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Cow Mountain
Cow Mountain is a ridge in the Mayacamas Mountains in Lake County, California, and Mendocino County, California. It is home to two large recreation areas. One is closed to off-road vehicles and the other is not. Erosion from the mountain, caused in part by human land use, contributes sediment and nutrients to Clear Lake.
Cow Mountain is in the Mayacamas Mountains, part of the northern California Coast Ranges. It is east of the city of Ukiah and west of the city of Lakeport. It is in Lake and Mendocino counties.
Cow Mountain got its name from longhorn cattle introduced around 1839 by Salvador Vallejo and later ranched by Ben and Andrew Kelsey, which left many rogue cattle roaming the countryside. When settlers arrived in the land around Clear Lake about 1853 they did not want the long horn cattle to breed with their exotic cattle bred for meat production, so began a program of shooting the long horns. Cow Mountain was one of the last refuges for the longhorns, but they had been eliminated by the 1870s by the Hurt family of Scotts Valley.
Cow Mountain is a northwest-southeast trending ridge about 7 miles (11 km) long that runs parallel to and about 1.7 miles (2.7 km) west of Cold Creek. Cow Mountain is at least 3,920 feet (1,190 m) high. It has a clean prominence of 1,600 feet (490 m) and an isolation of 9.56 miles (15.39 km). The nearest higher mountain is Elk Mountain to the northeast.
The southeast-plunging Ukiah-Cow Mountain Antiform (UCMA) in the hanging wall block of the Chicken Springs fault zone. This is a folded and sinuous northeast-dipping intra-Franciscan zone of thrusts that is delineated by a narrow belt of serpentinite dipping northeastward under the UCMA.
Five thousand years ago, there was a massive landslide on the southern slope of Cow Mountain that filled the channel from Clear Lake to the Russian River. The lake rose, then cut a new channel through Cache Creek into the Sacramento River. Cow Mountain now holds the upper reaches of the Cache Creek watershed to the east and Russian River watershed to the west. There are many year-round streams, springs, and wildlife ponds. Streams in the North Cow Mountain area include Cold Creek, Howard Creek, Sulphur Creek, Mill Creek, and Scotts Creek. Streams in the South Cow Mountain area include Benmore Creek, Panther Creek, Willow Creek, Lyons Valley Creek, and Morrison Creek. There are many small intermittent streams and meadows.
In the winter months heavy rain may cause floods and erosion, but recreational use may be a more important factor in erosion. Closure of roads and banning off-highway vehicles is thought to have significantly reduced erosion in North Cow Mountain. A 1997 analysis of the South Cow Mountain trails identified some that had high potential to contribute sedimentation to Clear Lake. Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) riding in abandoned walnut orchards and creek beds has increased the rate or erosion.
Cow Mountain is in the Mediterranean eco-region, with wet winters and dry summers. The coldest average temperatures are 25 to 27 °F (−4 to −3 °C). Mean annual precipitation is 40 inches (1,000 mm).
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Cow Mountain
Cow Mountain is a ridge in the Mayacamas Mountains in Lake County, California, and Mendocino County, California. It is home to two large recreation areas. One is closed to off-road vehicles and the other is not. Erosion from the mountain, caused in part by human land use, contributes sediment and nutrients to Clear Lake.
Cow Mountain is in the Mayacamas Mountains, part of the northern California Coast Ranges. It is east of the city of Ukiah and west of the city of Lakeport. It is in Lake and Mendocino counties.
Cow Mountain got its name from longhorn cattle introduced around 1839 by Salvador Vallejo and later ranched by Ben and Andrew Kelsey, which left many rogue cattle roaming the countryside. When settlers arrived in the land around Clear Lake about 1853 they did not want the long horn cattle to breed with their exotic cattle bred for meat production, so began a program of shooting the long horns. Cow Mountain was one of the last refuges for the longhorns, but they had been eliminated by the 1870s by the Hurt family of Scotts Valley.
Cow Mountain is a northwest-southeast trending ridge about 7 miles (11 km) long that runs parallel to and about 1.7 miles (2.7 km) west of Cold Creek. Cow Mountain is at least 3,920 feet (1,190 m) high. It has a clean prominence of 1,600 feet (490 m) and an isolation of 9.56 miles (15.39 km). The nearest higher mountain is Elk Mountain to the northeast.
The southeast-plunging Ukiah-Cow Mountain Antiform (UCMA) in the hanging wall block of the Chicken Springs fault zone. This is a folded and sinuous northeast-dipping intra-Franciscan zone of thrusts that is delineated by a narrow belt of serpentinite dipping northeastward under the UCMA.
Five thousand years ago, there was a massive landslide on the southern slope of Cow Mountain that filled the channel from Clear Lake to the Russian River. The lake rose, then cut a new channel through Cache Creek into the Sacramento River. Cow Mountain now holds the upper reaches of the Cache Creek watershed to the east and Russian River watershed to the west. There are many year-round streams, springs, and wildlife ponds. Streams in the North Cow Mountain area include Cold Creek, Howard Creek, Sulphur Creek, Mill Creek, and Scotts Creek. Streams in the South Cow Mountain area include Benmore Creek, Panther Creek, Willow Creek, Lyons Valley Creek, and Morrison Creek. There are many small intermittent streams and meadows.
In the winter months heavy rain may cause floods and erosion, but recreational use may be a more important factor in erosion. Closure of roads and banning off-highway vehicles is thought to have significantly reduced erosion in North Cow Mountain. A 1997 analysis of the South Cow Mountain trails identified some that had high potential to contribute sedimentation to Clear Lake. Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) riding in abandoned walnut orchards and creek beds has increased the rate or erosion.
Cow Mountain is in the Mediterranean eco-region, with wet winters and dry summers. The coldest average temperatures are 25 to 27 °F (−4 to −3 °C). Mean annual precipitation is 40 inches (1,000 mm).
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