{"nrhp_refnum":"92001268","name":"Kuchamaa","other_names":["Tecate Peak"],"category":"district","location":{"address":"SE of San Diego at the US--Mexico border","address_restricted":false,"city":"Tecate","county":"San Diego County","state":"CA","lat":32.57817187500004,"lon":-116.69143889484954,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1992-10-06","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Religion"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Kuchamaa (Tecate Peak) is a 3,885-foot granitic mountain on the California side of the International Border near Tecate, San Diego County. The nominated district covers 510 acres from the 3,000-foot contour to the summit.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the peak is a sacred mountain of paramount religious importance to the Kumeyaay people, chosen by the creator god Maiha and used for shaman initiation, vision quests and purification ceremonies. It is argued to meet Criterion A for its association with Native American religious history, with significance at the local level. Despite communications facilities on the summit, it is said to retain integrity of feeling and association.","narrative":"Tecate Peak, known to the Kumeyaay as Kuchamaa, is a rugged granite mountain rising 3,885 feet beside the International Border in southern San Diego County. The nominated district takes in 510 acres from the 3,000-foot contour to the summit. Its importance is religious. According to Kumeyaay tradition, the creator god Maiha selected the mountain, and it became the place where shamans gained knowledge and power and instructed their initiates. Vision quests, purification rites and prayers at the full moon and equinoxes continue today, and people from other Native groups in southern California and Baja California also visited. The mountain has been altered by a road built in the late 1930s and by communications buildings first placed on the summit in 1942, which is why the period of significance ends that year. Kumeyaay opposition stopped a power line route in 1979 and a park proposal in 1981. The peak was listed for its association with Native American religious heritage.","period_of_significance":"Ethnographic to 1942","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":null,"criteria":["A"],"status_note":"Not pristine: a communications facility with two small cinder block buildings and an access road occupy the summit, but the mountain is still used by the Kumeyaay and Juaneno for ceremonies.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:27.541067-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/92001268.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/92001268/98945a4806-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/92001268/98945a4806-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"UncleMunkle","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kuuchamaa.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">UncleMunkle</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kuuchamaa.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123860898","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tecate_Peak","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5960834"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/san-diego-county/kuchamaa-92001268/"}