Arabia Mountain
| Arabia Mountain | |
|---|---|
At the top of Arabia Mountain
|
|
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 954 ft (291 m) |
| Coordinates | 33°39′54″N 84°7′6″W / 33.66500°N 84.11833°W |
| Geography | |
| Location | DeKalb County, Georgia |
| Climbing | |
| First ascent | unknown |
| Easiest route | Hike |
| Arabia Mountain National Heritage Area | |
|---|---|
|
IUCN category III (natural monument or feature)
|
|
 |
|
| Location | Southeast of Atlanta, Georgia |
| Nearest city | Lithonia, Georgia |
| Coordinates | 33°39′54″N 84°7′6″W / 33.66500°N 84.11833°WCoordinates: 33°39′54″N 84°7′6″W / 33.66500°N 84.11833°W |
| Established | 2006 |
| Governing body | Arabia Mountain Heritage Area Alliance |
Arabia Mountain is a monadnock in DeKalb County, Georgia. The peak is 954 feet (290m) above sea level, rising 170 feet (52m) above Arabia Lake reservoir. It is now part of the Davidson-Arabia Mountain Nature Preserve, a DeKalb County park.
Arabia Mountain is one of Metro Atlanta's three monadnocks, which includes Stone Mountain, Panola Mountain, and Arabia Mountain. The unique topography and geology of this monadnock allows for unusual plant and animal species to thrive. Arabia Mountain has five species that are listed as both state and federally endangered, including the bright-red diamorpha plant that lives in small pools of water (known as vernal pools or solution pits) that form on the monadnock.
Panola Mountain is 3.63 miles (5.84 km) to the southwest. While designated as one peak on USGS maps, most users familiar with the area consider the rock formation to be two peaks: Arabia Mountain to the northeast, and Bradley Mountain to the southeast, connected by a low saddle.
Arabia Mountain appears to be composed of granite, like other nearby peaks such as Stone Mountain and Panola Mountain. Although made of metamorphic rock, the mountain is actually composed of migmatite, metamorphosed at higher temperatures than gneiss but not sufficiently melted to become granite. The resulting swirl pattern made the rock a popular building stone and many buildings in the region were constructed with stone quarried from the Lithonia district quarries.
Like Stone Mountain, Arabia Mountain was quarried for decades before the property was turned over to the DeKalb park system. Structures and excavations from the quarry operations can be seen throughout the park. The stone quarried from Arabia Mountain, officially called "Tidal Grey", was prized for its high structural density and compressive strength as well as its "swirl" pattern. Tidal Grey Arabia Mountain can be seen in the construction of buildings for the U.S. Naval Academy, the Brooklyn Bridge, and street curbing in Atlanta as well as many other Georgia cities.
...
Wikipedia