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Mount Wilson, California, USA

Mt. Wilson
(c) 2000 Andrew Alden, licensed to About.com, Inc. (fair use policy)

Mount Wilson overlooks the grounds of the Los Angeles County Arboretum in Arcadia, California—and the whole northeastern L.A. metropolitan area. At roughly a kilometer and a half in elevation, it isn't really that big a peak, but the land next to it is low. It and much of the rest of the San Gabriel Mountains were raised by movements on the Sierra Madre fault zone. This fault is hazardous and is considered capable of magnitude 7 events.

The mountaintop houses a forest of broadcast antennas serving Los Angeles, plus the Mount Wilson Observatory, home of cutting-edge astronomy for more than 100 years.

More about California Geology

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