Caltech Peak is a mountain summit located in Sequoia National Park in Tulare County, California. It is situated one mile west of the crest of the Sierra Nevada mountain range, just one-half mile south of the Kings–Kern Divide, one mile south of line parent Mount Stanford, and 9.3 miles northwest of Mount Whitney. Caltech Peak ranks as the 24th-highest summit in California.George Wuerthner (1993), California's Sierra Nevada, American & World Geographic Pub., , p. 100 Topographic relief is significant as the southwest aspect rises nearly above Lake South America in . The John Muir Trail traverses below the east aspect of the mountain, providing an approach option for climbers.
History The first ascent of the summit was made June 22, 1926, by Norman Clyde, who is credited with 130 first ascents, most of which were in the Sierra Nevada.R. J. Secor, The High Sierra Peaks, Passes, Trails, 2009, Third Edition, Mountaineers Books, , p. 145
This mountain's toponym was officially adopted in 1961 by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names to commemorate California Institute of Technology (Caltech).Erwin G. Gudde, California Place Names, University of California Press, 1969, , page 61.
Climate Caltech Peak is located in an alpine climate zone. 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. Precipitation runoff from this mountain drains into headwaters of the Kern River.
Gallery
See also
List of the major 4000-meter summits of California
References
External links Weather forecast: Caltech Peak Caltech Peak: caltech.edu