Graveyard Peak Explained

Graveyard Peak
Elevation Ft:11539
Prominence Ft:400.
Prominence Ref:[1]
Isolation Mi:1.59
Isolation Ref:[2]
Map:California#USA
Map Size:260
Label Position:bottom
Country:United States
State:California
Region:Fresno
Region Type:County
Part Type:Protected area
Part:John Muir Wilderness
Range:Sierra Nevada
Coordinates:37.4513°N -118.9899°W
Coordinates Ref:[3]
Topo:USGS Graveyard Peak
Type:Fault block
Rock:Granodiorite, Leucogranite[4]
Age:Cretaceous
First Ascent:1935

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.[3] 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,[2] and topographic relief is significant as the south aspect rises over 2300abbr=offNaNabbr=off 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 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]

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.[3]

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

External links

Notes and References

  1. 97186. Graveyard Peak, California. 2022-05-26.
  2. Web site: Graveyard Peak - 11,540' CA. listsofjohn.com. 2022-05-26.
  3. 1658658. Graveyard Peak. 2022-05-26.
  4. https://ngmdb.usgs.gov/Geolex/UnitRefs/LakeEdisonRefs_5850.html National Geologic Map Database, USGS
  5. Web site: Graveyard Peak : Climbing, Hiking & Mountaineering : SummitPost . 2024-05-10 . www.summitpost.org.
  6. http://www.yosemite.ca.us/library/place_names_of_the_high_sierra/g.html 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, .
  8. R. J. Secor, The High Sierra Peaks, Passes, Trails, 2009, Third Edition, Mountaineers Books,, p. 363
  9. Encyclopedia: Climate of the Sierra Nevada . Encyclopædia Britannica.