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Mount Wilson

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Mount Wilson

Mount Wilson is at the peak of the San Gabriel Mountains, located within the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument and Angeles National Forest in Los Angeles County, California. With only minor topographical prominence, the peak is not naturally noticeable from a distance, although it is easily id

entifiable due to the large number of antennas near its summit. It is a subsidiary peak of nearby San Gabriel Peak. Quartz diorite is the dominant bedrock. It is the location of the Mount Wilson Observatory, which is an important astronomical facility in Southern California with historic 60-inch (1,524 mm) and 100-inch (2,540 mm) aperture telescopes, and 60-foot (18.3 m) and 150-foot (45.7 m) tall solar towers. The newer CHARA array, run by Georgia State University, is also sited there and does important interferometric stellar research. The summit is at 5,710 feet (1,740 m). While not the tallest peak in its vicinity, it is high enough in elevation that snow can sometimes interrupt astronomical activities. All of the mountains south of the summit are far shorter leading to unobstructed views across the Los Angeles Basin, Orange County, the Inland Empire, and out to Ventura County, San...

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