# Mount Vaca

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> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Mount_Vaca.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Vaca
> Source revision: 1355912443
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

{{Short description|Mountain in California, United States}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2021}}
{{Infobox mountain
| name = Mount Vaca
| image = Mount Vaca and Blue Ridge, Solano County.jpg
| image_caption = Mt. Vaca and the Blue Ridge, high points of Solano County, as seen from upper Suisun Valley.
| elevation_ft = 2822
| elevation_ref = {{navd88}}<ref name="peakbagger" />
| prominence_ft = 1959
| prominence_ref = <ref name="peakbagger" />
| listing = [California county high points](/source/List_of_highest_points_in_California_by_county) 53rd
| location = [Napa](/source/Napa_County%2C_California) and [Solano](/source/Solano_County%2C_California) counties, [California, U.S.](/source/California)
| range = [Vaca Mountains](/source/Vaca_Mountains)
| map = USA California
| map_size = 210
| map_caption = none
| coordinates = {{coord|38.4004017|N|122.1060683|W|region:US-CA_source:GNIS|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
| coordinates_ref = <ref name="gnis" />
| topo = [USGS](/source/United_States_Geological_Survey) Mount Vaca
| type = 
| age = 
| first_ascent = 
| easiest_route =
}}

'''Mount Vaca''' is a mountain in [Napa](/source/Napa_County%2C_California) and [Solano](/source/Solano_County%2C_California) counties of [Northern California](/source/Northern_California). It is both the highest point in the [Vaca Mountains](/source/Vaca_Mountains) and in Solano County.<ref name="peakbagger-highpoint" /> It  is also one of several peaks in the [San Francisco Bay Area](/source/San_Francisco_Bay_Area) that receive winter snow.

==Origin of name==
''Vaca'' is the [Spanish](/source/Spanish_language) word for cow. Although cattle ranching historically played an important role in the area, Mount Vaca and the nearby city of [Vacaville](/source/Vacaville%2C_California) are actually named for Juan Manuel Cabeza Vaca (1782–1856), who with Juan Felipe Pena received in 1843 the [Rancho Los Putos](/source/Rancho_Los_Putos) [Mexican land grant](/source/Ranchos_of_California), which included the peak that now bears Vaca's name.<ref name="gudde1949" />

==Public access==
The summit of Mount Vaca is reached via either Mix Canyon Road or Gates Canyon Road, both of which originate in Vacaville California.<ref name="access" />  These roads intersect Blue Ridge Road, which follows the ridge top to the summit.

thumb|272px|Doppler Radar weather tower on top of Mt. Vaca.

== High-definition Doppler weather radar ==

The [San Francisco Bay Area](/source/San_Francisco_Bay_Area) is surrounded by mountain ranges that obstruct weather radar, even government broadcasts, thereby leaving blind spots in the weather prediction system. As a consequence, television station [KPIX-TV](/source/KPIX-TV), a San Francisco [CBS](/source/Columbia_Broadcasting_System) affiliate, partnered with the [National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration](/source/National_Oceanic_and_Atmospheric_Administration) (NOAA) to build a  [Doppler weather radar](/source/weather_radar) on top of Mt. Vaca. Before this, the mountain blocked radar information about storms coming in from the Northwest, which compromised weather prediction and allowed for flooding, heavy rains, and high winds without prior warnings. This new radar system gives meteorologists a more complete view of [precipitation](/source/precipitation_(meteorology)) and temperature patterns in the Bay Area, and allows for more accurate weather predictions.<ref name="noaa2007" />

== See also ==
* [List of highest points in California by county](/source/List_of_highest_points_in_California_by_county)
* [List of summits of the San Francisco Bay Area](/source/List_of_summits_of_the_San_Francisco_Bay_Area)

== References ==
<references>

<ref name="access">Information on road access is from the [Solano County](/source/Solano_County) Surveyors Office in [Fairfield, California](/source/Fairfield%2C_California), personal communication, July 17, 2009.</ref>

<ref name="gnis">{{cite gnis |id=255187 |name=Mount Vaca |access-date=July 17, 2009}}</ref>

<ref name="gudde1949">{{cite book |author=Gudde, Erwin G. |title=California Place Names |year=1949 |location=Berkeley, CA |publisher=Univ. of California Press |page=375}}</ref>

<ref name="noaa2007">{{cite web |author=National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Agency |year=2007| title=NOAA Agencies partner with the private sector to provide high resolution Doppler Radar data to San Francisco Bay Area Forecast Office (press release) |url=https://hmt.noaa.gov/news/2007/pdf/KPIX_partnership.pdf |website=Hydrometeorology Testbed (HMT) website |access-date=June 15, 2013}}</ref>

<ref name="peakbagger-highpoint">{{cite web |url = http://www.peakbagger.com/list.aspx?lid=13204 |title = California County High Points |publisher = Peakbagger.com |access-date=December 9, 2009 }}</ref>

<ref name="peakbagger">{{cite peakbagger |pid=1184 |name=Mount Vaca, California |access-date=July 15, 2009}}</ref>

</references>

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vaca, Mount}}
Category:Vaca Mountains
Category:Mountains of Napa County, California
Category:Mountains of Solano County, California
Category:Mountains of the San Francisco Bay Area
Category:Mountains of Northern California

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Mount Vaca](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Vaca) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Vaca?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.