Mount Vaca

Mount Vaca
Elevation	2,819 ft (859 m) NGVD 29[1]
Prominence	1,959 ft (597 m) [1]
Location
Location	Napa and Solano counties, California, USA
Coordinates	38°24′01″N 122°06′22″W / 38.4001881°N 122.1060815°W / 38.4001881; -122.1060815Coordinates: 38°24′01″N 122°06′22″W / 38.4001881°N 122.1060815°W / 38.4001881; -122.1060815[2]
Topo map	USGS Mount Vaca

Mount Vaca is a mountain in Napa and Solano counties of Northern California. The summit is the highest point in Solano County^[3] and is one of several peaks in the San Francisco Bay Area that receive winter snow.

While vaca is the Spanish word for cow, and cattle ranching has played an important role in the vicinity, the peak and nearby city of Vacaville are named for Juan Manuel Cabeza Vaca who was the co-owner of Rancho Los Putos, a Mexican land grant.^[4]

Public Access

Access to the Mt. Vaca summit is via Mix Canyon Road or Gates Canyon Road in Vacaville California. Both roads intersect the Blue Ridge Road (aka: County Road 354) which spans the summit ridge of the mountain. Both Gates Canyon and Mix Canyon Roads are illegally posted "No Trespassing". Public access to this road can be confirmed by the Solano County Surveyors Office. Lands on either side of Blue Ridge road are private property however. There are also gates placed across Blue Ridge Road, but these are Fire Department gates which are closed during extreme fire danger periods.^{[citation needed]}

High-definition Doppler weather radar

The San Francisco Bay Area is surrounded by mountain ranges. These mountains obstruct radars, even government ones, leaving blind spots. KPIX-TV, the San Francisco CBS affiliate, built a Doppler weather radar of their own on top of Mt. Vaca, as the mountain was blocking information about storms coming from the Northwest which could then be missed and cause flooding, heavy rains, and high winds without prior warnings. The new radar gives meteorologists a more complete view of the precipitation distribution in the Bay Area and allows better interpretation the temperature distribution.

See also

• List of highest points in California by county
• List of summits in the San Francisco Bay Area

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Mount Vaca, California". Peakbagger.com. http://www.peakbagger.com/peak.aspx?pid=1184. Retrieved 2009-07-15. 
2. ^ "Mount Vaca". Geographic Names Information System, U.S. Geological Survey. http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic/f?p=gnispq:3:::NO::P3_FID:255187. Retrieved 2009-07-17. 
3. ^ "California County High Points". Peakbagger.com. http://www.peakbagger.com/list.aspx?lid=13204. Retrieved 2009-12-09. 
4. ^ Gudde, Erwin G. (1949). California Place Names. Berkeley: Univ. of California Press. p. 375.