| Mount Judah | |
| Elevation Ft: | 8243 |
| Elevation Ref: | [1] [2] |
| Prominence Ft: | 363 |
| Prominence Ref: | [3] |
| Isolation Mi: | 1.01 |
| Isolation Ref: | [4] |
| Parent Peak: | Mount Lincoln (8,383 ft) |
| Etymology: | Theodore Dehone Judah[5] |
| Map: | California#USA |
| Map Size: | 250 |
| Label Position: | right |
| Location: | Donner Pass |
| Country: | United States of America |
| State: | California |
| Region: | Placer |
| Region Type: | County |
| Range: | Sierra Nevada |
| Coordinates: | 39.2985°N -120.3156°W |
| Coordinates Ref: | [6] |
| Topo: | USGS Norden |
| Easiest Route: | trail |
Mount Judah is an 8,243-foot-elevation (2,512 meter) mountain summit in Placer County, California, United States.
Mount Judah is located one mile southeast of Donner Pass at Sugar Bowl Ski Resort, on land managed by Tahoe National Forest. It is situated on the crest of the Sierra Nevada mountain range, with precipitation runoff from the peak draining west to South Yuba River, and east to the Truckee River. Topographic relief is modest as the summit rises 1480abbr=offNaNabbr=off above Lakeview Canyon in one mile. Neighbors include Donner Peak, 0.7miles to the north, Mount Disney 1.4miles west, and the nearest higher peak is Mount Lincoln, 1miles to the southwest. The Pacific Crest Trail traverses the west slope of the peak, providing an approach option from Donner Pass. The 4.35-mile Mt. Judah Loop Trail takes hikers across the summit, and is the most popular trail in the Donner Pass area.[7]
This landform's toponym was officially adopted October 18, 1940, by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names to honor Theodore Judah (1826–1863), an American civil engineer who played a leading part in the promotion and design of the First Transcontinental Railroad.[8]
President Abraham Lincoln supported a transcontinental railroad to Northern California, and in 1862 signed the Pacific Railroad Acts to begin construction. The Sierra Nevada posed a major obstacle to the project, and Theodore Judah decided the best route for the railroad was through Donner Pass as it required only one summit crossing rather than two required of other possible options. The 1865 route originally traversed steep cliffs of Donner Peak via tunnels and snow sheds before the 10,322-foot-long (3,146 m) Tunnel #41 running under Mount Judah opened in 1925.
The California Trail, which crossed Roller Pass between Mount Lincoln and Mount Judah, was one of the wagon trails through Donner Pass used by pioneers on the way to Sutter's Fort. In April 1846, 90 people departed Springfield, Illinois, en route to California. The ill-fated journey of the Donner Party tragically ended nearby when they were snowbound at Donner Lake before they could cross this pass.
According to the Köppen climate classification system, Mount Judah 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. Donner Pass averages 51.6inches of precipitation per year,[10] and with an average of 411.5inches of snow per year, it is one of the snowiest places in the contiguous United States.[11] This climate supports five ski areas at Donner Pass.