Mount Bonnell
Encyclopedia
Mount Bonnell also known as Covert Park, is a prominent point alongside Lake Austin
portion of the Colorado River
in Austin, Texas
. It has been a popular tourist destination since the 1850s. The mount provides a vista for viewing the city of Austin, Lake Austin, and the surrounding hills. It was designated a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark
in 1969, and bears Marker number 6473.
datum). Although the mount is often described as the highest point in Austin, the elevation at its peak (about 780 feet above mean sea level
(AMSL)) is less than that of the Jollyville Plateau (max. elevation about 1100 feet AMSL http://www.topozone.com/map.asp?z=14&n=3362409&e=610818&s=50&size=m&u=7&datum=nad83&layer=DRG25).
newspaper publisher George W. Bonnell, who moved to Texas in 1836. George W. Bonnell was publisher of the local paper The Texas Sentinel and was prominent in early Texas and Travis County
(Austin) affairs after the War for Independence
. Though sources have long credited George Bonnell as the mountain’s namesake, Albert Sidney Johnston
may have named Mount Bonnell in present-day Austin for his friend and fellow West Point graduate Joseph Bonnell
, who was a Captain in the Texas Army during the War for Independence, was Aide de Camp to General Houston during that time, and has been recognized as a hero of the Texas Revolution by the Texas Legislature for his valor in events prior to the climactic battle of San Jacinto. There is little contemporaneous evidence to support either derivation of the name.
Legend has it that Mount Bonnell was once called Antoinette's Leap, after a young woman who leaped to her death to avoid being captured by Native Americans who had killed her fiancé.
Lake Austin
Lake Austin is a reservoir on the Colorado River in Austin, Texas in the United States. The reservoir was formed in 1939 by the construction of Tom Miller Dam by the Lower Colorado River Authority....
portion of the Colorado River
Colorado River (Texas)
The Colorado River is a river that runs through the U.S. state of Texas; it should not be confused with the much longer Colorado River which flows from Colorado into the Gulf of California....
in Austin, Texas
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
. It has been a popular tourist destination since the 1850s. The mount provides a vista for viewing the city of Austin, Lake Austin, and the surrounding hills. It was designated a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark is a designation awarded by the Texas Historical Commission for historically and architecturally significant properties in the state of Texas....
in 1969, and bears Marker number 6473.
Geography
Mount Bonnell is located at 30.3210°N, 97.7736°W (WGS 84World Geodetic System
The World Geodetic System is a standard for use in cartography, geodesy, and navigation. It comprises a standard coordinate frame for the Earth, a standard spheroidal reference surface for raw altitude data, and a gravitational equipotential surface that defines the nominal sea level.The latest...
datum). Although the mount is often described as the highest point in Austin, the elevation at its peak (about 780 feet above mean sea level
Above mean sea level
The term above mean sea level refers to the elevation or altitude of any object, relative to the average sea level datum. AMSL is used extensively in radio by engineers to determine the coverage area a station will be able to reach...
(AMSL)) is less than that of the Jollyville Plateau (max. elevation about 1100 feet AMSL http://www.topozone.com/map.asp?z=14&n=3362409&e=610818&s=50&size=m&u=7&datum=nad83&layer=DRG25).
Origin of the name
Mount Bonnell is generally believed to have been named after early TexasTexas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
newspaper publisher George W. Bonnell, who moved to Texas in 1836. George W. Bonnell was publisher of the local paper The Texas Sentinel and was prominent in early Texas and Travis County
Travis County, Texas
As of 2009, the U.S. census estimates there were 1,026,158 people, 320,766 households, and 183,798 families residing in the county. The population density was 821 people per square mile . There were 335,881 housing units at an average density of 340 per square mile...
(Austin) affairs after the War for Independence
Texas Revolution
The Texas Revolution or Texas War of Independence was an armed conflict between Mexico and settlers in the Texas portion of the Mexican state Coahuila y Tejas. The war lasted from October 2, 1835 to April 21, 1836...
. Though sources have long credited George Bonnell as the mountain’s namesake, Albert Sidney Johnston
Albert Sidney Johnston
Albert Sidney Johnston served as a general in three different armies: the Texas Army, the United States Army, and the Confederate States Army...
may have named Mount Bonnell in present-day Austin for his friend and fellow West Point graduate Joseph Bonnell
Joseph Bonnell
Joseph Bonnell was a formally recognized hero of the Texas Revolution. He was a West Point graduate and a member of The Long Gray Line .-Formal recognition by Texas Legislature:His heroism in support of the War for...
, who was a Captain in the Texas Army during the War for Independence, was Aide de Camp to General Houston during that time, and has been recognized as a hero of the Texas Revolution by the Texas Legislature for his valor in events prior to the climactic battle of San Jacinto. There is little contemporaneous evidence to support either derivation of the name.
Legend has it that Mount Bonnell was once called Antoinette's Leap, after a young woman who leaped to her death to avoid being captured by Native Americans who had killed her fiancé.
See also
- Texas Hill CountryTexas Hill CountryThe Texas Hill Country is a vernacular term applied to a region of Central Texas featuring tall rugged hills consisting of thin layers of soil atop limestone or granite. It also includes the Llano Uplift and the second largest granite monadnock in the United States, Enchanted Rock, which is located...
- Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife RefugeBalcones Canyonlands National Wildlife RefugeBalcones Canyonlands is a National Wildlife Refuge located in the Texas Hill Country to the northwest of Austin, Texas. The Refuge was formed in 1992 to conserve habitat for two endangered songbirds including the Golden-cheeked Warbler and the Black-capped Vireo and to preserve Texas Hill Country...
- Barton CreekBarton CreekBarton Creek is a tributary that feeds the Colorado River as it flows through the Texas Hill Country. The creek passes through some of the more scenic areas in Greater Austin and forms a greenbelt that is the habitat for many indigenous species of flora and fauna, including at least seven...