Banner Mountain facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Banner Mountain
Banner Mountain Location in California
Highest point
Elevation	3,902 ft (1,189 m) NAVD 88
Geography
Location	Nevada County, California, U.S.
Topo map	USGS Chicago Park

Banner Mountain, sometimes called Banner Hill, is a notable mountain in Nevada County, California. It's located close to Nevada City. This mountain stands tall at about 3,902 feet (1,189 meters) high. It's an important place because several creeks, including Wolf Creek, begin their journey here. Historically, the areas around these creeks were very active with mining.

Exploring Banner Mountain

Banner Mountain is the starting point for three main creeks: Little Deer Creek, Little Clipper Creek, and Wolf Creek. The mountain has very steep slopes.

Weather and Nature

The area around Banner Mountain has a mild Mediterranean climate. This means the weather changes quite a bit between seasons. Winters are usually wet and cold, with temperatures ranging from about 36 to 55 degrees Fahrenheit (2 to 13 degrees Celsius). Summers are dry and hot, with temperatures often between 75 and 95 degrees Fahrenheit (24 to 35 degrees Celsius). The mountain gets about 54 inches (137 cm) of rain each year. In winter, it often gets several feet of snow! You might even spot Deer and coyotes roaming around here.

Fire Lookout Tower

A tall steel lookout tower, 60 feet (18 meters) high, was built on Banner Mountain in 1926. It replaced an older wooden tower. A small house for the lookout crew was added in 1931. These structures have been updated over the years. In 1971, something special happened: California's first all-female fire lookout team was formed here by the U.S. Forest Service.

Rocks and Soil

The land around Banner Mountain has many different types of rocks. You can find mafic rocks like gabbro, serpentine rocks, and even granitic rocks. Because of these different rocks, the soil on the mountain is also unique.

Some of the soils, especially those from gabbro and serpentine, make it hard for most plants to grow. This is due to their special chemical makeup. Only certain plants that can handle these conditions have managed to grow here. Many of these plants are rare or endangered. Banner Mountain is also part of the historic "mother lode" area, which is famous for gold mining.

A Unique Story

The slopes of Banner Mountain were once home to a very interesting place called "The Republic of North California." This was actually just a 10-acre farm. It was located between the old gold mining towns of Grass Valley and Nevada City.

Standing Up for Rights

A couple named Val and Lilly Belle created this "Republic." Their goal was to show that people had rights, even in a free country like the U.S. They wanted to protest against what they saw as unfair rules. They even faced challenges and were put in jail for a short time. But when they were released, they kept believing in their ideas.

They successfully lived on their farm, which they called a Republic, for 40 years. They developed many farming methods that helped them live on their own without needing much from outside. Val and Lilly Belle were even honored in the Nevada County Fair's Hall of Fame in 1990 for their unique story and farming skills. Their story was also shared in a book called "California Characters, an Array of Amazing People" by Charles Hillinger, published in 1994.