Grizzly Peak (Berkeley Hills)

Grizzly Peak

Looking east from Grizzly Peak Boulevard with Mt. Diablo in the distance.
Highest point
Elevation 1,758 ft (536 m)  NAVD 88[1]
Prominence 100 ft (30 m) [2]
Coordinates 37°52′55″N 122°14′02″W / 37.882049342°N 122.233800283°W / 37.882049342; -122.233800283Coordinates: 37°52′55″N 122°14′02″W / 37.882049342°N 122.233800283°W / 37.882049342; -122.233800283 [1]
Geography
Location Alameda and Contra Costa counties, California, U.S.
Parent range Berkeley Hills
Topo map USGS Briones Valley

Grizzly Peak is a summit in the Berkeley Hills above Berkeley, California. The peak is located on the border between Alameda and Contra Costa counties, within the boundaries of Tilden Regional Park, and directly behind the University of California, Berkeley campus.

The peak was named for the California grizzly bear which inhabited the local area until the late 1800s. The last sighting locally was by a man who was reportedly killed by a grizzly in Strawberry Canyon below Grizzly Peak in the 1860s. The first local killing of a grizzly by a European occurred in 1772, also along Strawberry Creek just west of what is today the UC Berkeley campus, within what is now downtown Berkeley. The shooting by Spanish soldiers was recorded by Father Juan Crespi.[3] The last grizzly in all of California was killed in the Sierra foothills east of Fresno in August 1922.[4]

Grizzly Peak became more accessible in 1932 when Grizzly Peak Boulevard was constructed along the ridge line of the Berkeley Hills.[5] The name was extended to the previously-constructed ridge line stretch of Euclid Avenue to the north shortly thereafter. This portion was and remains a residential area of Berkeley while the original stretch is largely undeveloped. Grizzly Peak Boulevard now extends from Kenyon Avenue in Kensington in the north, through Berkeley and Oakland to an intersection with Skyline Blvd. above Oakland to the south. Before Grizzly Peak Boulevard was constructed, the location of its current intersection with Claremont (before 1892 known as Telegraph Road) and Fish Ranch Road was historically an important pass through the Berkeley Hills, before the tunnel that preceded today's Caldecott Tunnel was constructed through the hills in 1903; an inn and stage stop called the Summit House was located here.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Grizzly". NGS data sheet. U.S. National Geodetic Survey. Retrieved 2009-08-06.
  2. ↑ "Grizzly Peak, California". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 2009-08-03.
  3. ↑ "Bringing Back the California Grizzly", by Joe Eaton, Berkeley Daily Planet, Nov. 8-10, 2005
  4. ↑ "California State Library - History and Culture - State Symbols".
  5. ↑ "East Bay's Most Scenic Road Turns 75", by Steven Finacom, Berkeley Daily Planet, Aug.21-23, 2007.
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