Arabia Mountain

Arabia Mountain is a monadnock in DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The peak is 954 feet (290m) above sea level, rising 170 feet (52m) above Arabia Lake reservoir. It is now part of the Davidson-Arabia Mountain Nature Preserve, a DeKalb County park.Geology and historyArabia Mountain is one of Metro Atlanta's three monadnocks, which also include Stone Mountain and Panola Mountain. The unique topography and geology of this monadnock allows for unusual plant and animal species to thrive. Arabia Mountain has five species that are listed as both state and federally endangered, including the bright-red diamorpha plant that lives in small pools of water (known as vernal pools or solution pits) that form on the monadnock.Panola Mountain is 3.63 miles (5.84 km) to the southwest. While designated as one peak on USGS maps, most users familiar with the area consider the rock formation to be two peaks: Arabia Mountain to the northeast, and Bradley Mountain to the southeast, connected by a low saddle.Arabia Mountain appears to be composed of granite, like other nearby peaks such as Stone Mountain and Panola Mountain. Although made of metamorphic rock, the mountain is actually composed of migmatite, metamorphosed at higher temperatures than gneiss but not sufficiently melted to become granite. The resulting swirl pattern made the rock a popular building stone and many buildings in the region were constructed with stone quarried from the Lithonia district quarries.