Whale Mountain is a 3,043-foot summit in the northwestern Cuyamaca Mountains of San Diego County, standing between Ramona and Santa Ysabel near Ballena Valley. The mountain gave Ballena Valley its name, since ballena is Spanish for "whale." That Spanish term paralleled the Ipai name for the mountain, ipank, which also meant "whale." Although it is part of the Cuyamaca range, Whale Mountain is notable for its desert-like character, with cacti and other desert plants and animals.