Rancho Temescal), a name which appears on the Rail Road Route survey map made by the U. S. Army

Pacific Railroad Surveys The Pacific Railroad Surveys (1853–1855) were a series of explorations of the American West designed to find and document possible routes for a transcontinental railroad across North America. The expeditions included surveyors, scientists, and a ...

in 1854–55. The Temescal Mountains are one of the northernmost of

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, running from the south side of the Santa Anna River, southeast nearly parallel with the

, from which it is separated by the Temescal Valley and Elsinore Valley sections of the Elsinore Trough. The Temescal Mountains were originally considered to be bounded on the south by the San Jacinto River, by J. D. Whitney in his 1865 Geological Survey of California. A later study by Rene Engel, considers the Sedco Hills and the other mountains that extend to the southeast of the San Jacinto River east of Lake Elsinore and north of the Temecula Basin, in Murrieta to be part of the same range forming the natural continuation of the mountains. The Murrieta Hogbacks are the southeasternmost heights of the range, overlooking the Warm Springs Creek Canyon.

Geology

As part of the Perris Block, the Temescal Mountains are part of its eroded mass of

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 143.1 to 66 mya (unit), million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era (geology), Era, as well as the longest. At around 77.1 million years, it is the ...

and older

granitic A granitoid is a broad term referring to a diverse group of coarse-grained igneous rocks that are widely distributed across the globe, covering a significant portion of the Earth's exposed surface and constituting a large part of the continental ...

rocks of the Peninsular Ranges Batholith and metasedimentary basement rocks. Most of this basement rock that once overlay the granitic

pluton In geology, an igneous intrusion (or intrusive body or simply intrusion) is a body of intrusive igneous rock that forms by crystallization of magma slowly cooling below the surface of the Earth. Intrusions have a wide variety of forms and com ...

s that rose up into it, has been eroded away, the remainder being found between the similarly eroded plutons of granitic rock.

Natural resources

Flora
As part of the California Floristic Province, the Temescal Mountains host a diverse array of plant species within distinctive natural (plant) communities, including

coastal sage scrub Coastal sage scrub, also known as coastal scrub, CSS, or soft chaparral, is a low scrubland plant community of the California coastal sage and chaparral subecoregion, found in coastal California and northwestern coastal Baja California. It is ...

chaparral Chaparral ( ) is a shrubland plant plant community, community found primarily in California, southern Oregon, and northern Baja California. It is shaped by a Mediterranean climate (mild wet winters and hot dry summers) and infrequent, high-intens ...

riparian A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. In some regions, the terms riparian woodland, riparian forest, riparian buffer zone, riparian corridor, and riparian strip are used to characterize a ripar ...

woodland, southern oak woodland, rocky outcrop and valley

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominance (ecology), dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes such as clover, and other Herbaceo ...

. Rare flowers like the intermediate mariposa lily, grow there. Fragrant sages,

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has Leaf, foliage that remains green and functional throughout the year. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which lose their foliage completely during the winter or dry season. Consisting of many diffe ...

shrub A shrub or bush is a small to medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees by their multiple ...

s and trees, perennial

bunchgrass Tussock grasses or bunch grasses are a group of grass species in the family Poaceae. They usually grow as singular plants in clumps, tufts, hummocks, or bunches, rather than forming a sod or lawn, in meadows, grasslands, and prairies. As perennia ...

es, '' Dudleya'' species of succulents, fire-following flowers and other wildflowers adorn the terrain. Fauna
Wildlife species found include

mountain lion The cougar (''Puma concolor'') (, ''Help:Pronunciation respelling key, KOO-gər''), also called puma, mountain lion, catamount and panther is a large small cat native to the Americas. It inhabits North America, North, Central America, Cent ...

mule deer The mule deer (''Odocoileus hemionus'') is a deer indigenous to western North America; it is named for its ears, which are large like those of the mule. Two subspecies of mule deer are grouped into the black-tailed deer. Unlike the related whit ...

bobcat The bobcat (''Lynx rufus''), also known as the wildcat, bay lynx, or red lynx, is one of the four extant species within the medium-sized wild cat genus '' Lynx''. Native to North America, it ranges from southern Canada through most of the c ...

coyote The coyote (''Canis latrans''), also known as the American jackal, prairie wolf, or brush wolf, is a species of canis, canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the Wolf, gray wolf, and slightly smaller than the c ...

raccoon The raccoon ( or , ''Procyon lotor''), sometimes called the North American, northern or common raccoon (also spelled racoon) to distinguish it from Procyonina, other species of raccoon, is a mammal native to North America. It is the largest ...

gray fox The gray fox (''Urocyon cinereoargenteus''), or grey fox, is an omnivorous mammal of the family Canidae, widespread throughout North America and Central America. This species and its only congener (biology), congener, the diminutive island fox ...

, American badger,

spotted skunk The genus ''Spilogale'' includes all skunks commonly known as spotted skunks. Currently, there are four accepted extant species: ''S. gracilis'', ''S. putorius'', ''S. pygmaea'', and ''S. angustifrons''. New research, however, proposes that ther ...

kangaroo rat Kangaroo rats, small mostly nocturnal rodents of genus ''Dipodomys'', are native to arid areas of western North America. The common name derives from their bipedal form. They hop in a manner similar to the much larger kangaroo, but developed thi ...

bat Bats are flying mammals of the order Chiroptera (). With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most birds, flying with their very long spread-out ...

raven A raven is any of several large-bodied passerine bird species in the genus '' Corvus''. These species do not form a single taxonomic group within the genus. There is no consistent distinction between crows and ravens; the two names are assigne ...

s, red tailed hawk, mountain quail, canyon wren, speckled rattlesnake, Pacific rattlesnake, common kingsnake, gopher snake, two-striped garter snake,

rosy boa ''Lichanura'', the rosy boas, are a genus of snakes in the Family (biology), family Boidae. They are distributed across the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico. Species There are two recognized species: References

Boida ...

, San Diego night snake, granite spiny lizard, arroyo toad, western spadefoot toad, various ''

Aphonopelma ''Aphonopelma'' is a genus of tarantulas native to the Americas. It includes nearly all the North American tarantula species north of Mexico and a considerable percentage of the tarantula species that range into Central America. Most are fairly ...

'' species of tarantula, Quino checkerspot butterfly and many more.

Gray wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, including the dog and dingo, though gr ...

pronghorn The pronghorn (, ) (''Antilocapra americana'') is a species of artiodactyl (even-toed, hoofed) mammal indigenous to interior western and central North America. Though not an antelope, it is known colloquially in North America as the American ante ...

, and California condor were also once found in the range. Commercial uses
A number of mineral resources have been mined in the range. Commercial resources collected since the 1840s have included the metals

tin Tin is a chemical element; it has symbol Sn () and atomic number 50. A silvery-colored metal, tin is soft enough to be cut with little force, and a bar of tin can be bent by hand with little effort. When bent, a bar of tin makes a sound, the ...

and

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

, and the non-metals

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolinite, ). Most pure clay minerals are white or light-coloured, but natural clays show a variety of colours from impuriti ...

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal i ...

, and

granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...

. Parts of the range have been used to graze domestic livestock from the early 19th century. The little water found in the range has become a particularly valued resource.

Geographic features

Geographic features, northwest to southeast, include: * Beacon Hill * Lake Norconian * La Sierra Heights or Norco Hills ** Hole Benchmark ** Linn Benchmark ** Rattlesnake Peak (Riverside County, California) ** La Sierra Summit ** Grape Benchmark * Riverside Valley ** Pedley Hills ** Lake Evans reservoir *** Spring Brook ** North Hill ** Mount Rubidoux ** Tequesquito Arroyo *** Box Springs Canyon *** Sycamore Canyon ** Pachappa Hill ** Victoria Hill ** Alessandro Arroyo ** Quarry Hill ** Prenda Arroyo ** Woodcrest Arroyo ** Mockingbird Canyon * Arlington Mountain * Eagle Valley * Three Sisters * Cajalco Canyon Creek ** Cajalco Canyon ** Lake Mathews ** Cajalco Valley ** Harford Spring Canyon ** Mead Valley * Olsen Canyon * Black Rocks * Monument Peak * Gavilan Peak * Gavilan Plateau * Gavilan Hills ** Summit 2557 ** Santa Rosa Mine Ridge ** Steele Peak * Steele Valley * Dawson Canyon *

Estelle Mountain Estelle Mountain is a peak, the tallest in the Temescal Mountains. It is located on the west side of the upper part of the range overlooking the Temescal Valley, in Riverside County, California, United States. Estelle Mountain is drained on ...

2,767 feet * Summit 2729 * Summit 2615 * Summit 2625 * Ceramic Factory Canyon * Alberhill Canyon * Gavilan Wash * Walker Canyon * Alberhill Summit * Clevelin Hills * Warm Springs Valley * Stovepipe Canyon * Arroyo del Toro * Rosetta Canyon * Wasson Canyon *

Railroad Canyon Railroad Canyon, originally named San Jacinto Canyon, also known as Cottonwood Canyon, and Annie Orton Canyon, is a valley located in Riverside County, California. It encloses the lower course of the San Jacinto River at the point where the river ...

** Canyon Lake reservoir ** City of Canyon Lake * Quail Valley * Gripp Hill * Cottonwood Canyon (San Jacinto River), Cottonwood Canyon * Sedco Hills ** Guadalupe Hill (Temescal Mountains), Guadalupe Hill ** Wildomar Peak * Bundy Canyon * Iodine Spring Summit ** Iodine Spring * Adelaide Peak * Murrieta Hogbacks

References

External links

8c. 1c. 32854c. 1170240:From-San-Francisco-Bay-to-the-Plain?sort=Pub_List_No_InitialSort%2CPub_Date%2CPub_List_No%2CSeries_No&qvq=q:Pacific%2BRailroad%2BSurvey;sort:Pub_List_No_InitialSort%2CPub_Date%2CPub_List_No%2CSeries_No;lc:RUMSEYc. 8c. 1&mi=61&trs=71 Book Map "From San Francisco Bay to the Plains of Los Angeles", from Explorations and Surveys made under the direction of The Hon. Jefferson Davis, Secretary of War by Lieut. John G. Parke, Topl. Engrs. assisted by Albert H. Campbell, Civil Engineer and N.H. Hutton, H. Custer and G.G. Garner. 1854 & 55. Map No. 1. Constructed and drawn by H. Custer. Explorations and Surveys for a Rail Road Route from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean. War Department. Coast Route, California, Reports of Explorations and Surveys, to Ascertain the Most Practicable and Economical Route for a Railroad From the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean, A.O.P. Nicholson I-XI, Washington, 1861, from David Rumsey Historical Map Collection
{{Inland Empire Temescal Mountains, Peninsular Ranges Mountain ranges of Riverside County, California Mountain ranges of Southern California