| Black Mountain | |
| Elevation Ft: | 11797 |
| Elevation Ref: | [1] [2] |
| Prominence Ft: | 497 |
| Isolation Mi: | 1.75 |
| Parent Peak: | Excelsior Mountain (12,446 ft) |
| Map: | California#USA |
| Map Size: | 260 |
| Label Position: | top |
| Location: | Mono County, California, U.S. |
| Range: | Sierra Nevada |
| Coordinates: | 38.0387°N -119.2787°W |
| Coordinates Ref: | [3] |
| Topo: | USGS Dunderberg Peak |
| Rock: | Tuff[4] |
| First Ascent: | 1905 |
Black Mountain is an 11,797-foot-elevation (3,596 meter) summit located in the Sierra Nevada mountain range, in Mono County of northern California, United States.[3] The mountain is set within the Hoover Wilderness, on the common boundary shared by Inyo National Forest with Humboldt–Toiyabe National Forest, and 1.5 mile outside the boundary of Yosemite National Park. The peak is situated immediately southwest above Virginia Lakes, 1.8miles northeast of line parent Excelsior Mountain, and 1.8miles south of Dunderberg Peak. Topographic relief is significant as the north aspect rises 1500abbr=offNaNabbr=off above Cooney Lake in NaNmiles, and the south aspect rises 3600abbr=offNaNabbr=off above Lundy Canyon in NaNmiles. The first ascent of the summit was made in 1905 by George R. Davis, Albert Hale Sylvester, and Pearson Chapman, all with the United States Geological Survey.[5] [6]
Black Mountain is located in an alpine climate zone.[7] 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 moisture in the form of rain or snowfall to drop onto the range. Precipitation runoff from this mountain drains north into Virginia Creek which is a tributary of the Walker River, and south into Mill Creek which drains to Mono Lake.