Boney Peak, Mountain summit in Santa Monica Mountains, California
Boney Peak is a 2,825-foot (861 m) summit in the Santa Monica Mountains, in Ventura County, California. It is the top of a mass of volcanic rock that solidified around 15 million years ago and was later uplifted, overlooking the western Conejo Valley. It lies in Circle X Ranch Park within the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, less than a mile southwest of Sandstone Peak along the same volcanic ridge.
Boney Peak is the top section of a mass of volcanic rock that solidified around 15 million years ago, later uplifted to overlook the western Conejo Valley. It stands 2,825 feet (861 m) high, less than a mile southwest of Sandstone Peak along the same volcanic ridge. The Chumash village of Satwiwa lay at its foothills, inhabited from about 13,000 years ago until roughly 2,000 years ago.
The Chumash consider Boney Mountain sacred. Around 1900 a Chumash informant told anthropologist John P. Harrington a hunting story set in 9080 B.C. on Old Boney, possibly lore of the Paleo-Indians. The village of Satwiwa lay at the mountain's foot, inhabited from about 13,000 years ago and still a Chumash site 2,000 years ago; the Satwiwa Native American Indian Culture Center now stands nearby.
Access to the peak comes through a hiking trail in Circle X Ranch Park, where hikers should expect significant elevation gain as they climb. Starting early and bringing plenty of water is a good idea since the route is long and exposed to the sun.
In 2019, newspaper photographs showed the summit dusted with snow; long-time Newbury Park residents said it was the first time they had seen snow there. The peak rises 2,825 feet (861 m), just under a mile southwest of Sandstone Peak along the same volcanic ridge.
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