List of hillside letters

Distribution of hillside letters in the Western United States

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 well over 500 in total, but the status of many of these symbols are uncertain, due to vagueness in sources.

The states with the most hillside letters are:

• California: 80-90 monograms
• Utah: 72 monograms
• Montana: 71-88 monograms
• Arizona: 58-61 monograms
• Nevada: 45-51 monograms
• Oregon: 35-40 monograms
• Idaho: 35-42 monograms

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

United States

Arizona

California

Colorado

At least 24 monograms, possibly 27

Monogram	Town	State	Description	Coordinates
B	Branson	Colorado		37°00′33″N 103°52′53″W / 37.0092°N 103.8815°W
M	Golden	Colorado	Colorado School of Mines	39°44′43″N 105°14′24″W / 39.7453°N 105.24°W
A	Fort Collins	Colorado	Colorado State University (formerly the Aggies)	40°33′40″N 105°09′04″W / 40.561°N 105.151°W
D	Del Norte	Colorado		37°40′19″N 106°21′32″W / 37.6719°N 106.3588°W
D	Dinosaur	Colorado		40°14′47″N 109°00′23″W / 40.2463°N 109.0064°W
G	Golden	Colorado		39°45′08″N 105°12′24″W / 39.7521°N 105.2066°W
GV	Parachute	Colorado	Grand Valley High School	39°27′40″N 108°03′15″W / 39.461°N 108.0542°W
GM (uncertain existence)	Lakewood	Colorado	Green Mountain High School	39°41′59″N 105°09′32″W / 39.6997°N 105.159°W (uncertain location)
G	Gunnison	Colorado		38°33′04″N 106°54′52″W / 38.551°N 106.9144°W
H	Hotchkiss	Colorado		38°47′32″N 107°42′03″W / 38.7923°N 107.7008°W
LV	La Veta	Colorado		37°31′21″N 105°00′25″W / 37.5224°N 105.007°W
LHS	Sopris	Colorado	Lincoln High School	37°07′51″N 104°34′21″W / 37.1308°N 104.5724°W
L	Loma	Colorado		39°11′22″N 108°50′35″W / 39.1894°N 108.843°W
L	Lyons	Colorado		40°12′34″N 105°15′56″W / 40.2095°N 105.2656°W
M	Manassa	Colorado		37°09′23″N 105°55′56″W / 37.1564°N 105.9323°W
P (uncertain existence)	Pagosa Springs	Colorado		37°16′04″N 107°00′36″W / 37.2677°N 107.01°W (uncertain location)
P	Palisade	Colorado		39°05′29″N 108°20′51″W / 39.0914°N 108.3474°W
P	Paonia	Colorado		38°51′35″N 107°35′51″W / 38.8596°N 107.5976°W
P	Weston	Colorado	Primero High School	37°07′27″N 104°47′37″W / 37.1241°N 104.7936°W
R (uncertain existence)	Rifle	Colorado		39°31′48″N 107°47′00″W / 39.5301°N 107.7832°W (uncertain location)
S	Saguache	Colorado		38°05′01″N 106°07′43″W / 38.0837°N 106.1287°W
S	Salida	Colorado		38°32′28″N 105°59′15″W / 38.541°N 105.9876°W
SAN LUIS OLDEST TOWN IN COLO.	San Luis	Colorado		37°12′01″N 105°25′41″W / 37.2004°N 105.4281°W
S	Sanford	Colorado		37°14′55″N 105°48′00″W / 37.2487°N 105.8°W
SHS	Sheridan	Colorado	Sheridan High School	39°38′20″N 105°01′43″W / 39.639°N 105.0287°W
S	Silverton	Colorado		37°49′04″N 107°39′52″W / 37.8177°N 107.6644°W
SL	Westminster	Colorado	Standley Lake High School	39°53′04″N 105°05′50″W / 39.8844°N 105.0971°W
W	Gunnison	Colorado	Western State Colorado University	38°31′39″N 106°54′30″W / 38.5274°N 106.9084°W

• 

  Western State 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°54′01″N 105°54′40″W / 32.9002°N 105.911°W
A	Aztec	New Mexico		36°50′09″N 108°00′33″W / 36.8357°N 108.0091°W
B	Bernalillo	New Mexico		35°19′15″N 106°31′46″W / 35.3209°N 106.5295°W
B	Bloomfield	New Mexico		36°43′35″N 107°58′48″W / 36.7263°N 107.9799°W
C	Capitan	New Mexico		33°32′14″N 105°35′02″W / 33.5373°N 105.584°W
C	Cimarron	New Mexico		36°29′57″N 104°55′20″W / 36.4992°N 104.9222°W
C	Costilla	New Mexico		36°59′20″N 105°30′48″W / 36.9888°N 105.5132°W
E	El Rito	New Mexico		36°21′36″N 106°10′48″W / 36.36°N 106.1801°W
E (uncertain existence)	Espanola	New Mexico		35°59′26″N 106°04′48″W / 35.9905°N 106.08°W (uncertain location)
F	Farmington	New Mexico		36°45′49″N 108°11′27″W / 36.7637°N 108.1909°W
G	Grants	New Mexico		35°10′07″N 107°51′50″W / 35.1685°N 107.864°W (uncertain location)
H	Las Vegas	New Mexico	New Mexico Highlands University	35°35′26″N 105°12′21″W / 35.5905°N 105.2059°W
H	Hondo	New Mexico		33°23′00″N 105°15′13″W / 33.3833°N 105.2537°W
KC	Kirtland	New Mexico	Kirtland Central High School	36°45′33″N 108°22′22″W / 36.7591°N 108.3729°W
LA	Laguna	New Mexico	Laguna-Acoma	35°03′13″N 107°26′19″W / 35.0537°N 107.4387°W
L	Lordsburg	New Mexico		32°19′43″N 108°43′36″W / 32.3287°N 108.7268°W
LA	Los Alamos	New Mexico		35°54′00″N 106°19′58″W / 35.9°N 106.3329°W
LL	Los Lunas	New Mexico		34°48′25″N 106°47′29″W / 34.807°N 106.7914°W
L (uncertain existence)	Lyden	New Mexico		36°08′47″N 106°00′20″W / 36.1463°N 106.0056°W (uncertain location)
M	Magdalena	New Mexico		34°05′42″N 107°15′04″W / 34.0949°N 107.2512°W
MV	Ojo Caliente	New Mexico	Mesa Vista High School	36°19′53″N 106°02′21″W / 36.3315°N 106.0391°W
M (uncertain existence)	Mora	New Mexico		35°58′26″N 105°19′43″W / 35.974°N 105.3287°W (uncertain location)
A	Las Cruces	New Mexico	New Mexico State University Aggies	32°17′33″N 106°41′56″W / 32.2926°N 106.699°W
M	Socorro	New Mexico	New Mexico Tech Miners	34°04′20″N 106°57′34″W / 34.0723°N 106.9594°W
P	Penasco	New Mexico		36°10′35″N 105°41′04″W / 36.1765°N 105.6845°W
P	Pojoaque	New Mexico		35°53′31″N 106°01′16″W / 35.892°N 106.021°W
Q	Questa	New Mexico		36°42′36″N 105°34′09″W / 36.7099°N 105.5693°W
R	Las Vegas	New Mexico	Robertson High School	35°34′50″N 105°12′09″W / 35.5805°N 105.2025°W
S (uncertain existence)	Santa Fe	New Mexico		35°40′53″N 105°56′48″W / 35.6813°N 105.9467°W (uncertain location)
S (uncertain existence)	Shiprock	New Mexico		36°47′27″N 108°40′58″W / 36.7907°N 108.6828°W (uncertain location)
J	Albuquerque	New Mexico	St. Joseph's College (closed)	35°08′29″N 106°46′17″W / 35.1414°N 106.7714°W
T	Truth or Consequences	New Mexico		33°07′09″N 107°13′39″W / 33.1191°N 107.2275°W
T	Tucumcari	New Mexico		35°08′04″N 103°42′00″W / 35.1345°N 103.7°W
U (no longer exists)	Albuquerque	New Mexico	University of New Mexico	35°04′52″N 106°28′54″W / 35.0812°N 106.4816°W
WM	Wagon Mound	New Mexico		36°00′18″N 104°42′07″W / 36.0051°N 104.7019°W
D	Las Vegas	New Mexico	West Las Vegas High School Dons	35°35′21″N 105°12′17″W / 35.5893°N 105.2047°W
W	Silver City	New Mexico	Western New Mexico University	32°49′38″N 108°14′56″W / 32.8272°N 108.2489°W

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°21′10″N 103°39′23″W / 30.3527°N 103.6564°W
A	El Paso	Texas	Austin High School	31°47′59″N 106°28′26″W / 31.7998°N 106.474°W
B	Balmorhea	Texas		30°58′33″N 103°43′12″W / 30.9757°N 103.7199°W
B	El Paso	Texas	Bowie High School	31°47′10″N 106°28′47″W / 31.7861°N 106.4796°W
C	El Paso	Texas	Coronado High School	31°47′34″N 106°28′53″W / 31.7928°N 106.4813°W
E	El Paso	Texas	El Paso High School	31°47′12″N 106°28′49″W / 31.7867°N 106.4803°W
FD	Fort Davis	Texas		30°34′42″N 103°53′35″W / 30.5784°N 103.893°W
I	Iraan	Texas		30°54′00″N 101°53′54″W / 30.8999°N 101.8983°W
J	El Paso	Texas	Jefferson High School	31°47′11″N 106°28′42″W / 31.7865°N 106.4783°W
M	Marathon	Texas		30°12′25″N 103°13′31″W / 30.2069°N 103.2252°W (uncertain location)
M (uncertain existence)	Marfa	Texas		30°18′32″N 104°01′15″W / 30.3088°N 104.0207°W (uncertain location)
M	McCamey	Texas		31°05′59″N 102°09′20″W / 31.0998°N 102.1555°W
P (uncertain existence)	Presidio	Texas		29°33′52″N 104°22′08″W / 29.5644°N 104.3689°W (uncertain location)
S	Sanderson	Texas		30°08′48″N 102°24′01″W / 30.1467°N 102.4004°W
S	Shafter	Texas		29°49′19″N 104°18′15″W / 29.8219°N 104.3041°W
SB	Sierra Blanca	Texas		31°11′16″N 105°20′58″W / 31.1878°N 105.3495°W
SR	Alpine	Texas	Sul Ross State University	30°21′58″N 103°38′51″W / 30.3662°N 103.6474°W
M	El Paso	Texas	UTEP Miners	31°46′36″N 106°30′32″W / 31.7767°N 106.5088°W
V	Van Horn	Texas		31°03′31″N 104°51′38″W / 31.0585°N 104.8606°W

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°38′46″N 120°29′31″W / 46.645975°N 120.491847°W
A	Asotin	Washington		46°20′27″N 117°03′34″W / 46.3407°N 117.0594°W
B	Burlington	Washington		48°28′58″N 122°19′30″W / 48.4827°N 122.325°W
C	Cashmere	Washington		47°31′46″N 120°28′04″W / 47.5294°N 120.4678°W
C	Clarkston	Washington		46°27′00″N 117°02′49″W / 46.45°N 117.047°W
C	Colville	Washington		48°33′47″N 117°54′03″W / 48.5631°N 117.9009°W
C	Creston	Washington		47°44′42″N 118°31′44″W / 47.7449°N 118.5289°W
E	East Wenatchee	Washington		47°26′34″N 120°16′57″W / 47.4428°N 120.2824°W
FOSS	Tacoma	Washington	Foss High School	47°14′10″N 122°29′37″W / 47.236°N 122.4937°W
G	Goldendale	Washington		45°48′06″N 120°47′45″W / 45.8016°N 120.7957°W
K	Kelso	Washington		46°08′51″N 122°53′46″W / 46.1475°N 122.8962°W
KF	Kettle Falls	Washington		48°36′59″N 118°02′24″W / 48.6164°N 118.04°W
K	Klickitat	Washington		45°48′51″N 121°08′57″W / 45.8143°N 121.1493°W
L	Union Gap	Washington	La Salle High School	46°31′54″N 120°27′50″W / 46.5317°N 120.4639°W
OK	Okanogan	Washington		48°21′57″N 119°35′15″W / 48.3658°N 119.5876°W
R	Richland	Washington		46°14′11″N 119°18′45″W / 46.2364°N 119.3126°W
R	Rosalia	Washington		47°13′41″N 117°22′33″W / 47.228168°N 117.375771°W
S	Selah	Washington		46°37′55″N 120°31′46″W / 46.631846°N 120.529443°W
T (uncertain existence)	Touchet	Washington		46°02′26″N 118°40′23″W / 46.0406°N 118.673°W (uncertain location)

Wyoming

Between 21 and 22 monograms

Monogram	Town	State	Description	Coordinates
B	Burlington	Wyoming		44°27′58″N 108°25′53″W / 44.466°N 108.4315°W
C	Cody	Wyoming		44°31′34″N 109°06′04″W / 44.5262°N 109.101°W
D	Douglas	Wyoming		42°45′09″N 105°21′41″W / 42.7524°N 105.3615°W
E	Evanston	Wyoming		41°15′30″N 110°57′21″W / 41.2583°N 110.9559°W
F	Fairview	Wyoming		42°40′51″N 111°00′40″W / 42.6807°N 111.0112°W
FORT WASHAKIE	Fort Washakie	Wyoming		43°00′48″N 108°52′50″W / 43.0132°N 108.8805°W
G	Glenrock	Wyoming		42°51′31″N 105°51′04″W / 42.8585°N 105.8511°W
GR	Green River	Wyoming		41°30′53″N 109°28′47″W / 41.5147°N 109.4796°W
G	Greybull	Wyoming		44°30′00″N 108°04′27″W / 44.5°N 108.0742°W
H (uncertain existence)	Hartville	Wyoming		42°19′38″N 104°43′38″W / 42.3272°N 104.7272°W (uncertain location)
WORLDS LARGEST MINERAL HOT SPRING	Thermopolis	Wyoming	Hot Springs State Park	43°39′22″N 108°11′34″W / 43.6562°N 108.1929°W
K	Kemmerer	Wyoming		41°47′34″N 110°31′35″W / 41.7929°N 110.5265°W
L	Lovell	Wyoming		44°49′32″N 108°17′50″W / 44.825629°N 108.297097°W
M	Meeteetse	Wyoming		44°09′09″N 108°52′13″W / 44.1526°N 108.8703°W
R	Rawlins	Wyoming		41°46′18″N 107°14′25″W / 41.7718°N 107.2404°W
R	Basin	Wyoming	Riverside High School	44°22′47″N 108°03′27″W / 44.3797°N 108.0575°W
RS	Rock Springs	Wyoming		41°36′00″N 109°12′49″W / 41.6°N 109.2136°W
*	Afton	Wyoming	Star Valley	42°43′49″N 110°54′42″W / 42.7302°N 110.9118°W
T	Ten Sleep	Wyoming		44°02′41″N 107°26′48″W / 44.0448°N 107.4467°W
T	Thermopolis	Wyoming		43°39′18″N 108°12′23″W / 43.655°N 108.2064°W
W	Laramie	Wyoming	University of Wyoming	41°19′43″N 105°34′20″W / 41.3287°N 105.5721°W
W	Worland	Wyoming		44°00′39″N 108°00′20″W / 44.0109°N 108.0055°W

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°13′10″N 81°06′13″W / 29.2195°N 81.1035°W
PALM BAY	Palm Bay	Florida		28°02′08″N 80°39′27″W / 28.0356°N 80.6574°W
L	Lahaina	Hawaii		20°53′15″N 156°38′29″W / 20.8876°N 156.6415°W
KS	Manhattan	Kansas	Kansas State University (K built in 1921)	39°10′19″N 96°33′08″W / 39.172°N 96.5522°W
MANHATTAN	Manhattan	Kansas	Manhattan (built in 1927)	39°11′33″N 96°33′46″W / 39.19245°N 96.56281°W
OP	Ocean Pines	Maryland		38°23′06″N 75°10′42″W / 38.3851°N 75.1782°W
C	Chadron	Nebraska		42°48′55″N 103°00′10″W / 42.8152°N 103.0028°W
POTTER	Potter	Nebraska		41°12′15″N 103°18′46″W / 41.2041°N 103.3128°W
C	New York City (Manhattan)	New York	Columbia University	40°52′34″N 73°55′08″W / 40.8761°N 73.919°W
HOWE CAVERNS	Cobleskill	New York	Howe Caverns	42°41′44″N 74°23′56″W / 42.6956°N 74.3989°W
M (uncertain existence)	Poughkeepsie	New York	Marist College	41°43′16″N 73°56′52″W / 41.7212°N 73.9477°W (uncertain location)
A	Alexander	North Dakota		47°49′46″N 103°38′15″W / 47.8295°N 103.6376°W
HOME ON THE RANGE	Beach	North Dakota	Home on the Range Ranch	46°56′37″N 103°52′09″W / 46.9435°N 103.8693°W
K (uncertain existence)	Kenmare	North Dakota		48°40′35″N 102°04′53″W / 48.6764°N 102.0814°W (uncertain location)
MANDAN	Mandan	North Dakota		46°50′01″N 100°52′16″W / 46.8336°N 100.8712°W
PRICE	Price	North Dakota		47°04′54″N 100°56′36″W / 47.0818°N 100.9432°W
Z	Zap	North Dakota		47°16′45″N 101°55′58″W / 47.2793°N 101.9328°W
LAZY S RANCH	Springer	Oklahoma	Lazy S Ranch	34°20′56″N 97°08′33″W / 34.349°N 97.1424°W
WELCOME TO HERSHEY	Hershey	Pennsylvania	Hersheypark	40°17′39″N 76°39′44″W / 40.2941°N 76.6623°W
H	Spearfish	South Dakota	Black Hills State College	44°30′26″N 103°51′04″W / 44.5073°N 103.851°W
SMD	Rapid City	South Dakota	South Dakota School of Mines and Technology (M-Hill)	44°05′18″N 103°14′58″W / 44.0883°N 103.2494°W
Σ Φ	Rapid City	South Dakota	South Dakota School of Mines and Technology Fraternal Organizations (Smelter Hill)	44°04′15″N 103°12′05″W / 44.070798°N 103.201329°W
LU	Lynchburg	Virginia	Liberty University	37°21′34″N 79°09′35″W / 37.3595°N 79.1597°W
St. Marys Springs	Fond du Lac	Wisconsin	St. Mary's Springs High School	43°47′05″N 88°23′05″W / 43.7847°N 88.3847°W
M	Platteville	Wisconsin	University of Wisconsin-Platteville (formerly the Miners)	42°45′49″N 90°24′24″W / 42.7636°N 90.4066°W

Other countries

Monogram	Town	Country	Description	Coordinates
LONGVIEW	Longview, Alberta	Canada		50°32′37″N 114°13′08″W / 50.5437°N 114.2189°W
113 51 137 151	Calgary, Alberta	Canada	Military memorials in Battalion Park	51°01′16″N 114°10′23″W / 51.021°N 114.173°W
MOUNT PANORAMA	Bathurst, New South Wales	Australia	Mount Panorama Circuit (and surrounding neighbourhood)	33°27′18″S 149°33′07″E / 33.455°S 149.552°E
NZ	Bulford	England	Writing beneath the Bulford Kiwi	51°11′38.84″N 001°42′54.20″W / 51.1941222°N 1.7150556°W
Z	Wythenshawe	England	Two "Z"s on the A5103 roundabout
JESUCRISTO ES EL SEÑOR	Tijuana	Mexico		32°28′31″N 116°54′00″W / 32.4753°N 116.9°W
B	Mexico City	Mexico	El Centro Escolar Benemérito de las Américas	19°32′20″N 99°09′37″W / 19.539°N 99.1602°W
BIENVENIDOS ATE	Lima	Peru	Ate District, above the Estadio Monumental	12°03′07″S 76°56′05″W / 12.052°S 76.9346°W
TORREBLANCA	Lima	Peru	Juventud Torre Blanca football club?	12°00′05″S 76°59′34″W / 12.0014°S 76.9927°W

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

Notes

1. Corning, Evelyn (2007). Hillside Letters A to Z : A Guide to Hometown Landmarks. Missoula, Mont.: Mountain Press Publishing Company.
2. Rocha, Guy (June 2004), "Hillside Letters: In Plain Sight But Not Intended for Planes", Sierra Sage
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.

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