The Coast Range at this point consists only of low hills, none high enough to block the view from the upper slopes of the mountain. As a result the view is spectacular. The View From the Top Many visitors to Mount Diablo head straight for the summit to enjoy the famous view.
Summer days are sometimes hazy, and the best viewing is often on the day after a winter storm.
North and east of Mount Diablo the San Joaquin and Sacramento Rivers meet to form the twisting waterways of the Delta. To the east beyond Califomia's great central valley, the crest of the Sierra Nevada seems to float in space. In 1851, the mountain top was selected as the starting point for a survey of the public domain. Ignoring the excitement of the Cold Rush, Leander Ransome and his men erected a flagpole at the summit of Mount Diablo and began to extend the base and meridian lines that we use to this day in our official land surveys. As a matter of fact, Mount Diablo base and meridian lines are referred to in legal descriptions of real estate throughout two-thirds of California and parts of Nevada and Oregon.