Kern Point

Kern Point is a 12,763-foot-elevation (3,890 meter) mountain summit located west of the crest of the Sierra Nevada mountain range in Tulare County, California.[1] It is situated in Sequoia National Park, two miles northeast of Picket Guard Peak, and seven miles east of Mount Whitney. Kern Point ranks as the 220th-highest summit in California,[3] and topographic relief is significant as the summit rises over 4,700 feet (1,400 meters) above Kern River in two miles. Kern Point is the southernmost peak on Kern Ridge, and precipitation runoff from this mountain drains to the Kern River. The river was named by John C. Frémont for Edward Kern, the artist and topographer of Frémont's third expedition in 1845.[4] The Kern Point toponym was officially adopted in 1928 by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names.[1]

Kern Point
East aspect, left of center
Highest point
Elevation12,763 ft (3,890 m)[1]
Prominence427 ft (130 m)[2]
Parent peakKern Ridge, West (13,185 ft)[3]
Isolation1.99 mi (3.20 km)[3]
ListingSierra Peaks Section
Coordinates36°35′48″N 118°26′42″W[1]
Naming
EtymologyEdward Kern
Geography
Kern Point is located in California
Kern Point
Kern Point
Location in California
Kern Point is located in the United States
Kern Point
Kern Point
Kern Point (the United States)
LocationSequoia National Park
Tulare County, California, U.S.
Parent rangeSierra Nevada
Topo mapUSGS Mount Kaweah
Geology
Age of rockCretaceous
Mountain typeFault block
Type of rockGranodiorite
Climbing
First ascent1924
Easiest routeclass 2[3]

Climbing

The first ascent of the summit was made July 25, 1924, by William Horsfall and C. Laughlin.[5] Inclusion on the Sierra Peaks Section peakbagging list generates climbing interest in this remote peak.

Climate

According to the Köppen climate classification system, Kern Point is located in an alpine climate zone.[6] 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. "Kern Point". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved 2022-06-02.
  2. "Kern Point, California". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 2022-06-02.
  3. "Kern Point - 12,762' CA". listsofjohn.com. Retrieved 2022-06-02.
  4. "Kern River". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved 2022-06-02.
  5. Mildred Jentsch, Arthur J. Reyman, A Climber’s Guide to the High Sierra, (1954)
  6. "Climate of the Sierra Nevada". Encyclopædia Britannica.
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