Mount Tamalpais
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Mount Tamalpais ("Mount Tam") is a peak in Marin County, California, USA, often considered symbolic of Marin County. Its name, first recorded in 1845, is said to be derived from a Miwok word meaning "Sleeping Maiden", on the grounds that the silhouette of the mountain can be seen as the shape of a sleeping girl; the point of view from which this is obvious is not recorded. The mountain is the main feature of the Mount Tamalpais State Park and is a popular hiking destination for residents of the San Francisco Bay Area, as well as being home to the Edgewood Botanic Garden and to the Cushing Memorial Amphitheater where musical productions are performed every year by the Mountain Play Association.
Mount Tamalpais is part of the Coast Ranges, the result of uplift, buckling, and folding of the North American plate as it slides along the Pacific Plate near the San Andreas fault zone. During cold, wet winter storms, the mountain also regularly gets some snowfall, sometimes as much as 6 inches overnight in February 2001, and March 2006.
It was home to the Mount Tamalpais Scenic Railway, also known as "The Crookedest Railroad in the World", a railroad which meandered its way up to the peak from downtown Mill Valley until the construction of the road to the peak, and the gaining popularity of automobiles.
The peak and its surrounding areas are the birthplace of mountain biking. There, in the 1970s, early mountain bikers such as Gary Fisher, Otis Guy, Charlie Kelly and Joe Breeze roamed on their two-wheeled steeds.
External links
- [Maps and aerial photos]
- * WikiSatellite view at [WikiMapia]
- * Topographic map from [TopoZone]
- * Aerial image from [TerraServer-USA]
- * Surrounding area map from [Google Maps]
- * Location in the United States from the [Census Bureau]
- [Mt. Tamalpais State Park - Facts]
- [Legends of Mount Tam]: San Francisco Chronicle article with accounts of the use and origin of the name.
- [Mountain Play Association] The group that performs yearly at the amphitheatre on mount Tam.
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