Location: San Bernardino County, California
Named for the most feared and famous of local reptiles. In our area it could equally be named for either the Western Rattlesnake (Crotalus viridis), the Speckeled Rattlesnake (Crotalus mitchelli), or the Red Diamond Rattlesnake (Crotalus ruber).
The Mojave Indians believed in “Rattlesnake” as a supernatural being who had a road to every tribe, often thinks of war and wants to bite. Among most California Indians, an elaborate “stepping ceremony” was conducted by shamen with the entire tribe placing their feet into (or at least over) a hole containing snakes for assurance that for one year all rattlesnakes would give warning-instead of striking blindly.
Name first appears on USGS Southern California Sheet #1 (1901).
Peak was on the original 1946 HPS Peak List.
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