Mount Izaak Walton

Mount Izaak Walton is a 12,077-foot-elevation (3,681 meter) mountain summit located in the Sierra Nevada mountain range in Fresno County of northern California, United States.[4] It is situated in the John Muir Wilderness, on land managed by Sierra National Forest. Mount Izaak Walton ranks as the 404th-highest summit in California.[3] Topographic relief is significant as the northwest aspect rises 1,800 feet (550 meters) above Izaak Walton Lake in approximately one mile. It is six miles northeast of Lake Thomas A Edison, and approximately 14 miles (23 km) south-southeast 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 Mono Creek, also a tributary of the San Joaquin.

Mount Izaak Walton
North aspect
Highest point
Elevation12,077 ft (3,681 m)[1][2]
Prominence477 ft (145 m)[2]
Parent peakEvon Benchmark (12,221 ft)[3]
Isolation1.12 mi (1.80 km)[3]
ListingSierra Peaks Section
Coordinates37°28′12″N 118°53′24″W[4]
Naming
EtymologyIzaak Walton
Geography
Mount Izaak Walton is located in California
Mount Izaak Walton
Mount Izaak Walton
Location in California
Mount Izaak Walton is located in the United States
Mount Izaak Walton
Mount Izaak Walton
Mount Izaak Walton (the United States)
LocationFresno County, California, U.S.
Parent rangeSierra Nevada[2]
Topo mapUSGS Graveyard Peak
Geology
Age of rockCretaceous
Mountain typeHorn[5]
Type of rockGranodiorite
Climbing
First ascent1971[6]
Easiest routeclass 2 Southwest slope[7]

History

This mountain's toponym was proposed in 1919 by Francis P. Farquhar and officially adopted in 1926 by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names to honor Izaak Walton (1593–1683), an English writer best known as the author of The Compleat Angler.[8][4] The connection being that the mountain is set at the head of Fish Creek and Izaak Walton was an avid fisherman.

The first ascent of the summit was made July 5, 1971, by Andy Smatko, Bill Schuler, and Ed Treacy.[7]

Climate

According to the Köppen climate classification system, Mount Izaak Walton 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.

  • South aspect of Mt. Izaak Walton centered at top. To left is parent Evon Benchmark, and to right are Red and White Mountain, Red Slate Mountain.
    South aspect of Mt. Izaak Walton centered at top. To left is parent Evon Benchmark, and to right are Red and White Mountain, Red Slate Mountain.
  • Top of Mount Izaak Walton (centered, foreground) with Red and White Mountain (left of center). View from Evon Benchmark.
    Top of Mount Izaak Walton (centered, foreground) with Red and White Mountain (left of center). View from Evon Benchmark.
  • Aerial view of Mount Izaak Walton centered. Camera pointed south.
    Aerial view of Mount Izaak Walton centered. Camera pointed south.
  • Izaak Walton
    Izaak Walton

See also

References
  1. Peter Browning, Place Names of the Sierra Nevada: From Abbot to Zumwalt, Wilderness Press, 1986, ISBN 9780899970479, page 108.
  2. "Mount Izaak Walton, California". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 2022-05-19.
  3. "Izaak Walton, Mount - 12,077' CA". listsofjohn.com. Retrieved 2022-05-19.
  4. "Mount Izaak Walton". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved 2022-05-20.
  5. Mary Hill (2006), Geology of the Sierra Nevada, Revised Edition, University of California Press, ISBN 9780520936942, p. 296
  6. Steve Roper, The Climber's Guide to the High Sierra, 1976, Sierra Club Books, ISBN 9780871561473, page 340.
  7. R. J. Secor, The High Sierra Peaks, Passes, Trails, 2009, Third Edition, Mountaineers Books, ISBN 9781594857386, p. 362
  8. Francis P. Farquhar, Place Names of the High Sierra (1926)
  9. "Climate of the Sierra Nevada". Encyclopædia Britannica.
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