Gemini (California mountain)

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Gemini
Gemini, north aspect.jpg
North aspect
Highest point
Elevation 12,880 ft (3,926 m) [1]
Prominence 800 ft (244 m) [1]
Parent peak Seven Gables (13,080 ft) [2]
Isolation 1.30 mi (2.09 km) [2]
Listing Sierra Peaks Section
Coordinates 37°17′48″N118°49′01″W / 37.2965523°N 118.8169867°W / 37.2965523; -118.8169867 [3]
Naming
Etymology Gemini twins
Geography
Relief map of California.png
Red triangle with thick white border.svg
Gemini
Location in California
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Gemini
Gemini (the United States)
CountryUnited States
State California
County Fresno
Protected area John Muir Wilderness
Parent range Sierra Nevada [1]
Topo map USGS Mount Hilgard
Geology
Rock age Cretaceous
Mountain type Fault block
Rock type granite
Climbing
First ascent 1953
Easiest route class 2 [2]

Gemini is a 12,880-foot-elevation (3,926-meter) twin-peaked mountain summit located west of the crest of the Sierra Nevada mountain range in Fresno County of northern California, United States. [3] It is situated in the John Muir Wilderness, on land managed by Sierra National Forest. It is set 3.0 miles (4.8 km) west-southwest of Merriam Peak, 2.6 miles (4.2 km) northeast of Mount Senger, and 1.2 miles (1.9 km) southeast of Seven Gables, the nearest higher neighbor. [1] Topographic relief is significant as it rises over 3,500 feet (1,067 meters) above Piute Canyon in approximately three miles. Gemini ranks as the 176th-highest summit in California. [2]

Contents

History

The first ascent of the summit was made July 30, 1953, by Jim Koontz and Rosemarie Lenel. [4] The mountain's name was suggested by Chester Versteeg, a prominent Sierra Club mountaineer from Los Angeles. [5] The peak's name was officially adopted in 1954 by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names and promulgated in 1957. [3] Today this peak draws climbing interest because it is included on the Sierra Peaks Section's peak bagging list.

Climate

According to the Köppen climate classification system, Gemini is located in an alpine climate zone. [6] Most weather fronts originate in the Pacific Ocean, and travel east toward the Sierra Nevada mountains. As fronts approach, they are forced upward by the peaks, causing them to drop their moisture in the form of rain or snowfall onto the range (orographic lift). Precipitation runoff from this mountain drains into tributaries of the South Fork San Joaquin River.

See also

Gemini seen from Feather Peak Gemini from Feather.jpg
Gemini seen from Feather Peak

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Gemini, California". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved May 12, 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Gemini - 12,900' CA". listsofjohn.com. Retrieved May 12, 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 "Gemini". Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior . Retrieved May 12, 2021.
  4. ↑ Hervey Voge, James W. Koontz II, and George Bloom, A Climber’s Guide to the High Sierra, (1954)
  5. ↑ Erwin G. Gudde, California Place Names, University of California Press, 1969, ISBN   9780520266193, page 142.
  6. ↑ Peel, M.C.; Finlayson, B.L. & McMahon, T.A. (2007). "Updated world map of the Köppen-Geiger climate classification" (PDF). Hydrology and Earth System Sciences . 11 (5): 1633–1644. Bibcode:2007HESS...11.1633P. doi: 10.5194/hess-11-1633-2007 . Archived (PDF) from the original on December 2, 2019. Retrieved November 7, 2025.
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