Mount Crocker

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Mount Crocker
Mount Crocker.jpg
North aspect, summit to right
Highest point
Elevation 12,458 ft (3,797 m) [1] [2]
Prominence 858 ft (262 m) [2]
Parent peak Red and White Mountain [3]
Isolation 1.77 mi (2.85 km) [3]
Listing Vagmarken Club Sierra Crest List [4]
Coordinates 37°28′59″N118°49′31″W / 37.4829291°N 118.8253923°W / 37.4829291; -118.8253923 [5]
Naming
Etymology Charles Crocker
Geography
Relief map of California.png
Red triangle with thick white border.svg
Mount Crocker
Location in California
Usa edcp relief location map.png
Red triangle with thick white border.svg
Mount Crocker
Mount Crocker (the United States)
CountryUnited States
State California
County Fresno / Mono
Protected area John Muir Wilderness
Parent range Sierra Nevada [2]
Topo map USGS Mount Abbot
Geology
Rock age Cretaceous
Mountain type Fault block
Rock type Granodiorite
Climbing
First ascent 1929
Easiest route class 3 [3]

Mount Crocker is a remote 12,458-foot-elevation (3,797 meter) mountain summit located on the crest of the Sierra Nevada mountain range in northern California, United States. [5] It is situated in the John Muir Wilderness, on the boundary shared by Sierra National Forest with Inyo National Forest, and along the common border of Fresno County with Mono County. Crocker ranks as the 291st-highest summit in California. [3] Topographic relief is significant as the north aspect rises 2,500 feet (760 meters) above McGee Creek in approximately one mile. It is nine miles northeast of Lake Thomas A Edison, and approximately 15 miles (24 km) southeast of the community of Mammoth Lakes.

Contents

History

Charles Crocker Charles C Crocker by Stephen W Shaw.jpg
Charles Crocker

This mountain's toponym was officially adopted in 1911 by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names. [5] The name was applied during a 1907–09 survey by Robert Bradford Marshall of the USGS to honor Charles Crocker (1822–1888), an American railroad executive who was one of the founders of the Central Pacific Railroad, which constructed the westernmost portion of the First transcontinental railroad. [6] [7] He was one of the four robber barons, along with Mark Hopkins, Collis Huntington and Leland Stanford (also known as The Big Four), who formed the Central Pacific Railroad. Mount Crocker is one of four peaks named after the Big Four that surrounds Pioneer Basin, the others being Mount Hopkins, Mount Huntington, and Mount Stanford.

The first ascent of the summit was made August 25, 1929, by Nazario Sparrea, a Basque shepherd. [8]

Climate

According to the Köppen climate classification system, Mount Crocker 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. Precipitation runoff from the north side of this mountain drains into McGee Creek which empties at Crowley Lake, and from the south aspect to Lake Thomas A Edison via Mono Creek, thence South Fork San Joaquin River.

Mt. Crocker from north, McGee Creek drainage Grass Lake from north, McGee Creek drainage, Sierra Nevada.jpg
Mt. Crocker from north, McGee Creek drainage

See also

Related Research Articles

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Mount Hopkins is a mountain in the John Muir Wilderness north of Kings Canyon National Park. It is one of four peaks that surround Pioneer Basin, 1.4 miles (2.3 km) south-southeast of Mount Crocker, 2 miles (3.2 km) west-southwest of Mount Huntington, and 2 miles (3.2 km) southwest of Mount Stanford. The mountain was named for Mark Hopkins, one of the builders of the Central Pacific Railroad.

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Mount Huntington is a mountain in the John Muir Wilderness north of Kings Canyon National Park. It is one of four peaks that surround Pioneer Basin, 5 miles (8.0 km) northwest of Mount Crocker, 2 miles (3.2 km) northeast of Mount Hopkins, and 1.8 miles (2.9 km) south-southwest of Mount Stanford. The mountain was named for Collis Potter Huntington, one of the builders of the Central Pacific Railroad.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Graveyard Peak</span> Mountain in the American state of California

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. 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, and topographic relief is significant as the south aspect rises over 2,300 feet 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Julius Caesar</span> Mountain in the American state of California

Mount Julius Caesar is a 13,213-foot-elevation mountain summit located on the crest of the Sierra Nevada mountain range in northern California, United States. It is situated in the John Muir Wilderness on the boundary that Sierra National Forest shares with Inyo National Forest, and along the common border shared by Fresno County with Inyo County. It is one mile southwest of line parent Bear Creek Spire, and 22 miles (35 km) west of the community of Bishop. Italy Pass is one-half mile immediately south of the summit, and Granite Park lies to the southeast. Mount Julius Caesar ranks as the 106th-highest summit in California. Topographic relief is significant as the summit rises 2,000 feet above Lake Italy in 0.7 miles (1.1 km).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Lewis (California)</span> Mountain in the state of California

Mount Lewis is a 12,350-foot-elevation mountain summit located along the crest of the Sierra Nevada mountain range, in Mono County of northern California, United States. It is situated in the Ansel Adams Wilderness, on land managed by Inyo National Forest. The summit lies less than one mile outside of Yosemite National Park's eastern boundary, and some of the lower western slope lies within the park. The mountain rises 1.8 miles (2.9 km) southeast of Mono Pass, 1.5 miles (2.4 km) northeast of Parker Pass, and two miles north of Parker Peak, which is the nearest higher neighbor. Topographic relief is significant as it rises over 5,200 feet above Grant Lake in four miles which makes the mountain visible from Highway 395.

References

  1. Peter Browning, Place Names of the Sierra Nevada: From Abbot to Zumwalt, Wilderness Press, 1986, ISBN   9780899970479, page 50.
  2. 1 2 3 "Mount Crocker, California". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 2022-05-18.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Crocker, Mount - 12,458' CA". listsofjohn.com. Retrieved 2022-05-18.
  4. "Vagmarken Sierra Crest List". Angeles Chapter, Sierra Club . Retrieved 2022-05-18.
  5. 1 2 3 "Mount Crocker". Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior . Retrieved 2022-05-18.
  6. Erwin G. Gudde, California Place Names, University of California Press, 1969, ISBN   9780520266193, page 96.
  7. Francis P. Farquhar, Place Names of the High Sierra (1926)
  8. George Bloom and John D. Mendenhall, A Climber’s Guide to the High Sierra (1954)
  9. "Climate of the Sierra Nevada". Encyclopædia Britannica .