Salvation Mountain 3D Atlas

Site-Wide Data

Aerial Lidar | USGS 2021

Site SFMA | 2023

TLS | 2023

MMS | 2023

FUSION | 2023

Salvation Mountain is an important American Folk art installation built by Leonard Knight over a 30 year period from 1984 until his death in 2014. It includes an area of approximately 9.5 square kilometers, an artificial slope rising approximately 12 meters, creating a vista overlooking the Salton Sea (west) and Slab City (east). Atop the slope is a large cross standing another 7.4 meters above the slope. On the southern side of the mountain are several interior chambers: the hogan, a Navajo term for a mud covered dwelling, consisting of 3 chambers, and the museum, a 10 meter high church-like structure which was also temporarily closed awaiting restoration work.

The structures are composed of bales of straw and locally sourced clay, covered in latex paint, which is periodically reapplied. Various other framing materials are employed to shore up the walls, including pipes, telephone poles, ladders, branches, and full trees. Across this area are a number of sculptures and vehicles, painted and decorated in the same style. The site is currently preserved by Salvation Mountain Inc, a non-profit entity charged with supporting the restoration and conservation of the compound, directed by the on-site groundskeeper and restorer Ron.

Following hurricane Hillary in August of 2023, The site had suffered minor damage to the painted facade, and some significant erosion on the eastern slopes behind the mountain, causing temporary closure of the access path running along the back eastern slope. Another major storm had occurred some three years before. Such storms are rare in this desert region, and can cause significant flooding and soil erosion.

Staff working for the Cultural Heritage Engineering Initiative (CHEI) and AlertCalifornia at the University of California San Diego (UCSD) and visiting members of the Laboratory of Geomatics for Cultural Heritage (LabG4CH) of the Department of Architecture and Design (DAD) of the Polytechnic University of Turin, Italy, (PoliTo), reached out to Salvation Mountain Inc. to organize architectural site documentation and survey.

Geotag:
33.25388° N, 115.475354° W
Google Maps

Cite this project as:
Tanduo, B., McAvoy, S., Chiabrando, F., Spreafico, A., Driscoll, J., Rissolo, D., Clark, L., Kuester, F. (2023) Salvation Mountain 3D Atlas . University of California
https://doi.org/10.34946/D6B88P

Data Available at:
(Openheritage3d link)
3D Atlas Developed by Scott McAvoy (smcavoy@ucsd.edu)
Cultural Heritage Engineering Initiative (CHEI) at Calit2
University of California San Diego