Topo map USGS Sombrero Peak Country United States of America | Elevation 1,416 m | |
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Similar Desert View Tower, Blue Angels Peak, San Ysidro Mountains, Jamul Mountains, Cuyamaca Mountains | ||
The In-Ko-Pah Mountains are one of the Peninsular Ranges located near the U.S. border with Mexico in southern California, west of the Jacumba Mountains. The range, which lies in a north-south direction, is located just north of Interstate 8, and east of the Manzanita Indian Reservation.
Contents
Map of In-Ko-Pah Mountains, California, USA
The range is approximately 12 miles long. Mt. Tule, at 4,647 feet, and Sombrero Peak, at 4,229 feet above sea level, are the tallest mountains in the chain.
GeologyEdit
The In-Ko-Pah Mountains consist of faulted granitic intrusive bedrock, weathered into dramatic piles of residual boulders. The local granodiorite is naturally a very light color, weathering over centuries into a reddish-orange desert varnish.
Visitors can view these landforms while driving Interstate 8 through Devil's Canyon (west) and In-Ko-Pah Gorge (east). Remnants of Highway 80, the first North American transcontinental highway, can be seen on either side. The boulders can be examined closer at the Desert View Tower, a historic roadside structure, that includes a boulder park with a number of massive Depression-era sculptures carved in the local rocks.
Camping among the rocks is available in the McCain Valley Recreational Area, located off Interstate 8 near the town of Boulevard.