Mount Lukens
Sister Elsie Peak
Mt. Lukens overlooking La Crescenta-Montrose
Highest point
Elevation5,075 ft (1,547 m) NAVD 88[1]
Prominence1,794 ft (547 m)[2]
ListingHundred Peaks Section[3]
Coordinates34°16′08″N 118°14′20″W / 34.269000714°N 118.238990497°W / 34.269000714; -118.238990497[1]
Geography
Mount Lukens is located in California
Mount Lukens
Mount Lukens
Location in California
Mount Lukens is located in the United States
Mount Lukens
Mount Lukens
Mount Lukens (the United States)
LocationSunland-Tujunga, Los Angeles,
Los Angeles County,
California, U.S.
Parent rangeSan Gabriel Mountains
Topo mapUSGS Condor Peak
Climbing
Easiest routeHike from Deukmejian Wilderness Park in Crescenta Highlands, Glendale[3]

Mount Lukens is a mountain peak of the San Gabriel Mountains, in Los Angeles County, Southern California.[4] It is the highest point in the city of Los Angeles.

Geography

It is in the Sunland-Tujunga community within the northeast corner of the city of Los Angeles, above the Crescenta Valley. The summit, at 5,075 feet (1,547 m) in elevation, is the highest point within the city limits.[5] The summit's elevation makes Los Angeles the city with the largest difference between high and low points among the 50 most populous cities in the US.[6]

Because of its location, prominence, and proximity to Los Angeles, the summit is dotted with television, radio, and cellular transmission towers.[7] The mountain is also within the boundaries of the Angeles National Forest and Los Angeles County.

Name origin

The mountain was named after Theodore Lukens, a former supervisor of the Angeles National Forest and later, the mayor of Pasadena, California.[8] Previously, the mountain was known as Sister Elsie Peak. It has been said that she was a Catholic nun who died while caring for the sick during a smallpox epidemic. On the USFS map of 1925, the mountain was shown as Mount Lukens and subtitled Sister Elsie Peak.[9] The identity of Sister Elsie (also referred to as Sister Else) is not certain and the stories surrounding her have not been verified.[10]

2009 Station Fire

Mount Lukens is in an area that was affected by the 2009 Station Fire in the San Gabriel Mountains.[11]

Radio communication facilities

Mount Lukens is a radio site with buildings owned by American Tower, Crown Castle, MobileRelay Associates, among others.

This site provides excellent coverage of Los Angeles, San Fernando Valley, Orange County and parts of Riverside and San Bernardino areas. It houses both broadcast and two-way communications facilities on virtually every frequency band, including FM broadcast, VHF low- and high-band, UHF, 800/900 MHz, and microwave.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Sister Elsie". NGS Data Sheet. National Geodetic Survey, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, United States Department of Commerce. Retrieved 2014-03-05.
  2. ^ "Mount Lukens, California". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 2014-03-05.
  3. ^ a b "Mount Lukens". Hundred Peaks Section List. Angeles Chapter, Sierra Club. Retrieved 2014-03-05.
  4. ^ "Mount Lukens". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved 2014-03-05.
  5. ^ "Mount Lukens". Local Hikes.com. Archived from the original on 2014-07-15. Retrieved 2014-03-05.
  6. ^ "Elevations and Distances in the United States". U.S. Geological Survey. Archived from the original on 2013-08-03. Retrieved 2014-03-05. Note: Juneau, AK has a greater range.
  7. ^ "Mount Lukens". Peakery.com. Archived from the original on 2014-03-10. Retrieved 2014-03-05.
  8. ^ Derby, George (1891). The National cyclopaedia of American biography (ebook). Vol. 18. New York: J.T. White & Co. p. 282. OCLC 844617289.
  9. ^ "Mount Lukens". SummitPost.org. Retrieved 2014-03-05.
  10. ^ "Summit Signatures: Mount Lukens". Archived from the original on 2011-09-10. Retrieved 2011-09-14.
  11. ^ "Station fire's effects still smolder". Glendale News-Press. Archived from the original on 2012-03-30. Retrieved 2014-03-05.


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