List of hillside letters

This is a list of hillside letters (also known as mountain monograms), large geoglyphs found primarily in the Western United States.[1][2][3] There are about 600 in total, but the status of many of these symbols are uncertain, due to vagueness in sources.

Distribution of hillside letters in the Western United States

The states with the most hillside letters are:

California: 81 monograms
Montana: 80 monograms
Utah: 78 monograms
Arizona: 59 monograms
Nevada: 47 monograms
Oregon: 39 monograms
Idaho: 34 monograms

United States

Arizona

California

Colorado

At least 25 monograms, possibly 28

Monogram	Town	State	Description	Coordinates
A	Fort Collins	Colorado	Colorado State University (formerly the Aggies)	40.561°N 105.151°W / 40.561; -105.151 (Colorado State University)
B	Branson	Colorado		37.0092°N 103.8815°W / 37.0092; -103.8815 (Branson)
C	Cañon City	Colorado		38.443°N 105.25°W / 38.443; -105.25 (Cañon City)
D	Del Norte	Colorado		37.6719°N 106.3588°W / 37.6719; -106.3588 (Del Norte)
D	Dinosaur	Colorado		40.2463°N 109.0064°W / 40.2463; -109.0064 (Dinosaur)
G	Golden	Colorado		39.7521°N 105.2066°W / 39.7521; -105.2066 (Golden)
GV	Parachute	Colorado	Grand Valley High School	39.461°N 108.0542°W / 39.461; -108.0542 (Grand Valley High School)
GM	Lakewood	Colorado	Green Mountain High School	39.6964°N 105.1444°W / 39.6964; -105.1444 (Green Mountain High School)
G	Gunnison	Colorado		38.551°N 106.9144°W / 38.551; -106.9144 (Gunnison)
H	Hotchkiss	Colorado		38.7923°N 107.7008°W / 38.7923; -107.7008 (Hotchkiss)
LV	La Veta	Colorado		37.5224°N 105.007°W / 37.5224; -105.007 (La Veta)
LHS	Sopris	Colorado	Lincoln High School	37.1308°N 104.5724°W / 37.1308; -104.5724 (Sopris)
L	Loma	Colorado		39.1894°N 108.843°W / 39.1894; -108.843 (Loma)
L	Lyons	Colorado		40.2095°N 105.2656°W / 40.2095; -105.2656 (Lyons)
M	Golden	Colorado	Colorado School of Mines	39.7453°N 105.24°W / 39.7453; -105.24 (Colorado School of Mines)
M	Manassa	Colorado		37.1564°N 105.9323°W / 37.1564; -105.9323 (Manassa)
P (uncertain existence)	Pagosa Springs	Colorado		37.2677°N 107.01°W / 37.2677; -107.01 (Pagosa Springs) (uncertain location)
P	Palisade	Colorado		39.0914°N 108.3474°W / 39.0914; -108.3474 (Palisade)
P	Paonia	Colorado		38.8596°N 107.5976°W / 38.8596; -107.5976 (Paonia)
P	Weston	Colorado	Primero High School	37.1241°N 104.7936°W / 37.1241; -104.7936 (Weston)
R (uncertain existence)	Rifle	Colorado		39.5301°N 107.7832°W / 39.5301; -107.7832 (Rifle) (uncertain location)
S	Saguache	Colorado		38.0837°N 106.1287°W / 38.0837; -106.1287 (Saguache)
S	Salida	Colorado		38.541°N 105.9876°W / 38.541; -105.9876 (Salida)
SAN LUIS OLDEST TOWN IN COLO.	San Luis	Colorado		37.2004°N 105.4281°W / 37.2004; -105.4281 (San Luis)
S	Sanford	Colorado		37.2487°N 105.8°W / 37.2487; -105.8 (Sanford)
SHS	Sheridan	Colorado	Sheridan High School	39.639°N 105.0287°W / 39.639; -105.0287 (Sheridan High School)
S	Silverton	Colorado		37.8177°N 107.6644°W / 37.8177; -107.6644 (Silverton)
SL	Westminster	Colorado	Standley Lake High School	39.8844°N 105.0971°W / 39.8844; -105.0971 (Standley Lake High School)
W	Gunnison	Colorado	Western Colorado University	38.5274°N 106.9084°W / 38.5274; -106.9084 (Western State College)

Western Colorado University's W Mountain
Hillside monogram on Signal Hill as seen from U.S.Hwy 50 entering the town.
South Table Mountain Golden, Colorado
Salida Downtown Historic District in Salida, Colorado
Mount Zion Mountain west of Golden, Colorado

Idaho

Montana

Nevada

New Mexico

At least 30 monograms, possibly 37

Monogram	Town	State	Description	Coordinates
A	Alamogordo	New Mexico		32.9002°N 105.911°W / 32.9002; -105.911 (Alamogordo)
A	Aztec	New Mexico		36.8357°N 108.0091°W / 36.8357; -108.0091 (Aztec)
B	Bernalillo	New Mexico		35.3209°N 106.5295°W / 35.3209; -106.5295 (Bernalillo)
B	Bloomfield	New Mexico		36.7263°N 107.9799°W / 36.7263; -107.9799 (Bloomfield)
C	Capitan	New Mexico		33.5373°N 105.584°W / 33.5373; -105.584 (Capitan)
C	Cimarron	New Mexico		36.4992°N 104.9222°W / 36.4992; -104.9222 (Cimarron)
C	Costilla	New Mexico		36.9888°N 105.5132°W / 36.9888; -105.5132 (Costilla)
E	El Rito	New Mexico		36.36°N 106.1801°W / 36.36; -106.1801 (El Rito)
E (uncertain existence)	Espanola	New Mexico		35.9905°N 106.08°W / 35.9905; -106.08 (Espanola) (uncertain location)
F	Farmington	New Mexico		36.7637°N 108.1909°W / 36.7637; -108.1909 (Farmington)
G	Grants	New Mexico		35.1685°N 107.864°W / 35.1685; -107.864 (Grants) (uncertain location)
H	Las Vegas	New Mexico	New Mexico Highlands University	35.5905°N 105.2059°W / 35.5905; -105.2059 (New Mexico Highlands University)
H	Hondo	New Mexico		33.3833°N 105.2537°W / 33.3833; -105.2537 (Hondo)
KC	Kirtland	New Mexico	Kirtland Central High School	36.7591°N 108.3729°W / 36.7591; -108.3729 (Kirtland Central High School)
LA	Laguna	New Mexico	Laguna-Acoma	35.0537°N 107.4387°W / 35.0537; -107.4387 (Laguna-Acoma)
L	Lordsburg	New Mexico		32.3287°N 108.7268°W / 32.3287; -108.7268 (Lordsburg)
LA	Los Alamos	New Mexico		35.9°N 106.3329°W / 35.9; -106.3329 (Los Alamos)
LL	Los Lunas	New Mexico		34.807°N 106.7914°W / 34.807; -106.7914 (Los Lunas)
L (uncertain existence)	Lyden	New Mexico		36.1463°N 106.0056°W / 36.1463; -106.0056 (Lyden) (uncertain location)
M	Magdalena	New Mexico		34.0949°N 107.2512°W / 34.0949; -107.2512 (Magdalena)
MV	Ojo Caliente	New Mexico	Mesa Vista High School	36.3315°N 106.0391°W / 36.3315; -106.0391 (Mesa Vista High School)
M (uncertain existence)	Mora	New Mexico		35.974°N 105.3287°W / 35.974; -105.3287 (Mora) (uncertain location)
A	Las Cruces	New Mexico	New Mexico State University Aggies	32.2926°N 106.699°W / 32.2926; -106.699
M	Socorro	New Mexico	New Mexico Tech Miners	34.0723°N 106.9594°W / 34.0723; -106.9594 (New Mexico Tech Miners)
P	Penasco	New Mexico		36.1765°N 105.6845°W / 36.1765; -105.6845 (Penasco)
P	Pojoaque	New Mexico		35.892°N 106.021°W / 35.892; -106.021 (Pojoaque)
Q	Questa	New Mexico		36.7099°N 105.5693°W / 36.7099; -105.5693 (Questa)
R	Las Vegas	New Mexico	Robertson High School	35.5805°N 105.2025°W / 35.5805; -105.2025 (Robertson High School)
S (uncertain existence)	Santa Fe	New Mexico		35.6813°N 105.9467°W / 35.6813; -105.9467 (Santa Fe) (uncertain location)
S (uncertain existence)	Shiprock	New Mexico		36.7907°N 108.6828°W / 36.7907; -108.6828 (Shiprock) (uncertain location)
J	Albuquerque	New Mexico	St. Joseph's College (closed)	35.1414°N 106.7714°W / 35.1414; -106.7714 (St. Joseph's College (closed))
T	Truth or Consequences	New Mexico		33.1191°N 107.2275°W / 33.1191; -107.2275 (Truth or Consequences)
T	Tucumcari	New Mexico		35.1345°N 103.7°W / 35.1345; -103.7 (Tucumcari)
U (no longer exists)	Albuquerque	New Mexico	University of New Mexico	35.0812°N 106.4816°W / 35.0812; -106.4816 (University of New Mexico)
WM	Wagon Mound	New Mexico		36.0051°N 104.7019°W / 36.0051; -104.7019 (Wagon Mound)
D	Las Vegas	New Mexico	West Las Vegas High School Dons	35.5893°N 105.2047°W / 35.5893; -105.2047 (West Las Vegas High School Dons)
W	Silver City	New Mexico	Western New Mexico University	32.8272°N 108.2489°W / 32.8272; -108.2489 (Western New Mexico University)

Oregon

Texas

Texas' 16 or more monograms are all in the western, most mountainous, part of the state. There are six (in various states of repair) in El Paso alone, the most in any single city in the United States.

Monogram	Town	State	Description	Coordinates
A	Alpine	Texas		30.3527°N 103.6564°W / 30.3527; -103.6564 (Alpine)
A	El Paso	Texas	Austin High School	31.7998°N 106.474°W / 31.7998; -106.474 (Austin High School)
B	Balmorhea	Texas		30.9757°N 103.7199°W / 30.9757; -103.7199 (Balmorhea)
B	El Paso	Texas	Bowie High School	31.7861°N 106.4796°W / 31.7861; -106.4796 (Bowie High School)
C	El Paso	Texas	Cathedral High School	31.7928°N 106.4813°W / 31.7928; -106.4813 (Cathedral High School)
E	El Paso	Texas	El Paso High School	31.7867°N 106.4803°W / 31.7867; -106.4803 (El Paso High School)
FD	Fort Davis	Texas		30.5784°N 103.893°W / 30.5784; -103.893 (Fort Davis)
I	Iraan	Texas		30.8999°N 101.8983°W / 30.8999; -101.8983 (Iraan)
J	El Paso	Texas	Jefferson High School	31.7865°N 106.4783°W / 31.7865; -106.4783 (Jefferson High School)
M	Marathon	Texas		30.208006°N 103.222237°W / 30.208006; -103.222237 (Marathon)
M (uncertain existence)	Marfa	Texas		30.3088°N 104.0207°W / 30.3088; -104.0207 (Marfa) (uncertain location)
M	McCamey	Texas		31.0998°N 102.1555°W / 31.0998; -102.1555 (McCamey)
P (uncertain existence)	Presidio	Texas		29.5644°N 104.3689°W / 29.5644; -104.3689 (Presidio) (uncertain location)
S	Sanderson	Texas		30.1467°N 102.4004°W / 30.1467; -102.4004 (Sanderson)
S	Shafter	Texas		29.8219°N 104.3041°W / 29.8219; -104.3041 (Shafter)
SB	Sierra Blanca	Texas		31.1878°N 105.3495°W / 31.1878; -105.3495 (Sierra Blanca)
SR	Alpine	Texas	Sul Ross State University	30.3662°N 103.6474°W / 30.3662; -103.6474 (Sul Ross State University)
M	El Paso	Texas	UTEP Miners	31.7767°N 106.5088°W / 31.7767; -106.5088 (UTEP Miners)
V	Van Horn	Texas		31.0585°N 104.8606°W / 31.0585; -104.8606 (Van Horn)

Utah

Washington

Most of Washington's 18 to 19 monograms are in the arid Eastern part of the state.

Monogram	Town	State	Description	Coordinates
✞ (cross)	Selah	Washington	built very recently	46.645975°N 120.491847°W / 46.645975; -120.491847 (Selah Cross)
A	Asotin	Washington		46.3407°N 117.0594°W / 46.3407; -117.0594 (Asotin)
B	Burlington	Washington		48.4827°N 122.325°W / 48.4827; -122.325 (Burlington)
C	Cashmere	Washington		47.5294°N 120.4678°W / 47.5294; -120.4678 (Cashmere)
C	Clarkston	Washington		46.45°N 117.047°W / 46.45; -117.047 (Clarkston)
C	Colville	Washington		48.5631°N 117.9009°W / 48.5631; -117.9009 (Colville)
C	Creston	Washington		47.7449°N 118.5289°W / 47.7449; -118.5289 (Creston)
E	East Wenatchee	Washington		47.4428°N 120.2824°W / 47.4428; -120.2824 (East Wenatchee)
FOSS	Tacoma	Washington	Foss High School	47.236°N 122.4937°W / 47.236; -122.4937 (Foss High School)
G	Goldendale	Washington		45.8016°N 120.7957°W / 45.8016; -120.7957 (Goldendale)
K	Kelso	Washington		46.1475°N 122.8962°W / 46.1475; -122.8962 (Kelso)
KF	Kettle Falls	Washington		48.6164°N 118.04°W / 48.6164; -118.04 (Kettle Falls)
K	Klickitat	Washington		45.8143°N 121.1493°W / 45.8143; -121.1493 (Klickitat)
L	Union Gap	Washington	La Salle High School	46.5317°N 120.4639°W / 46.5317; -120.4639 (La Salle High School)
OK	Okanogan	Washington		48.3658°N 119.5876°W / 48.3658; -119.5876 (Okanogan)
R	Richland	Washington		46.2364°N 119.3126°W / 46.2364; -119.3126 (Richland)
R	Rosalia	Washington		47.228168°N 117.375771°W / 47.228168; -117.375771 (Rosalia)
S	Selah	Washington		46.631846°N 120.529443°W / 46.631846; -120.529443 (Selah)
T (uncertain existence)	Touchet	Washington		46.0406°N 118.673°W / 46.0406; -118.673 (Touchet) (uncertain location)

Wyoming

Between 22 and 23 monograms

Monogram	Town	State	Description	Coordinates
B	Burlington	Wyoming		44.466°N 108.4315°W / 44.466; -108.4315 (Burlington)
C	Cody	Wyoming		44.5262°N 109.101°W / 44.5262; -109.101 (Cody)
D	Douglas	Wyoming		42.7524°N 105.3615°W / 42.7524; -105.3615 (Douglas)
E	Evanston	Wyoming		41.2583°N 110.9559°W / 41.2583; -110.9559 (Evanston)
F	Fairview	Wyoming		42.6807°N 111.0112°W / 42.6807; -111.0112 (Fairview)
FORT WASHAKIE	Fort Washakie	Wyoming		43.0132°N 108.8805°W / 43.0132; -108.8805 (Fort Washakie)
G	Glenrock	Wyoming		42.8585°N 105.8511°W / 42.8585; -105.8511 (Glenrock)
GR	Green River	Wyoming		41.5147°N 109.4796°W / 41.5147; -109.4796 (Green River)
G	Greybull	Wyoming		44.5°N 108.0742°W / 44.5; -108.0742 (Greybull)
H (uncertain existence)	Hartville	Wyoming		42.3272°N 104.7272°W / 42.3272; -104.7272 (Hartville) (uncertain location)
WORLDS LARGEST MINERAL HOT SPRING	Thermopolis	Wyoming	Hot Springs State Park	43.6562°N 108.1929°W / 43.6562; -108.1929 (Hot Springs State Park)
K	Kemmerer	Wyoming		41.7929°N 110.5265°W / 41.7929; -110.5265 (Kemmerer)
L	Lovell	Wyoming		44.825629°N 108.297097°W / 44.825629; -108.297097 (Lovell)
M	Meeteetse	Wyoming		44.1526°N 108.8703°W / 44.1526; -108.8703 (Meeteetse)
M	Meeteetse	Wyoming		44.1526°N 108.8703°W / 44.1526; -108.8703 (Meeteetse)
MV	Mountain View	Wyoming		41.2620°N 110.3408°W / 41.2620; -110.3408 (Rawlins)
R	Basin	Wyoming	Riverside High School	44.3797°N 108.0575°W / 44.3797; -108.0575 (Riverside High School)
RS	Rock Springs	Wyoming		41.6°N 109.2136°W / 41.6; -109.2136 (Rock Springs)
*	Afton	Wyoming	Star Valley	42.7302°N 110.9118°W / 42.7302; -110.9118 (Star Valley)
T	Ten Sleep	Wyoming		44.0448°N 107.4467°W / 44.0448; -107.4467 (Ten Sleep)
T	Thermopolis	Wyoming		43.655°N 108.2064°W / 43.655; -108.2064 (Thermopolis)
W	Laramie	Wyoming	University of Wyoming	41.3287°N 105.5721°W / 41.3287; -105.5721 (University of Wyoming)
W	Worland	Wyoming		44.0109°N 108.0055°W / 44.0109; -108.0055 (Worland)

Other states

The "M" in Platteville, Wisconsin, lit by lanterns during the annual "M" Ball.

"C" Rock on the Harlem River, symbol of the Columbia U. rowing team.

Monogram	Town	State	Description	Coordinates
DAYTONA BEACH LPGA BLVD	Daytona Beach	Florida		29.2195°N 81.1035°W / 29.2195; -81.1035 (Daytona Beach)
PALM BAY	Palm Bay	Florida		28.0356°N 80.6574°W / 28.0356; -80.6574 (Palm Bay)
L	Lahaina	Hawaii		20.8876°N 156.6415°W / 20.8876; -156.6415 (Lahaina)
KS	Manhattan	Kansas	Kansas State University (K built in 1921)	39.172°N 96.5522°W / 39.172; -96.5522 (Kansas State University)
MANHATTAN	Manhattan	Kansas	Manhattan (built in 1927)	39.19245°N 96.56281°W / 39.19245; -96.56281 (Kansas State University)
OP	Ocean Pines	Maryland		38.3851°N 75.1782°W / 38.3851; -75.1782 (Ocean Pines)
C	Chadron	Nebraska		42.8152°N 103.0028°W / 42.8152; -103.0028 (Chadron)
POTTER	Potter	Nebraska		41.2041°N 103.3128°W / 41.2041; -103.3128 (Potter)
C	New York City (Manhattan)	New York	Columbia University	40.8761°N 73.919°W / 40.8761; -73.919 (Columbia University)
HOWE CAVERNS	Cobleskill	New York	Howe Caverns	42.6956°N 74.3989°W / 42.6956; -74.3989 (Howe Caverns)
M (uncertain existence)	Poughkeepsie	New York	Marist College	41.7212°N 73.9477°W / 41.7212; -73.9477 (Marist College) (uncertain location)
A	Alexander	North Dakota		47.8295°N 103.6376°W / 47.8295; -103.6376 (Alexander)
HOME ON THE RANGE	Beach	North Dakota	Home on the Range Ranch	46.9435°N 103.8693°W / 46.9435; -103.8693 (Home on the Range Ranch)
K (uncertain existence)	Kenmare	North Dakota		48.6764°N 102.0814°W / 48.6764; -102.0814 (Kenmare) (uncertain location)
MANDAN	Mandan	North Dakota		46.8336°N 100.8712°W / 46.8336; -100.8712 (Mandan)
PRICE	Price	North Dakota		47.0818°N 100.9432°W / 47.0818; -100.9432 (Price)
Z	Zap	North Dakota		47.2793°N 101.9328°W / 47.2793; -101.9328 (Zap)
LAZY S RANCH	Springer	Oklahoma	Lazy S Ranch	34.349°N 97.1424°W / 34.349; -97.1424 (Lazy S Ranch)
WELCOME TO HERSHEY	Hershey	Pennsylvania	Hersheypark	40.2941°N 76.6623°W / 40.2941; -76.6623 (Hershey Park)
H	Spearfish	South Dakota	Black Hills State College	44.5073°N 103.851°W / 44.5073; -103.851 (Black Hills State College)
SMD	Rapid City	South Dakota	South Dakota School of Mines and Technology (M-Hill)	44.0883°N 103.2494°W / 44.0883; -103.2494
Σ Φ	Rapid City	South Dakota	South Dakota School of Mines and Technology Fraternal Organizations (Smelter Hill)	44.070798°N 103.201329°W / 44.070798; -103.201329
LU	Lynchburg	Virginia	Liberty University	37.3595°N 79.1597°W / 37.3595; -79.1597 (Liberty University)
St. Marys Springs	Fond du Lac	Wisconsin	St. Mary's Springs High School	43.7847°N 88.3847°W / 43.7847; -88.3847 (St. Mary's Springs High School)
M	Platteville	Wisconsin	University of Wisconsin-Platteville (formerly the Miners)	42.7636°N 90.4066°W / 42.7636; -90.4066

Other countries

Monogram	Town	Country	Description	Coordinates
LONGVIEW	Longview, Alberta	Canada		50.5437°N 114.2189°W / 50.5437; -114.2189 (Longview)
113 51 137 151	Calgary, Alberta	Canada	Military memorials in Battalion Park	51.021°N 114.173°W / 51.021; -114.173 (Signal Hill)
MOUNT PANORAMA	Bathurst, New South Wales	Australia	Mount Panorama Circuit (and surrounding neighbourhood)	33.455°S 149.552°E / -33.455; 149.552 (Mount Panorama Circuit)
NZ	Bulford	England	Writing beneath the Bulford Kiwi	51°11′38.84″N 001°42′54.20″W
Z	Wythenshawe	England	Two "Z"s on the A5103 roundabout
선군 조선의 태양 김정은 장군 만세!	Ryanggang Province	North Korea	“Long Live General Kim Jong-un the Shining Sun!”
JESUCRISTO ES EL SEÑOR	Tijuana	Mexico		32.4753°N 116.9°W / 32.4753; -116.9
B	Mexico City	Mexico	El Centro Escolar Benemérito de las Américas	19.539°N 99.1602°W / 19.539; -99.1602
BIENVENIDOS ATE	Lima	Peru	Ate District, above the Estadio Monumental	12.052°S 76.9346°W / -12.052; -76.9346
TORREBLANCA	Lima	Peru	Juventud Torre Blanca football club?	12.0014°S 76.9927°W / -12.0014; -76.9927

Messages are common on the bare mountains surrounding Lima, Peru; most of them are personal graffiti, not community symbols.

Notes

Corning, Evelyn (2007). Hillside Letters A to Z : A Guide to Hometown Landmarks. Missoula, Mont.: Mountain Press Publishing Company.
Rocha, Guy (June 2004), "Hillside Letters: In Plain Sight But Not Intended for Planes", Sierra Sage, archived from the original on 2011-07-22, retrieved 2011-08-09
Parsons, James J. (1988). "Hillside Letters in the Western United States". Landscape. Sante Fe, N.M. 30 (1): 15–23. Retrieved 2011-08-09.

External links

Mountain Monograms, a website explaining the origins and with an incomplete list and pictures
Hillside Letters, a companion website to a book on the subject
Letters on Hills, a category on waymarking.com for geocachers

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[corning-1] Corning, Evelyn (2007). Hillside Letters A to Z : A Guide to Hometown Landmarks. Missoula, Mont.: Mountain Press Publishing Company.

[rocha-2] Rocha, Guy (June 2004), "Hillside Letters: In Plain Sight But Not Intended for Planes", Sierra Sage, archived from the original on 2011-07-22, retrieved 2011-08-09

[parsons-3] Parsons, James J. (1988). "Hillside Letters in the Western United States". Landscape. Sante Fe, N.M. 30 (1): 15–23. Retrieved 2011-08-09.