The following links are ordered by the time I learned about them.
A picture of the main vernal pool in Spring 1993, before the boardwalk was enhanced, is provided by G. Donald Bain.
Ron Graybill has a page of Santa Rosa Plateau pictures, especially along the Sylvan Ranch Trail, in the Recent section of his photo pages, and some additional pictures under Trees.
Peter Stephan has a number of pictures at his Scenes from the Santa Rose Plateau site. The pictures are of:
- Four pictures showing the beautiful rolling grassland in the spring/summer, with backgrounds of Avenaloca Mesa with the microwave tower on Redonda Mesa (1), the hills immediately to the northwest (2), San Gorgonio and the ridgeline to the west (3,4). (Avenaloca Mesa blocks most of the Redonda Mesa as seen from the Ecological Reserve, but the microwave tower on Redonda Mesa is seen above it.)
- A somewhat dark picture of the Mesa de Colorado in the foreground, with a beautiful picture of the Avenaloca Mesa with the microwave tower on Redonda Mesa under rainclouds.
Richard Sparks has nine pictures at his Classic Western Scenery: Old California: Santa Rosa Plateau. The pictures are of:
- Poppy Hill
- Ancient Oak
- Early Morning Fog
- Old Adobe
- Golden Hills
- Oak on Poppy Hill
- Waterline Road
- Lomas Trail
- Lupines
Elin Pendleton has been painting on location every Thursday at the Santa Rosa Ecological Reserve since March 2000. Pictures of eleven of her paintings are online.
Other pictures:
- G. Donald Bain gives a photo of the bunchgrass prairie.
Pictures by Jim Grattan and by Robin Weare are no longer online.
Links checked 12/25/02.
Views from the Santa Rosa Plateau
Stunning views of three other major mountain ranges are seen from many places along the trails of the Santa Rosa Plateau.
- At 20° east of north, Elsinore Peak is the highest part of the Santa Anas that can be seen. It has four or so antennae at its summit, with the westernmost antenna white and wider than the others. As you might expect, Lake Elsinore is at its foot to the east.
- Directly north is Cajon Pass, and the beginning of the long slow rise of the San Bernardino Mountains to the summit of San Gorgonio, which is at about 45° east of north. As seen from this direction, the profile of the San Bernardinos is directly controlled by the San Jacinto and San Andreas Faults. We are almost directly perpendicular to the faults, making the profile very linear due to many fault slices going through the range.
The San Gabriel Mountains can be seen on a very clear day from Monument Hill, to the west of Cajon Pass.
- At 70° east of north is the summit of San Jacinto. Palm Springs is at the eastern base of that mountain. San Jacinto has a much different profile since the San Andreas Fault is on the far side of the mountain and the San Jacinto Fault is on the near side. With this simpler structure than San Gorgonio, erosion has formed more of a bell-shaped peak, before resuming the linear profile nearer its base.
- At 120° east of north is the Palomar Range. Agua Tibia Mountain occupies most of the view, and from most places in the Reserve it is not possible to see the 200" telescope, which is blocked from view by Agua Tibia or by the middle of the Palomar Range. The dome of the 200" can be seen from the Trans Preserve Trail near Poppy Hill, and the Los Santos Trail in the same area.
- South of Palomar are the Cuyamacas in the far distance, with North Peak, Middle Peak, and Cuyamaca Peak visible on very clear days.
The following plot gives the elevation angles and azimuths of peaks to the east as seen from the Vernal Pool Trail on the Mesa de Colorado, just north of the Main Pool:
The following picture was taken on 26 February 2006, and shows details on the many peaks seen in between San Jacinto Peak and Palomar Mountain:
The following table gives the distance, azimuth, and elevation angles to many peaks, including peaks that are blocked from view by nearer peaks. (The table is thus useful to show what peaks block other peaks.) The table is sorted by azimuth angle, degrees east of true north.
| Peak | Distance (miles) | Azimuth Angle | Elevation Angle |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Gorgonio Mountain | 48.6 | 33.1 | 1.79 |
| San Jacinto Peak | 40.9 | 58.9 | 2.06 |
| Tahquitz Peak | 39.1 | 64.1 | 1.63 |
| Toro Peak | 49.7 | 88.7 | 1.13 |
| Rabbit Peak | 60.7 | 94.7 | 0.43 |
| Iron Spring Mountain | 34.3 | 96.4 | 0.95 |
| Beauty Peak | 32.9 | 98.3 | 0.94 |
| Combs Peak | 40.2 | 101.2 | 0.86 |
| "5863" | 41.3 | 103.4 | 0.74 |
| Wild Horse Peak | 19.7 | 103.7 | 0.55 |
| "5412" | 40.4 | 105.2 | 0.64 |
| "3524" | 19.5 | 106.7 | 0.69 |
| Hot Springs Mountain | 43.0 | 108.0 | 0.85 |
| Palomar Mountain | 28.0 | 111.0 | 1.41 |
| Agua Tibia Mountain | 18.9 | 111.2 | 1.44 |
| Eagle Crag | 20.9 | 113.7 | 1.43 |
| Boucher Hill | 24.5 | 119.5 | 1.35 |
| Volcan Mountain | 46.9 | 122.1 | 0.51 |
| Monument Peak | 65.8 | 130.1 | 0.27 |
| North Peak | 53.4 | 130.4 | 0.46 |
| Rodriguez Mountain | 29.3 | 130.5 | 0.49 |
| Black Mountain | 36.7 | 130.9 | 0.35 |
| Middle Peak | 54.0 | 132.4 | 0.42 |
| Cuyamaca Peak | 55.4 | 134.4 | 0.52 |
| Burnt Mountain (Daley Ranch, Escondido) | 24.8 | 148.8 | 0.32 |
| Santiago Peak | 19.8 | 314.6 | 1.87 |
| San Gabriel Peak | 68.7 | 317.7 | 0.21 |
| Mount Wilson | 66.3 | 318.3 | 0.17 |
| Waterman Mountain | 68.1 | 327.2 | 0.52 |
| Throop Peak | 65.0 | 333.4 | 0.76 |
| Elsinore Peak | 7.1 | 333.9 | 2.28 |
| Mount Baden-Powell | 64.6 | 335.2 | 0.82 |
| Ontario Peak | 53.2 | 338.9 | 1.01 |
| Mount San Antonio (Old Baldy) | 57.6 | 339.3 | 1.14 |
| Pine | 59.1 | 340.0 | 1.01 |
| Dawson | 58.3 | 340.2 | 1.02 |
| Wright | 60.2 | 341.0 | 0.77 |
| Cucamonga | 52.1 | 341.1 | 1.08 |
All of the above parameters were calculated using the formulae discussed in How To Calculate Distances, Azimuths and Elevation Angles Of Peaks.