Kearsarge Pinnacles

Kearsarge Pinnacles is a linear series of 12 pillars and crags on a northwest–southeast trending ridge located one mile west of the crest of the Sierra Nevada mountain range, in the southeast corner of Fresno County, in northern California.[3] It is situated in Kings Canyon National Park, 11 miles (18 km) west-southwest of the community of Independence, immediately southwest of the Kearsarge Lakes and Kearsarge Pass, and northwest of parent University Peak. The highest, number 4, rises to 12,008 feet in elevation (3,660 meters), whereas number 8 is the most prominent.[1] Topographic relief is significant as the west aspect rises 2,500 feet (760 meters) above Vidette Meadow in one-half mile. The John Muir Trail traverses below the west aspect of this remote geographical feature. The Kearsarge pinnacles, lakes, peak, and pass were named after the Kearsarge mine to the east, which was named by its owners after the USS Kearsarge.[4] In turn, the ship was named after Mount Kearsarge in New Hampshire.

Kearsarge Pinnacles
Northeast aspect, from Kearsarge Lakes
Highest point
Elevation12,008 ft (3,660 m)[1]
Prominence131 ft (40 m)[1]
Parent peakUniversity Peak (13,589 ft)[2]
Isolation0.65 mi (1.05 km)[2]
Coordinates36°45′29″N 118°23′15″W[3]
Geography
Kearsarge Pinnacles is located in California
Kearsarge Pinnacles
Kearsarge Pinnacles
Location in California
Kearsarge Pinnacles is located in the United States
Kearsarge Pinnacles
Kearsarge Pinnacles
Kearsarge Pinnacles (the United States)
LocationKings Canyon National Park
Fresno County
California, U.S.
Parent rangeSierra Nevada
Topo mapUSGS Mount Clarence King
Geology
Type of rockgranitic
Climbing
Easiest routeclass 3 to 5[2]

Climate

According to the Köppen climate classification system, the Kearsarge Pinnacles are located in an alpine climate zone.[5] 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 the ridge drains into tributaries of Bubbs Creek, which in turn is a tributary of the South Fork Kings River.

  • Numbers 4 (left) through 10 (right) at sunrise
    Numbers 4 (left) through 10 (right) at sunrise
  • from near Kearsarge Pass
    from near Kearsarge Pass
  • 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10
    6, 7, 8, 9, and 10
  • Kearsarge Lakes and Pinnacles from Kearsarge Pass
    Kearsarge Lakes and Pinnacles from Kearsarge Pass
  • Kearsarge Pinnacles by Ansel Adams ca. 1941
    Kearsarge Pinnacles by Ansel Adams ca. 1941
  • by moonlight
    by moonlight
  • Kearsarge Pinnacles with University Peak (left)
    Kearsarge Pinnacles with University Peak (left)

See also

References
  1. "Kearsarge Pinnacle #4, California". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 2021-04-23.
  2. "Kearsarge Pinnacles - 12,040' CA". listsofjohn.com. Retrieved 2021-04-23.
  3. "Kearsarge Pinnacles". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved 2021-04-23.
  4. Francis P. Farquhar, Place Names of the High Sierra (1926)
  5. 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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