kids encyclopedia robot

Mount Saint Helena facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
This page is about the mountain in California. For the volcano in the state of Washington, see Mount St. Helens.
Quick facts for kids
Mount Saint Helena
Mount Saint Helena, viewed from Napa Valley.JPG
Mount Saint Helena, viewed from Northern Napa Valley
Highest point
Elevation 4,342 ft (1,323 m) NAVD 88
Prominence 1,823 ft (556 m)
Listing California county high points 44th
Geography
Mount Saint Helena is located in California
Mount Saint Helena
Mount Saint Helena
Location in California
Parent range Mayacamas Mountains
Topo map USGS Mount Saint Helena

Mount Saint Helena (Wappo: Kanamota, "Human Mountain") is a peak in the Mayacamas Mountains with flanks in Napa, Sonoma, and Lake counties of California. Composed of uplifted 2.4-million-year-old volcanic rocks from the Clear Lake Volcanic Field, it is one of the few mountains in the San Francisco Bay Area to receive any snowfall during the winter.

The mountain has five peaks, arranged in a rough "M" shape. Its highest point, North Peak, is in Sonoma County. The second-tallest, immediately east of the main summit, is the highest point in Napa County. The headwaters of the Napa River are on the southeast slope of Mount Saint Helena.

History

St Helena plate
Replicas of a plaque left by Russians on Mount Saint Helena

Mount Saint Helena has had an explosive history of pyroclastic flows that resulted in California's Petrified Forest.

Mount Saint Helena was originally named Mount Mayacamas, but the name was changed after a Russian survey party ascended the peak in 1841 and left a copper plate on the summit inscribed with the date of their visit. The plate also bore the name of Princess Helena de Gagarin, wife of Alexander G. Rotchev, the commanding officer of Fort Ross.

Robert Louis Stevenson and Fanny Vandegrift Osbourne spent the summer of 1880 honeymooning in an abandoned mining camp on Mount Saint Helena. Stevenson's book The Silverado Squatters includes his experiences while living there. The mount is also described by Ambrose Bierce in his ghost story The Death of Halpin Frayser. Ursula K. Le Guin's novel Always Coming Home is about a post-apocalyptic society that considers Mount Saint Helena sacred.

The peak is reachable by hiking trails leading from Robert Louis Stevenson State Park. The trails are approximately 6 miles long.

  • Mount Saint Helena (2007-10-08)

    Mount Saint Helena

  • Mount Saint Helena 2

    Another view of the mountain

  • Monument on the site of Robert Louis Stevenson's cabin in Robert Louis Stevenson State Park

    Robert Louis Stevenson monument in Robert Louis Stevenson State Park

Views from the summit

Panorama from top of Mount Saint Helena.
  • Calistoga from mt st helena

    Calistoga viewed from Mount Saint Helena

  • Northern Napa Valley viewed from Mount Saint Helena

    Northern Napa Valley viewed from Mount Saint Helena

  • View from Mount Saint Helena, California 2

    A view from the mountain

  • View from Mount Saint Helena 5

    Another view

  • View from Mount Saint Helena

    Another view

  • MtStHelenaTreeFrame

    view after 2017 fire

  • MtStHelenaSnow

    snow view

kids search engine
All content from Kiddle encyclopedia articles (including the article images and facts) can be freely used under Attribution-ShareAlike license, unless stated otherwise. Cite this article:
Mount Saint Helena Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.