In the beginning, there was Oo’yum-bel’-le, the rock that gave birth to Wek’wek, the falcon who planted the first elderberry tree to provide food and music to the first people. The “rock,” more commonly known as Mount Diablo, is at the center of several Native Californian creation stories as well as Mount Diablo State Park (SP), one of Northern California’s most prominent landmarks.
Modern science’s creation story dates Mount Diablo’s birth to 190 million years ago, when tectonic drift moved rock from the ocean floor thousands of miles away until it piled up on the North American continental plate. With an elevation of 3,849 feet, Mount Diablo is not the tallest mountain in the world, or even in California. Yet it is a prominent signpost, visible from a large part of California, as it juts out from the flatness of the Central Valley and the low, rolling hills of the Bay Area. From its summit, 40 of California’s 58 counties are at least partially visible, and on clear days views can extend as far as the Farallon Islands, 30 miles off San Franciso, in the west and peak of Mount Lassen.
But Mount Diablo SP has more to offer than spectacular summit views. Thousands of people each year hike the park’s extensive trail system, picnic at one of its many scenic overlooks, camp at its over 50 campsites, and bike the roughly 11-mile steep and winding road to the summit. On top, they are greeted by the historic Visitor Center, built from 1939 to 1942 by the Civilian Conservation Corps from locally quarried stones; visitors can still see fossilized marine organisms embedded in them. The beacon inside the visitor center was used for navigation in the early days of aviation; today it is lit every year on Dec. 7 in remembrance of Pearl Habor.
“More than 600 native plant species—or 10% of California’s 6,000 native species—can be found in the park,” said Interpreter Sharon Peterson. The park’s island-like quality provides home to several endemic plant and wildlife species, including Mount Diablo bird’s beak (a flower) and the near endemic Mount Diablo globe lily (or fairy lantern). The Mary Bowerman Trail, which is partially accessible to visitors with disabilities, starts at the Visitor Center and loops around the summit. It guides visitors through a whole range of habitats, from woodland with gray pines that carry football-size cones, past oak grassland, to chaparral. At its northeastern Mitchell Canyon site, the park conducts prescribed burns in fall and spring to restore native grasses and attack invasive species.
Prominent wildlife residents include black tail deer and acorn woodpecker. Late summer and fall is tarantula mating season, when male spiders who have reached maturity after spending seven years in underground burrows emerge and seek out their female counterparts. State Parks is all about rehabilitating the unfairly maligned reputation of tarantula females: contrary to a common myth, they typically do not eat their male partners after mating (except in isolated but regrettable cases).
Mount Diablo’s intricate geology is on display on the park’s Trail Through Time, which takes visitors from the youngest formations at the base of the mountain to its oldest rock on top. A popular picnic stop on the trail are the wind caves of Rock City near the South Gate, where water and erosion over the years carved man-sized holes in the sandstone formations that resemble cave dwellings.
“Mount Diablo is intrinsically linked to the story of California,” said Diablo Range District Associate State Archaeologist Zackary Moskowitz. “It is one of the most prolific center points of Native Californian mythology—not just in the area but statewide.” Many of today’s visitors view Mount Diablo as a recreation hub as well as spiritual site. Coming to Mount Diablo is a “mindfulness exercise” for visitors like Emily “M” Shirey, who regularly stays at the park’s Juniper Campground, enjoying the view from 2,900 feet “while coloring and listening to the birds.”
Viewed from the observation deck on top of the Visitor Center the sun sets over the Golden Gate Bridge in the west. To the east, Mount Diablo literally casts a pyramid-shaped shadow over tens of thousands of Californians in the Central Valley and beyond. The mountain at the center of so many creation stories continues to provide inspiration and recreation for countless people.
