A landmark seen from everywhere in the Santa Clara Valley, the former Almaden Air Force Station served as an early warning radar post during the Cold War. The base of the radar dish is now a large monolith at the top of the Mount Umunhum, a convenient compass marker for the southern end of Silicon Valley. (Umunhum is Olone for “resting place of the hummingbird.”)
The area around the facility is now Sierra Azul open space preserve. The station itself is off-limits, a contaminated government installation in ruins.
About the Air Force station: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Almaden_Air_Force_Station
About the open space preserve: http://www.bahiker.com/southbayhikes/sierraazul.html
Google Earth Placemark: File:AlmadenAirForceStn.kml
Category:Recreation
Category:Day Trips
