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Lookout Mountain

Lookout Mountain, seen from above at true elevation

Lookout Mountain rises to 2,036 m in California. Mount San Antonio stands 3,068 m to the north-northeast, 3.2 miles off. The nearest named place is Mt. Baldy Museum & Dorothy Wisely History Center, a museum 1.2 miles away. Arroyo Seco Historic Parkway - Route 110 passes 28 miles off.

The story

Lookout Mountain in Los Angeles County, California, is a 6,812-foot (2,076 m) peak on the shoulder of Mount San Antonio ("Mount Baldy"). Albert A. Michelson used the peak to measure the speed of light in 1925–1929. For him to do so, the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey in 1923 established a 21.5-mile (34.6 km) baseline with an accuracy of 1 part in 11 million from Pasadena, California, at the base of Mount Baldy roughly to Rancho Cucamonga at the base of Mount Wilson. It may have been the most accurate baseline ever determined at the time. The Coast and Geodetic Survey then used the baseline to triangulate the distance to the Mount Wilson Observatory, with a distance error of about 1 part in 5 million, and Michelson measured light travel time between the stations with a rotating mirror apparatus. The concrete piers on Lookout Mountain used for the Michelson observations still exist. The first fire lookout in the Angeles National Forest was built on Lookout Mountain in 1914 and stood until it burned in 1927.

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Wikidata Q49046579, referenced by the OpenStreetMap record.

What the record says

Elevation
2036 m

How to reach it

Coordinates34.24854, -117.67511

Named places within 25 miles

Peaks
Historic sites
Parks
  • San Antonio Park: 6.7 mi
  • Padua Avenue Park: 7.3 mi
  • Joe Elliot Tree Memorial: 7.3 mi
  • Heritage Community Park: 7.6 mi
  • McCarthy Park: 7.7 mi
Gardens
  • Sam and Alfreda Maloof Foundation for Arts and Crafts: 6.9 mi
  • Western Junipers: 9.3 mi
  • Conifer Country: 9.4 mi
  • Nutall's Scrub Oaks: 9.4 mi
  • Baja California: 9.4 mi
Artworks: 52
  • William G. Kerckhoff 1856-1929: 6.7 mi
  • Intersections II: 9.5 mi
  • Pomegranate Trees: 9.8 mi
  • Madonna of the Trail: 9.9 mi
  • Scripps Graffiti Wall: 10.1 mi
Museums: 47
Nature reserves: 39
Picnic sites: 37
Springs: 36
  • Forked Spruce Spring: 1.9 mi
  • Fallen Leaf Spring: 2.5 mi
  • Columbine Spring: 4.0 mi
  • Columbine Spring: 5.2 mi
  • Guffy Spring: 6.6 mi
Attractions: 19
Waterfalls: 14
  • San Antonio Falls: 2.8 mi
  • Canyon Falls: 4.6 mi
  • Wolfskill Falls: 6.6 mi
  • Etiwanda Falls: 9.7 mi
  • Bonita Falls: 9.8 mi
Cliffs: 4
  • Norco Bluffs: 21.9 mi
  • Norco Bluffs: 22.0 mi
  • Norco Bluffs: 22.2 mi
  • Norco Bluffs: 22.4 mi
Ghost towns: 3
Rest areas: 1
  • Mt. Baldy Wayside Picnic Site: 1.7 mi

Other summits around it

The highest named summits within 13.1 miles of Lookout Mountain. Elevation from each summit’s own record; bearing measured between the two coordinates.

SummitBearingElevationDistance
Mount San AntonioNNE 30°3,068 m3.2 mi
West BaldyNNE 24°3,044 m2.9 mi
Pine MountainNNE 21°2,942 m4.8 mi
Dawson PeakNNE 30°2,917 m4.4 mi
Mount HarwoodNE 42°2,907 m3.6 mi
Mount Baden-PowellNW 326°2,860 m9.2 mi
Throop PeakNW 315°2,779 m10.0 mi
Mount BurnhamNW 322°2,740 m9.8 mi

When to go

Light through the year

DateSunriseGolden hourSunset
March equinox06:5518:3019:03
June solstice05:4019:2920:07
September equinox06:4018:1618:49
December solstice06:5416:0716:46

Local time (America/Los_Angeles).

Climate normals

Months averaging 5080 °F: May–Oct.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg °F373642465461686761514236
Precip in4.44.91.90.80.80.11.10.30.41.21.14.1

1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals, NOAA NCEI — Wrightwood, 8 mi away.

Where this comes from

Location and category confirmed against OpenStreetMap.

OpenStreetMapWikidata

OpenStreetMap element node/358801634

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