Location: Kern County, California
Name was derived from the nearby stop of Onyx. It was, originally named for William Scodie who ran “Scodie’s Store”. When a U.S. Post Office was established (1890), this name was officially rejected, so Scodie chose “Onyx” for the stones available in the area.
The name of Onyx #2 was once fancifully renamed “Kiavah Mountain” for the chief of a tribe that took up residence in Sage Canyon, but it was never accepted locally.
Onyx is a striped and milky semiprecious variety of the mineral agate. Because it is layered in different colors, it is the preferred medium for intaglio and cameo jewelry carving. Its properties are the same as quartz (crystallized silicon dioxide). Quartz crystals surmounting ceremonial wands of indigenous peoples have been unearthed throughout Southern California. The word “onyx” is derived from Greek “onux”, which means claw or fingernail, hence onyx because the carnelian variety of this gemstone has a vein of white on a fleshy pink background that appears to be like a cuticle. Onyx is one of the twelve stones that adorn the breastplate of the High Priest (Exodus 28:20). Onyx is alternatively the gem of Aquarius, and representative of conjugal love, or the gem of Leo and representative of discord among lovers. Onyx is once worn around the neck to stimulate the spleen, allay pain, and dispel terror or melancholy. Onyx is also relied on to reflect the effects of “the evil eye” back to their source.
Name first appears on USFS Sequoia National Forest (south half) map (1952).
Peak was added to the HPS Peak List in 1968.
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