Santa Lucia Mountains
| Santa Lucia Range | |
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November 2005 view from summit of Cone Peak, the highest coastal mountain in the lower 48 US states.
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| Highest point | |
| Peak | Junipero Serra Peak |
| Elevation | 5,857 ft (1,785 m) |
| Geography | |
 Santa Lucia Range
location of Santa Lucia Range in California
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| Country | United States |
| State | California |
| Region |
Monterey County San Luis Obispo County |
| Range coordinates | 36°3′3.861″N 121°28′8.769″W / 36.05107250°N 121.46910250°WCoordinates: 36°3′3.861″N 121°28′8.769″W / 36.05107250°N 121.46910250°W |
| Topo map | USGS Cone Peak |
The Santa Lucia Mountains or Santa Lucia Range is a rugged mountain range in coastal central California, running from Monterey County southeast for 105 miles (169 km) into central San Luis Obispo County. It includes Cone Peak, which at 5,158 feet (1,572 m) tall and three miles (5 km) from the coast, is the highest peak in proximity to the ocean in the lower 48 United States. The range forms the eastern boundary of the Big Sur region, and was a barrier to exploring the coast of California for early Spanish explorers.
The Santa Lucia Mountains are part of the Outer South California Coast Ranges, in the Pacific Coast Ranges System. Its northern section runs parallel to the southern section of the Diablo Range, part of the Inner South Coast Ranges, which lies to the east across the Salinas Valley. The range's highest summit is Junipero Serra Peak, 1,784 metres (5,853 ft) in Monterey County and the Los Padres National Forest.
The first European to document the Santa Lucias was Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo in 1542 while sailing northward along the coast on a Spanish naval expedition. Cabrillo originally named the southern portion of the range the Sierras de San Martín, as he was passing the area on 11 November, the feast day for Saint Martin. He named the northern part Sierras Nevadas because there was snow on it.
The present name for the range was documented in 1602 by Sebastián Vizcaíno, who had been tasked by the Spanish to complete a detailed chart of the coast. Passing by the range on 14 December, he named the range Sierra de Santa Lucia in honor of Saint Lucy of Syracuse.
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Wikipedia