Location: Riverside County, California

Name informally given for a USGS benchmark named "Eureka", derived from the nearby "Eureka Mine".

The California State motto Eureka (ca. 1880) means in Greek "I have found it", and is usually attributed to Archimedes (ca. 287-212 Bc). Gudde notes that its use as a place name apparently originated in California. The gazetteers of the 1840s mention no such place in the U.S. In the 1880s there were forty of them. The expression became popular in California and is retained in the names of fifteen features in the state.

Called. "Eureka Peak" (HPS Peak Lists 1964-65).

Bob Cates in his Joshua Tree National Monument describes the view here as "one of the finest". The Peak was delisted from the HPS Peak List after being called "an insignificant summit" and a "26 mile drive-up" (1971). But some old-timers still feel it worthy of readmission (without a 4x4, it was an enjoyable 2.5 mile round-trip). Fast forward to 2016 ... there's a trail that starts at Black Rock Campground and HPS has added it back to the List.

Name (Eureka Mountain) first appears on USGS Joshua Tree quad (1955).

Peak was added to the HPS Peak List in 1962.