Mount Diablo State Park: Encyclopedia II - Mount Diablo State Park - Geography

Mount Diablo State Park - Geography

The park surrounds and includes Mount Diablo, an isolated 1173 meter (3849 feet) volcanic peak that is visible from many places in the surrounding region. During the summer, visiblity can be somewhat hazy. The best views can be found the day after a winter storm. On a clear day, it is possible to view the Sierra Nevada mountains, including the volcanic mountain, Mount Shasta. It is located south of the town of Clayton, California and north-east of Danville, California. It is accessible by motor vehicle, hiking, running, or bicycle (the record time from the Athenian School in the town of Diablo to the summit is under 45 minutes; casual riders should bring plenty of food and water). It is approximately 80 km² (20000 acres) in area, and its elevation varies from approximately 90 meters (300 feet) to the summit height. Little more than a mile northeast of the summit is North Peak at 3557 feet.

According to a sign at the summit it is possible to view the second greatest surface area seen from any peak in the world, exceeded only by the 19,340 foot Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa. However, one calculation shows that the viewshed from Denali is about three times greater. While the lack of surrounding peaks gives Diablo an outstanding view, its relatively low height and the curvature of the earth limits the visible horizon over the sea and surrounding plains to approximately 125 kilometers. Beyond that, only ridges are visible and then only on their appropriately facing sides. Very many higher peaks around the world offer greater general viewing distances over seas and flat plains. Nor is it plausible that more viewable area can be seen from the Diablo summit than any other peak in the lower 48 states. The viewshed east from Colorado summits (e.g. Pike's Peak) over the Great Plains is very much greater. See the panorama external link at the foot of this page.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Geography", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki