Mount Hitchcock (California)

Mount Hitchcock is a 13,186-foot-elevation (4,019-meter) mountain summit located west of the crest of the Sierra Nevada mountain range in Tulare County, California.[3] It is situated in Sequoia National Park, and is two miles (3.2 km) south-southwest of Mount Whitney, 1.3 miles (2.1 km) southwest of Mount Muir, and 1.1 miles (1.8 km) west of Trail Crest. Topographic relief is significant as it rises approximately 1,500 feet (460 meters) above Hitchcock Lakes in less than one-half mile. Mt. Hitchcock ranks as the 112th highest summit in California.[2]

Mount Hitchcock
Northeast aspect from Trail Crest
Highest point
Elevation13,186 ft (4,019 m)[1]
Prominence456 ft (139 m)[1]
Parent peakMount Muir (14,018 ft)[2]
Isolation1.32 mi (2.12 km)[2]
ListingSierra Peaks Section
Coordinates36°33′18″N 118°18′43″W[3]
Naming
EtymologyCharles Henry Hitchcock
Geography
Mount Hitchcock is located in California
Mount Hitchcock
Mount Hitchcock
Location in California
Mount Hitchcock is located in the United States
Mount Hitchcock
Mount Hitchcock
Mount Hitchcock (the United States)
LocationSequoia National Park
Tulare County
California, U.S.
Parent rangeSierra Nevada
Topo mapUSGS Mount Whitney
Geology
Age of rockCretaceous
Mountain typeFault block
Type of rockgranitic
Climbing
First ascent1881
Easiest routeclass 2[2] West slope[4]

History

In 1881, Rev. Frederick H. Wales of Tulare climbed nearby Mount Young, where he left a record of its name, and the name of the peak south of it, for which he suggested the name "Mount Hitchcock."[5] This mountain's name was officially adopted in 1909 by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names to honor the eminent American geologist Charles Henry Hitchcock (1836–1919).[3] Hitchcock was teaching at Dartmouth College while Wales was a Dartmouth student (1872 graduate). The first ascent of the summit was made in September 1881, by Frederick H. Wales via the west slope.[4][6] During the same month, Wales also made the first ascent of Mount Kaweah. Wales Lake, three miles to the north of Hitchcock, was named after him.[7]

Climate

According to the Köppen climate classification system, Mount Hitchcock has an alpine climate.[8] 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, causing them to drop their moisture in the form of rain or snowfall onto the range (orographic lift). Precipitation runoff from this mountain drains west to the Kern River via Whitney Creek.

See also
  • summit centered
    summit centered
  • Mt. Hitchcock above Hitchcock Lakes
    Mt. Hitchcock above Hitchcock Lakes
  • Northeast aspect. (Kaweah Peaks upper right)
    Northeast aspect. (Kaweah Peaks upper right)
  • Northeast aspect. (Kaweah Peaks at top)
    Northeast aspect. (Kaweah Peaks at top)
  • Mt. Hitchcock at dawn
    Mt. Hitchcock at dawn
  • East face in 1935
    East face in 1935

References
  1. "Mount Hitchcock, California". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 2021-05-16.
  2. "Hitchcock, Mount - 13,186' CA". listsofjohn.com. Retrieved 2021-05-16.
  3. "Mount Hitchcock". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved 2021-05-16.
  4. R. J. Secor, The High Sierra Peaks, Passes, Trails, 2009, Third Edition, Mountaineers Books, ISBN 9781594857386, page 63.
  5. Francis P. Farquhar, Place Names of the High Sierra (1926)
  6. John D. and Ruth Mendenhall, Arthur B. Johnson, Braeme Gigas, Howard Koster, A Climber’s Guide to the High Sierra, (1954)
  7. "Wales Lake". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved 2021-05-16.
  8. Peel, M. C.; Finlayson, B. L.; McMahon, T. A. (2007). "Updated world map of the Köppen−Geiger climate classification". Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. 11. ISSN 1027-5606.
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