Redonda Mesa

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Redonda Mesa is a tall mesa located in the Southern Santa Ana Mountains near the Pacific Ocean. It is in an unincorporated area of southwestern Riverside County, California, United States. Redonda Mesa is part of the Peninsular Ranges, and stands up at 2,825 feet (861 m) above sea level.

Looking west at Redonda Mesa from Tenaja's Via Volcano

Geography and views

Redonda Mesa lies almost right on the Riverside-San Diego County Line, just a couple miles northeast of Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton and 11 miles (18 km) west of Temecula. The views from atop this mesa are redundant on clear days in all directions, to the south one can see Oceanside, Fallbrook, De Luz and Bonsall. To the north, one can see more of the interior Santa Ana Mountains. To the east, the Temecula Valley is below, as well as Anza and the San Jacinto Mountains further east. To the west, one sees more of Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, the some of the last major undeveloped coastal land in Southern California, the Pacific Ocean as well as Santa Catalina Island on very clear days, and one can see parts of coastal city San Clemente northwest in lower Orange County. This mesa is also covered in coastal sage scrub, some of the last remaining in Southern California.

Closer view of the tower.
A radio or cellphone tower on top of the mesa, a recent addition to the mesa top, constructed around the year 2006.

History

In the late 1960s the top of Redonda Mesa (along with several parcels in the valley below) were purchased from the Rancho California Land Company by Edward E. Sharp of Newport Beach, California, a leading real estate broker in the region.

During the 1970s, prior to the development of fiber optic transmission capabilities, the mesa's unrestricted views from San Diego to Orange County made it the ideal location for a microwave relay station which was the backbone of telephone communications in the era. AT&T purchased 20 acres (81,000 m2) at the top of Redonda Mesa from the Sharp Family Trust and in about 1981 completed constructing a 100-foot (30 m) high tower with numerous white "cones" pointed toward transmission and receiving stations in the Oceanside and San Clemente areas. The tower served the region for about a decade and then fell into disuse as new technologies took over.

In 2000, looking to divest itself of the surplus property, AT&T sold Redonda Mesa back to the Sharp Family Trust who in turn sold it to Herb Massinger who liked the tower and intended to turn its unique architecture and spectacular views into his dream home.

  • Redonda Mesa Ranch gate

  • Reservoir

  • Tower after the horns were removed

  • View to the south towards San Diego County

  • View southwest towards Camp Pendleton and the Pacific Ocean

External links

Coordinates: 33°29′28″N 117°20′44″W / 33.49111°N 117.34556°W / 33.49111; -117.34556

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