Graveyard Peak

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Graveyard Peak
Graveyard Peak and Lakes.jpg
East aspect (right)
Highest point
Elevation 11,539 ft (3,517 m) [1]
Prominence 400 ft (122 m) [2]
Isolation 1.59 mi (2.56 km) [3]
Coordinates 37°27′05″N118°59′24″W / 37.4513100°N 118.9898787°W / 37.4513100; -118.9898787 [1]
Geography
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Graveyard Peak
Location in California
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Graveyard Peak
Graveyard Peak (the United States)
CountryUnited States
State California
County Fresno
Protected area John Muir Wilderness
Parent range Sierra Nevada [2]
Topo map USGS Graveyard Peak
Geology
Rock age Cretaceous
Mountain type Fault block
Rock type(s) Granodiorite, Leucogranite [4]
Climbing
First ascent 1935
Easiest route class 2 [3]

Graveyard Peak is an 11,539-foot-elevation (3,517-meter) mountain summit located in the Sierra Nevada mountain range in Fresno County of northern California, United States. [1] It is situated in the John Muir Wilderness, on land managed by Sierra National Forest. Graveyard Peak ranks as the 535th-highest summit in California, [3] and topographic relief is significant as the south aspect rises over 2,300 feet (700 meters) above Devils Bathtub in approximately one mile. It is two miles southeast of Silver Peak, five miles north of Lake Thomas A Edison, and approximately 13 miles (21 km) south of the community of Mammoth Lakes. The peak is set on Silver Divide, so precipitation runoff from the north side of this mountain drains into Fish Creek which is a tributary of the San Joaquin River, and from the south slope to Lake Thomas A Edison. The peak is most easily reached out of Lake Thomas Edison. [5]

Contents

History

Graveyard Peak and Graveyard Lakes are named in association with nearby Graveyard Meadows which in turn was named for two sheepmen who were murdered and buried there. [6] [7] This landform's toponym has been officially adopted by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names. [1]

The first ascent of the summit was made September 8, 1935, by William Stewart and David Parish. [8]

Climate

According to the Köppen climate classification system, Graveyard Peak is located in an alpine climate zone. [9] 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 (orographic lift), causing them to drop their moisture in the form of rain or snowfall onto the range.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Graveyard Peak". Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior . Retrieved May 26, 2022.
  2. 1 2 "Graveyard Peak, California". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 "Graveyard Peak - 11,540' CA". listsofjohn.com. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
  4. ↑ National Geologic Map Database, USGS
  5. ↑ "Graveyard Peak : Climbing, Hiking & Mountaineering : SummitPost". www.summitpost.org. Retrieved May 10, 2024.
  6. ↑ Francis P. Farquhar, Place Names of the High Sierra (1926)
  7. ↑ Peter Browning, Place Names of the Sierra Nevada: From Abbot to Zumwalt, Wilderness Press, 1986, ISBN   9780899970479.
  8. ↑ R. J. Secor, The High Sierra Peaks, Passes, Trails, 2009, Third Edition, Mountaineers Books, ISBN   9781594857386, p. 363
  9. ↑ "Climate of the Sierra Nevada". Encyclopædia Britannica .
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