El Toro (Santa Clara County, California)

El Toro
Highest point
Elevation 1,427 ft (435 m) NAVD 88[1]
Prominence 1,077 ft (328 m)
Coordinates 37°07′14″N 121°40′24″W / 37.120691°N 121.673224742°W / 37.120691; -121.673224742Coordinates: 37°07′14″N 121°40′24″W / 37.120691°N 121.673224742°W / 37.120691; -121.673224742[1]
Geography
El Toro

Location Santa Clara County, California, U.S.
Parent range Santa Cruz Mountains
Topo map USGS El Toro

El Toro is a prominent hill located along the eastern foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains in southwest Santa Clara County, California. The iconic landmark is partially owned by the city of Morgan Hill, and its silhouette is incorporated in the city logo.

History

In Spanish, "El Toro" means "The Bull".

According to local legend, 19th century American poet Bret Harte named the hill when he climbed it and discovered two bulls fighting near the summit (they subsequently chased him back down).

Hiking

Although a portion of the hill is on public land, access to the summit is through privately owned surrounding lands.

Since 2008, the Morgan Hill Historical Society had sponsored annual spring hikes up to the summit.[2] However, due to increased contention over property rights, no public hikes to the summit have been permitted since 2011.[3]

In 2012, the Morgan Hill Parks and Recreation Commission re-initiated a study started a decade earlier to create a public trail to the summit. The results of the study and proposal for the trail are available on the Commission's website.[4]

In 2013, the Commission held the first of a series of public meetings on the proposal to create the trail and associated facilities nearby.[5]

On September 4, 2014, a public meeting[6] will be held to discuss the future of the El Toro hiking trail.

See also

References

External links


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Saturday, December 26, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.