The name given them came from local New Mexican and Californio miners of the mountains and Gavilan Plateau.
This range of the Temescal Mountains runs southward from where they overlook the Cajalco Valley, east of the Gavilan Plateau, Steele Valley and Wasson Canyon Creek to where it tapers down to a low ridge west and south of the location of the Good Hope Mine at 33°43′39″N 117°17′43″W / 33.72750°N 117.29528°W / 33.72750; -117.29528.
[2] Farther south is its second tallest summit, 2520 foot Steele Peak.
Shortly afterward it was sold to the Gavilan Mining and Milling Company for a period of ten years.
The Gavilan Hills are one of the few remaining habitats in Southern California where the endangered Quino checkerspot butterfly can breed and mature.