Supposedly you can see from the Golden Gate to the High Sierra to the Central Valley from atop Mt. Diablo.
One of California’s Jays sits in the tree above. Can you spot him?
The top…
Geographers claim hikers can see more of the earth’s surface from the top of Mt. Diablo than from any other peak in the world with only one exception…Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa.
Considering the relatively short height, 3,849 feet, you wonder why? The mountain rises solo and very abruptly from its surroundings. Combined with the fact that the land surrounding it, the San Francisco Bay and Central Valley, are nearly flat makes the far reaching panorama all the more impressive. Therefore, quite the lengthy view.
You climb over and through bizarre, wind sculpted rock formations along the way to the summit. This area is called Rock City.
The mountain is also different in that you climb over successively older and older rocks on the way to the summit, which is the exact opposite of the usual progression. The rocks that long ago formed an ancient sea bed have been tilted upside down and pushed up by hard red Franciscan rocks.
All in all…an impressive place with an amazing view. Today we could see San Francisco, the Golden Gate, the Central Valley and the High Sierras…depending which way we looked. It was almost too clear to get good photos!