Box Springs Mountain
Encyclopedia
Box Springs Mountain, at about 3080 feet (938.8 m), is the highest peak in the Box Springs Mountains
range in north-west Riverside County, California
, United States. The mountain is east of downtown Riverside
, and north-west of Moreno Valley
, a partial border between the two large cities. Most of the mountain is part of the Box Springs Mountain Reserve, a 1155 acres (4.7 km²) park operated by the county,
but because the mountain is one of the more prominent features in the Riverside-San Bernardino urbanized area
, the summit is used for numerous telecommunication towers, including transmission towers for the KOLA 99.9
and KGGI 99.1
radio stations.
The letter C is embedded on the Riverside-facing side. The "Big C" was built in 1957, mostly by UC Riverside students. E.L. Yeager donated the materials for the C. The "Big C" is approximately 1,500 feet above the UCR campus, and was the world's largest poured-concrete block letter, 132 feet high by 70 feet wide. The C is often vandalized with graffiti
.
The letter "M" was embedded on the Moreno Valley side of the mountain in 1966 as a symbol of Moreno Valley, which had not yet incorporated. Between December 2, 2009 and December 6, 2009, Moreno Valley and Southern California Edison
lit up the "M" to celebrate the 25th anniversary of cityhood.
The mountain is susceptible to wildfire
s and the summer fires often char the hillsides and poses a danger to residences at the base of the mountain.
Box Springs Mountains
The Box Springs Mountains are a mountain range in northwest Riverside County, California, United States. The highest peak in the range is Box Springs Mountain which is just over .-Named Peaks:...
range in north-west Riverside County, California
Riverside County, California
Riverside County is a county in the U.S. state of California. One of 58 California counties, it covers in the southern part of the state, and stretches from Orange County to the Colorado River, which forms the state border with Arizona. The county derives its name from the city of Riverside,...
, United States. The mountain is east of downtown Riverside
Riverside, California
Riverside is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, and the county seat of the eponymous county. Named for its location beside the Santa Ana River, it is the largest city in the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario metropolitan area of Southern California, 4th largest inland California...
, and north-west of Moreno Valley
Moreno Valley, California
Moreno Valley is a city located in Riverside County, California.A relatively young city, its rapid growth in the 1980s and the first decade of the 21st century made it second-largest city in Riverside County by population, and one of the Inland Empire's population centers. As of the 2010 census,...
, a partial border between the two large cities. Most of the mountain is part of the Box Springs Mountain Reserve, a 1155 acres (4.7 km²) park operated by the county,
but because the mountain is one of the more prominent features in the Riverside-San Bernardino urbanized area
Inland Empire (California)
The Inland Empire is a region in Southern California. The region sits directly east of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Inland Empire most commonly is used in reference to the U.S. Census Bureau's federally-defined Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario metropolitan area, which covers more than...
, the summit is used for numerous telecommunication towers, including transmission towers for the KOLA 99.9
KOLA
KOLA is a commercial classic hits music radio station in San Bernardino, California, broadcasting to the Riverside-San Bernardino, California, area on 99.9 FM.-External links:*****KOLA was founded by Fred Cote, first owner and general manager....
and KGGI 99.1
KGGI
KGGI is a commercial radio station in Riverside, California, broadcasting to the Riverside-San Bernardino, California area on 99.1 FM. The station airs a Rhythmic Top 40 music format owned by Clear Channel Communications....
radio stations.
History
Box Springs Mountain is said to have gotten its name during the 1880s when teamsters with horse-drawn wagons would stop at an arroyo to water their horses in a natural spring. A teamster surrounded it with a box to maintain its water, and thats where it got its name.The letter C is embedded on the Riverside-facing side. The "Big C" was built in 1957, mostly by UC Riverside students. E.L. Yeager donated the materials for the C. The "Big C" is approximately 1,500 feet above the UCR campus, and was the world's largest poured-concrete block letter, 132 feet high by 70 feet wide. The C is often vandalized with graffiti
Graffiti
Graffiti is the name for images or lettering scratched, scrawled, painted or marked in any manner on property....
.
The letter "M" was embedded on the Moreno Valley side of the mountain in 1966 as a symbol of Moreno Valley, which had not yet incorporated. Between December 2, 2009 and December 6, 2009, Moreno Valley and Southern California Edison
Southern California Edison
Southern California Edison , the largest subsidiary of Edison International , is the primary electricity supply company for much of Southern California, USA. It provides 14 million people with electricity...
lit up the "M" to celebrate the 25th anniversary of cityhood.
Geography
Box Springs Mountain provides wildlife habitat in the fast-growing Inland Empire Metropolitan Area, with populations of snakes, lizards, coyotes, bobcats, mountain lions, bears, deer and burros, some of which wander into the populated areas below. There are several large eucalyptus trees that were planted at its base that originally marked sources of water.The mountain is susceptible to wildfire
Wildfire
A wildfire is any uncontrolled fire in combustible vegetation that occurs in the countryside or a wilderness area. Other names such as brush fire, bushfire, forest fire, desert fire, grass fire, hill fire, squirrel fire, vegetation fire, veldfire, and wilkjjofire may be used to describe the same...
s and the summer fires often char the hillsides and poses a danger to residences at the base of the mountain.