Hiriart Mountain (Heriart; Heriot; Hiriat Hill), Pala District, San Diego Co., California, USA

"The Mountain Between the Village"
—Basque, 'Iri' meaning "Village", 'Arte' meaning "Between".

Hiriart Mountain is the easternmost pegmatite-hosting mountain in the area described by Richard H. Jahns in 1951 as the Pala pegmatite district. From the valley floor, the mountain rises nearly 1000 feet within a half mile to 1766 feet AMSL. The mountain was named by locals around 1901 in honor of the French-Basque prospector Bernardo Hiriart[1]. The spelling of his last name appears different throughout the available literature and maps, including Heriart[2] by George F. Kunz, and most recently adulterated into Heriot[3] Mountain by the US Interior Department. Hiriart is likely the correct spelling, as corrected by Kunz in 1906, and enshrined by US Mineral Survey No. 5391A (Hiriart lode as amended August 15, 1917 by Marion M. Sickler). Hiriart's forename has also been referred to as Domingo[4]. The mountain has also been incorrectly referred to as Hiriat Hill.

Footnotes:

1. Hiriart or the 'Iriarte' Basque surname includes: Uriarte, Iriarte, Iriart, Yriart, Yriarte etc. Meaning: IRI, means group of houses, and ARTE: means between. Basque surnames are names of farms or houses so the meaning is: (The house) between the groups of houses, or the house between the village. http://www.buber.net/Basque/Surname/I/iriarte.html] (08/05/2007)

2. Heriart is likely a phonetically rendered version of the Hiriart surname. According to the U.S. Census records between the years 1890-1920, the Hiriart surname in southern California was also rendered as Hiriort and Hireart, although by 1930 the correct spelling of Hiriart was prevalent.

3. Heriot was the right of a lord in feudal Europe to seize a serf's best horse and or clothing upon his death. The enlightened cleric Jacques de Vitry (c. 1180- 1240) called lords who imposed heriots "vultures that prey upon death... worms feeding upon the corpse." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heriot] (08/05/2007)

4. See Merrill, 1914.

References:
Jahns, R. H. and Wright, L. A. 1951. Gem and Lithium-bearing pegmatites of the Pala District, San Diego County, California. California Division of Mines special report 7A: 72 p.

Kunz, G. F. 1905. Gems, jeweler's materials, and ornamental stones of California. California State Mining Bureau bulletin 37: 171 p.

Kunz, G. F. 1906. The Production of Precious Stones in 1905. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey, Division of Mining and Mineral Resources. GPO, Washington: pages 26-27; 40 pp.

Merrill, F. J. H. 1914. Geology and Mineral Resources of San Diego and Imperial Counties: Gems, Lithia Minerals. California State Mining Bureau, San Francisco, Cal. California State Printing Office. Chapter 1, p. 70.

Todd, W. R. & Waiwood, R. M. 1996. Mineral Report: Validity Examination of the Katerina Lode; Bureau of Land Management, United States Department of the Interior, Oct. 30; 71 p., maps/plats, photos, legal/technical data.

Weber, F. H. 1963. Geology and mineral resources of San Diego County, California. California Division of Mines and Geology, County Report 3: p. 102; illus., maps.

Wheeler, H. V. 1917. Field notes of the survey of the mining claims of Marion M. Sickler, known as the El Molino, Fargo, Hiriart, K.C. Naylor, and Vanderberg Lodes; and El Molino Mill Site; in Sec 24-25, T9S, R2W, SBM. USDI, Surveyor General's Office, Mineral Survey No. 5391A-B: 1 plat.