Salvation Mountain
Encyclopedia
Calipatria, California
Calipatria is a city in Imperial County, California. Calipatria is located north of El Centro, It is part of the El Centro Metropolitan Area. The population was 7,705 at the 2010 census, up from 7,289 at the 2000 census, including 4000 inmates at Calipatria State Prison...
, near Slab City
Slab City
Slab City or The Slabs is a camp in the Colorado Desert in southeastern California, used by recreational vehicle owners and squatters from across North America. It takes its name from the concrete slabs and pylons that remain from the abandoned World War II Marine barracks Camp Dunlap there...
and just several miles from the Salton Sea
Salton Sea
The Salton Sea is a shallow, saline, endorheic rift lake located directly on the San Andreas Fault, predominantly in California's Imperial Valley. The lake occupies the lowest elevations of the Salton Sink in the Colorado Desert of Imperial and Riverside counties in Southern California. Like Death...
. It is made from adobe
Adobe
Adobe is a natural building material made from sand, clay, water, and some kind of fibrous or organic material , which the builders shape into bricks using frames and dry in the sun. Adobe buildings are similar to cob and mudbrick buildings. Adobe structures are extremely durable, and account for...
, straw
Straw
Straw is an agricultural by-product, the dry stalks of cereal plants, after the grain and chaff have been removed. Straw makes up about half of the yield of cereal crops such as barley, oats, rice, rye and wheat. It has many uses, including fuel, livestock bedding and fodder, thatching and...
, and thousands of gallons of paint
Paint
Paint is any liquid, liquefiable, or mastic composition which after application to a substrate in a thin layer is converted to an opaque solid film. One may also consider the digital mimicry thereof...
. It was created by Leonard Knight
Leonard Knight
Leonard Knight is the builder and chief architect of Salvation Mountain. He lives at the mountain near Slab City, a few miles from Niland, California, and approximately from San Diego.-Childhood:...
to convey the message "God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
Is Love." Another of Leonard's expressions "Keep It Simple" refers back to his message of universal love. Knight refused substantial donations of money and labour from supporters who wished to modify his message of universal love to favour or disfavor particular groups.
Steps cut into the side of the hill (Leonard calls them the "Yellow Brick Road") lead to the summit, which is topped by a cross
Cross
A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two lines or bars perpendicular to each other, dividing one or two of the lines in half. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally; if they run obliquely, the design is technically termed a saltire, although the arms of a saltire need not meet...
. Salvation Mountain also features many large straw bale and adobe walls supported by a matrix of logs enclosing several cave-like spaces. Knight lives full-time at the site in a small cabin mounted on the rear of a 1930s-vintage Chevrolet
Chevrolet
Chevrolet , also known as Chevy , is a brand of vehicle produced by General Motors Company . Founded by Louis Chevrolet and ousted GM founder William C. Durant on November 3, 1911, General Motors acquired Chevrolet in 1918...
two-ton truck. Like Salvation Mountain, Knight's "Salvation Truck" and a collection of other vehicles and machinery are entirely covered with paint and Biblical
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
quotes. He estimates that more than 100000 gallons (378,541.2 l) of paint have gone into the creation of the mountain and that every California-based paint manufacturer has donated paint to the project. Visitors are gifted post cards depicting the mountain and copies of a documentary about Leonard and his mountain.
Friendly and accessible, Leonard welcomes visitors to Slab City and Salvation Mountain and gladly accepts donations of both labor and acrylic paint
Acrylic paint
Acrylic paint is fast drying paint containing pigment suspension in acrylic polymer emulsion. Acrylic paints can be diluted with water, but become water-resistant when dry...
."This thing is really catching on!" he often exclaims to visitors. Once labeled an environmental hazard, the hill was threatened with removal by Imperial County
Imperial County, California
Imperial County is a county located in the Imperial Valley, in the far southeast of the U.S. state of California, bordering both Arizona and Mexico. It is part of the El Centro Metropolitan Area, which encompasses all of Imperial County. The population as of 2000 was 142,361. The county seat is the...
. In recent years, the furor seems to have died down and the project has been likened to an epic work of folk art comparable to the Watts Towers
Watts Towers
The Watts Towers or Towers of Simon Rodia in the Watts district of Los Angeles, California, is a collection of 17 interconnected structures, two of which reach heights of over 99 feet . The Towers were built by Italian immigrant construction worker Sabato Rodia in his spare time over a period of...
. Although the project is an unauthorized one on state land, Salvation Mountain was placed under protection in 2002 when Senator Barbara Boxer
Barbara Boxer
Barbara Levy Boxer is the junior United States Senator from California . A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served in the U.S. House of Representatives ....
entered it into the Congressional Record
Congressional Record
The Congressional Record is the official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress. It is published by the United States Government Printing Office, and is issued daily when the United States Congress is in session. Indexes are issued approximately every two weeks...
as a national treasure.
In popular culture
Salvation Mountain was featured in the 2007 film Into the WildInto the Wild (film)
Into the Wild is a 2007 American biographical drama film directed by Sean Penn. It is an adaptation of 1996 non-fiction book of the same name by Jon Krakauer based on the travels of Christopher McCandless across North America in the early 1990s. The film stars Emile Hirsch as McCandless with...
, as well as several documentaries including Plagues & Pleasures on the Salton Sea
Plagues & Pleasures on the Salton Sea
Plagues & Pleasures on the Salton Sea is a documentary by filmmakers Chris Metzler and Jeff Springer, with narration by John Waters and music by Friends of Dean Martinez....
, Desertopia, and Mountain.
It can also be seen on the back cover photographs of the Kyuss
Kyuss
Kyuss is a rock band, originally from Palm Desert, California. After forming in the late 1980s and releasing an EP under the name Sons of Kyuss in 1990, the band shortened its name to Kyuss. Over the next five years the band released four full-length albums, and one last split EP in 1997 with...
albums ...And The Circus Leaves Town
...And the Circus Leaves Town
...And the Circus Leaves Town is the fourth studio album by American stoner rock/metal band Kyuss, released on July 11, 1995.Upon its release, the album was not as commercially or critically successful as the previous Blues for the Red Sun and Welcome to Sky Valley...
and Muchas Gracias: The Best of Kyuss
Muchas Gracias: The Best of Kyuss
Muchas Gracias: The Best of Kyuss is a compilation album from the stoner rock band Kyuss. Although it is promoted as a "Greatest Hits" compilation, it includes 6 songs which are either B-sides or do not appear on any of their albums...
, and on the Switchfoot
Switchfoot
Switchfoot is an American rock band from San Diego, California. The band's members are Jon Foreman , Tim Foreman , Chad Butler , Jerome Fontamillas , and Drew Shirley .After early successes in the Christian rock scene, Switchfoot first gained mainstream...
Album Hello Hurricane
Hello Hurricane
Hello Hurricane is the seventh studio album by American alternative rock band Switchfoot. On February 13, 2011, the album won the award for Best Rock Gospel Album at the 53rd Grammy Awards. It was co-produced by the band and Mike Elizondo, after initially self-producing their work, as well as test...
.
External links
- Salvation Mountain - Official Website
- Documentary - "Plagues & Pleasures on the Salton Sea"
- Video Tour of Salvation Mountain with Leonard Knight at Youtube.com
- Salvation Mountain on Google Maps
- Walkable virtual tour and treasure hunt on Snubble.com
- Extensive photo essay on Salvation Mountain: by National Geographic photographer Aaron Huey
- Portraits of Leonard Knight: by photographer Jace Rivers
- Portraits of Leonard Knight: by photographer Brooks Reynolds on cover and inside Mountains magazine issue 1
- http://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/theses/447 Cal Poly MA Thesis on Leonard Knight and his Salvation Mountain, along with 4 other visionary environmental artists. Free to download and read.