Mount Signal is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

located along State Route 98 about west of

Calexico Calexico () is a city in southern Imperial County, California. Situated on the Mexican border, it is linked economically with the much larger city of Mexicali, the capital of the Mexican state of Baja California. It is about east of San Diego ...

in the southern part of the

Imperial Valley , photo = Salton Sea from Space.jpg , photo_caption = The Imperial Valley below the Salton Sea. The US-Mexican border runs diagonally across the lower left of the image. , map_image = Newriverwatershed-1-.jpg , map_caption = Map of Imperial ...

Imperial County Imperial Count (german: Reichsgraf) was a title in the Holy Roman Empire. In the medieval era, it was used exclusively to designate the holder of an imperial county, that is, a fief held directly ( immediately) from the emperor, rather than from ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. The area is south of

Interstate 8 Interstate 8 (I-8) is an Interstate Highway in the southwestern United States. It runs from the southern edge of Mission Bay at Sunset Cliffs Boulevard in San Diego, California, almost at the Pacific Ocean, to the junction with I-10, ...

and about north of the

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

border. It lies at an elevation of 13 feet (4 m) below sea level. This is an agricultural area. There are a few homes and businesses and many irrigation canals and green fields. The Centinela Solar Energy Project is located here. Other nearby communities include Heber,

El Centro El Centro (Spanish for "The Center") is a city and county seat of Imperial County, California, United States. El Centro is the largest city in the Imperial Valley, the east anchor of the Southern California Border Region, and the core urban are ...

, and Seeley. The ZIP Code for Mount Signal is 92231 and the area is in Calexico's

telephone exchange A telephone exchange, telephone switch, or central office is a telecommunications system used in the public switched telephone network (PSTN) or in large enterprises. It interconnects telephone subscriber lines or virtual circuits of digital syst ...

area. Its area code is

760 __NOTOC__ Year 760 ( DCCLX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 760 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era b ...

. While not a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, such ...

, the name is official and it does have a National Geographic Names Database feature ID of 1661068. The official

U.S. Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, and ...

coordinates are : this defines a spot near the intersection of State Route 98 (SR98) and Brockman Road.

Name

The community is named for

Mount Signal Mount Signal is a mountain west of Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico, on Mexican Federal Highway 2. The peak is also known as "Weeishpa" by the native community Kumiai or "Cerro del Centinela" or simply: El Centinela (the sentinel) by the Mexica ...

, a summit about southwest, inside Mexico. It is also known as El Cerro Centinela, by the Mexicans, and Wi'Shspa, by the Kwapa: Cocopah people. Mount Signal was used by the early Pioneers and Native Americans as a landmark to help guide them through the desert. Most of the fields in the area are currently growing

alfalfa Alfalfa () (''Medicago sativa''), also called lucerne, is a perennial flowering plant in the legume family Fabaceae. It is cultivated as an important forage crop in many countries around the world. It is used for grazing, hay, and silage, as w ...

sugar beets Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double s ...

. Mount Signal Road takes you to the mountain and the International Border. Unfortunately, there is not a Port of Entry there. However, there is a limited access area for off-road vehicles. Even though Mount Signal appears to be in the United States, it is actually located on the Mexican side of the border. If one would like to climb all to the top, one must do so from the Mexican side. Climbers need to take care, there are no maintained trails. During the 1870s U.S. engineers climbed the mountain to record the elevation, so there should be a monument marker at the top. Former Mexican-born

DEA The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA; ) is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Justice tasked with combating drug trafficking and distribution within the U.S. It is the lead agency for domestic en ...

Special Agent

Kiki Camarena Enrique "Kiki" Camarena Salazar (July 26, 1947 – February 9, 1985) was an American intelligence officer for the United States (DEA). In February 1985 Camarena was kidnapped by drug traffickers hired by Mexican politicians in Guadalajara, Mexic ...

, who was murdered in Mexico by Mexican drug cartel hitmen on February 9, 1985, was a former police officer in nearby

Calexico, California Calexico () is a city in southern Imperial County, California. Situated on the Mexican border, it is linked economically with the much larger city of Mexicali, the capital of the Mexican state of Baja California. It is about east of San Diego ...

and specifically requested that his ashes be scattered by plane over Mount Signal as it was evenly divided by the border, half in Mexico and half in the United States.

History

A post office operated at Mount Signal from 1916 to 1934.

Points of interest

Other geographic features supporting the name include Mount Signal School, feature ID of 246276. It is believed the school no longer exists; its location was one mile (1.6 km) north of these coordinates on Brockman Road. At the intersection of SR98 and Brockman Road is the Mount Signal Café, currently closed. The business was shown on an episode of "

California's Gold ''California's Gold'' is a public television human interest program that explores the natural, cultural, and historical features of California. The series ran for 24 seasons beginning in 1991, and was produced and hosted by Huell Howser in colla ...

Politics

In the state legislature Mount Signal is located in the 40th

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

District, represented by

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

Denise Moreno Ducheny Denise Moreno Ducheny (born March 21, 1952) is an American lawyer and former politician from California. She is a former California State Senator who represented Senate District 40, which includes southern San Diego County, part of Riverside Count ...

, and in the 80th

Assembly Assembly may refer to: Organisations and meetings * Deliberative assembly, a gathering of members who use parliamentary procedure for making decisions * General assembly, an official meeting of the members of an organization or of their representa ...

District, represented by

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

Bonnie Garcia Bonnie Garcia (born August 13, 1962) is a California politician. She was the representative for California's 80th State Assembly district, serving eastern Riverside County and all of Imperial County, from 2002 through 2008. In 2014 she was a cand ...

. Federally, Mount Signal is located in

California's 51st congressional district California's 51st congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of California. The district is currently represented by . The district currently includes central and eastern portions of San Diego, as well as eastern sub ...

, which is represented by Democrat

Juan Vargas Juan Carlos Vargas (born March 7, 1961) is an American businessman and politician who has been the U.S. representative for California since 2013. His district includes all of Imperial County and the southernmost portions of San Diego County. V ...

References

External links

Over One Hundred and One Views of Mount Signal
maintained by American Artist

Allan McCollum Allan McCollum (born 1944) is a contemporary American artist who lives and works in New York City. In 1975, his work was included in the Whitney Biennial, and he moved to New York City the same year. In the late 1970s he became especially well kn ...