Mentone, Alabama

Mentone is a town in DeKalb County, Alabama, United States. It incorporated in 1935. As of the 2010 census the population was 360, down from 451 in 2000. Mentone, located atop Lookout Mountain, has the highest elevation of any incorporated town in Alabama, narrowly over Hytop.HistoryThe community was named after Menton in France. A number of private summer camps are located near Mentone.In April 2003, it was the town nearest the epicenter of a magnitude 4.6 earthquake. The surprise quake alarmed residents in the dark hours of the morning and was felt across several states, but caused no injuries and only minor damage even in the town. Mentone is in the Ridge and Valley region of the southwestern Appalachian Mountains, an area that generally goes several decades between significant earthquakes, and has never had a major one in recorded history.For a number of years, the Mentone area hosted an unusually large number of summer camps.GeographyMentone is located in eastern DeKalb County at . It is bordered to the west by the town of Valley Head. The center of town is located on the crest of Lookout Mountain at an elevation of 529m. The western border of the town, with Valley Head, follows the western slopes of the mountain. Extending south from the town center, the mountain's ridgecrest rises to an elevation of 544m within the town limits. The West Fork of the Little River crosses the eastern portion of the town at an elevation less than below the ridgecrest.