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Boggs Mountain

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Coordinates: 38°48′56″N 122°40′56″W / 38.815507°N 122.682183°W / 38.815507; -122.682183
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Boggs Mountain
Entrance to Boggs Mountain Demonstration State Forest
Highest point
Elevation1,140 m (3,740 ft)
Parent peakCobb Mountain
Coordinates38°48′56″N 122°40′56″W / 38.815507°N 122.682183°W / 38.815507; -122.682183
Geography
Boggs Mountain is located in California
Boggs Mountain
Boggs Mountain
Location in California
CountryUnited States
StateCaligornia
CountyLake County
Parent rangeMayacamas Mountains, California Coast Ranges

Boggs Mountain is a mountain the Mayacamas Mountains ⋅in Lake County, California. Part of the mountain holds the Boggs Mountain Demonstration State Forest. About 80% of the trees were burned in the September 2015 Valley Fire.

Name

In the early days of settlement of Lake County, the mountain was called Harbin Mountain after a settler named James M. Harbin who around 1856 took control of the land occupied by the Harbin Hot Springs, and gave his name to the springs and the mountain.[1] An 1890 description by the State Mineralogist used this name to refer to the mountain.[2] Later the mountain took the name Boggs Mountain.[3] This name honors Henry C. Boggs (1820–1898) , an early settler and entrepreneur in Lake County.[4] The name Harbin Mountain survives, referring to a high point above Harbin Hot Springs on a ridge that comes down to the south from Boggs Mountain.[5][a]

Location

Boogs Mountain is in Lake County, California. It is 3,740 feet (1,140 m) high, in the heart of the Mayacamas Mountains, facing the 4,728 feet (1,441 m) Cobb Mountain across Cobb Valley.[7] The mountains are in the California Coast Ranges.[8] Boggs Mountain is one of the mountains in the Cobb Mountain Area, many of which have volcanic origin. Others are Cobb Mountain, the most dominant, Mount Hannah and Seigler Mountain. There are isolated small valleys and basins between the mountain peaks.[9]

A deep gap more than 1,500 feet (460 m) deep separates Boggs Mountain from the taller Cobb Mountain to the west.[10] A ridge runs southeast from Mount Hannah to Boggs Mountain, separating Seigler Creek from Kelsey Creek.[11] Boggs Mountain forms a topographical divide separating Big Canyon Creek to the east from Kelsey Creek to the west.[4]

Description

Boggs Mountain is an elongated rolling highland.[12] The mountain takes the form of a simple ridge crest from which long spurs run southeast to Putah Creek.[2] It is a prominent feature at the southeast end of the Clear Lake Volcanic Field.[13] Around 3,000 feet (910 m) above sea level the topography levels out. The upper part of the mountain is similar to a plateau cut by several drainage channels.[4]

The mountain is capped with andesitic lavas covering about 5 square miles (13 km2).[12] The well-drained soils have been formed from volcanic materials that overlay the Franciscan assemblage, which include sandstone, shale, chert, greenstone and igneous and metamorphics, including serpentinite.[14]

Forestry

As of 1890 the higher crest of the mountain was volcanic and densely timbered. Lower down the spurs were unaltered or slightly altered sandstone and shales, with scattered oaks, partly covered with chamise.[2]

Henry C. Boggs was an early settler in Lake County who was active in ranching, property, timber and banking in the late 19th century.[4] In 1878 he bought timberland tracts within what is now Boggs Mountain Demonstration State Forest.[15] He and his partners began logging the Boggs Mountain in the early 1880s, the first known use by Europeans.[16] From 1880 to 1885 one of his sons ran two sawmills on the northeast of the mountain.[17] Lumber was need for underground supports in the borax mine at Borax Lake, north of Clearlake, and in the Sulphur Bank Mine. Wood was also needed for the mines' reducing furnaces. Most of this came from the volcanic uplands of Kelsey Creek and neighboring watersheds. By the end of the 19th century most of the prime timber in the Boggs Mountain area had been cleared, and the land was mainly being used for pasturage rather than timber.[18]

Jim McCauley had operated a brewery in Vallejo, but Prohibition in 1920 forced him to look for new sources of revenue. He lent money to the owner of Boggs Mountain, Davey, with the mountain as collateral. McCauley's Calso Company became the owner when Davey defaulted. McCauley decided to found a resort in the woods at the foot of the mountain, which became known as Forest Lake Resort.[19] In the 1920s and 1930s Jim McCauley supervised logging in the forest, but limited it to scattered, over-mature trees. There was no clear cutting.[19] When McCauley died in 1941 his property was divided between seven nieces and nephews.[20]

In 1944 the Calso Company sold the timber rights of almost 3,000 acres (1,200 ha) of the Boggs Mountain forest to Setzer Forest Products Inc. Setzer Forest Products did not start logging until 1947.[20] After World War II (1939–1945) there was a boom in construction, and all the usable old-growth and secondary forest was clear cut.[18] The 3,453 acres (1,397 ha) Boggs Mountain Demonstration State Forest covers the relatively flat top of Boggs Mountain.[21] The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) purchased the land in 1949.[22] The state bought the land for just $38,700 because it held no timber of commercial value.[18] The 200 acres (81 ha) Boggs Mountain Inner Coast Range Reserve has steeper slopes that have virtually undisturbed vegetation. It is under a conservation easement with the Napa County Land Trust.[23]

Ecology

Bark beetles (Dendroctonus brevicomis and Dendroctonus ponderosae) mostly breed in unhealthy trees. Vulnerability to infection may be caused by drought, flooding, fire and air pollution, and possibly by needle casts, dwarf mistletoe, true mistletoe and root pathogens.[24] A 1965 study showed that Boogs Mountain had moderate but chronic mortality from bark beetles in ponderosa pine.[8] 71.2% of beetle-infested trees had root diseases, but few trees with root diseases died until they became infested by bark beetles.[25] The fungus Heterobasidion annosum was the only fungus found at Boggs Mountain is association with bark beetles.[26]

In the mid-1940s a major fire swept through the northwestern part of the Boggs Mountain forest.[20] The Valley Fire of 6 October 2015 burned many of the trees.[7] The fire killed about 80% of the mature trees on the mountain and 95% of the regeneration growth in the understory. CAL FIRE undertook a reforestation plan of 3,100 acres (1,300 ha) of the state park, and planted almost 703,000 tree seedlings. including ponderosa pine, Douglas fir, sugar pine, incense cedar, and giant sequoia.[22]

Recreation

Boggs Mountain is open all year for hiking, and is accessible through a system of easy roads and trails.[7] The 14.8 kilometres (9.2 mi) Boggs Mountain Loop is rated moderate, with an elevation gain of 439 metres (1,440 ft). It is not heavily used, and is open to dogs and horses.[27] Hunting is permitted. Pets must be leashed and under control. As of 2000 the mountain was open for day use, with limited overnight camping at Calso Camp. The other group campgrounds were closed.[22]

Notes

  1. ^ The 1890 description says Harbin's Spring are in a little valley immediately south of Mount Esther, a small peak on one of the spurs of the mountain.[6] Possibly Mount Esther is what is called Harbin Mountain today

Citations

  1. ^ History of the Springs.
  2. ^ a b c Goodyear 1890, p. 229.
  3. ^ Dillon 1995, p. 149.
  4. ^ a b c d Draft Environmental Impact Report 1976, p. 20.
  5. ^ Harbin Mountain & ... Summitpost.
  6. ^ Goodyear 1890, p. 230.
  7. ^ a b c Boggs Mountain ... summitpost.
  8. ^ a b Cobb et al. 1974, p. 9.
  9. ^ Lake County Planning Department 1989, p. 3.1.
  10. ^ Goodyear 1890, p. 227.
  11. ^ Goodyear 1890, p. 240.
  12. ^ a b Lake County Planning Department 1989, p. 4.3.
  13. ^ Draft Environmental Impact Report 1976, p. 127.
  14. ^ Lake County Planning Department 1989, p. 3.2.
  15. ^ Dillon 1995, p. 156.
  16. ^ Gerike & Stewart 1988, p. 23.
  17. ^ Fragnoli & Stuart 1995, p. 92.
  18. ^ a b c Lundquist 2010, p. 9.
  19. ^ a b Dillon 1995, p. 163.
  20. ^ a b c Dillon 1995, p. 164.
  21. ^ Lake County Planning Department 1989, p. 3.6.
  22. ^ a b c Boggs Demonstration Forest ... CAL FIRE.
  23. ^ Lake County Planning Department 1989, p. 3.16.
  24. ^ Cobb et al. 1974, p. 8.
  25. ^ Cobb et al. 1974, p. 10.
  26. ^ Cobb et al. 1974, p. 11.
  27. ^ Boggs Mountain Loop.

Sources

  • Boggs Demonstration Forest, CAL FIRE, retrieved 2021-04-21
  • "Boggs Mountain", summitpost.org, retrieved 2021-04-20
  • Boggs Mountain Loop, AllTrails, LLC, retrieved 2021-04-21
  • Cobb, F.W.; Parmeter, J.R., Junior; Wood, D.L.; Stark, R.W. (1974), "Root pathogens as agents predisposing ponderosa pine and white fir to bark beetles", in E. G. Kuhlman (ed.), Fomes Annosus: Proceedings ..., Southeastern Forest Experiment Station, Forest Service, USDA, retrieved 2021-04-21{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  • Dillon, Brian D. (1995), History and Prehistory of Boggs Mountain Demonstration State Forest, Lake County, California, State of California, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, Archaeology Office
  • Draft Environmental Impact Report for Geothermal Exploration Permit, Boggs Mountain State Forest, Lake County, Ca, The Commission, 1976
  • Fragnoli, Delaine; Stuart, Robin (1995), Mountain Biking Northern California's Best 100 Trails, Fine Edge Productions, ISBN 978-0-938665-31-1
  • Gerike, Christian; Stewart, Suzanne Bestor (1988), Boggs Mountain Demonstration State Forest: Prehistoric Archaeological Overview, The Department, ISBN 978-1-55567-628-5
  • Goodyear, W.A. (1890), "Lake County", Report of the State Mineralogist, San Franscisco: California Department of Conservation, Division of Mines and Geology
  • "Harbin Mountain", Summitpost, retrieved 2021-05-05
  • History of the Springs, Harbin Hot Springs, retrieved 2021-05-05
  • Lake County Planning Department (May 1989), Cobb Mountain Area Plan (PDF) (Preliminary Draft), retrieved 2021-04-29
  • Lundquist, Erica (February 2010), Kelsey Creek Watershed Assessment (PDF), Big Valley Watershed Council, retrieved 2021-04-22
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