Mount Hale (California)

Mount Hale
East aspect, from Mt. Whitney
Highest point
Elevation13,494 ft (4,113 m)[1]
Prominence633 ft (193 m)[1]
Parent peakMt. Randy Morgenson (13,927 ft)[2]
Isolation0.85 mi (1.37 km)[2]
ListingSierra Peaks Section
Coordinates36°35′17″N 118°18′53″W / 36.5880375°N 118.3146535°W / 36.5880375; -118.3146535[3]
Naming
EtymologyGeorge Ellery Hale
Geography
Mount Hale is located in California
Mount Hale
Mount Hale
Location in California
Mount Hale is located in the United States
Mount Hale
Mount Hale
Mount Hale (the United States)
LocationSequoia National Park
Tulare County
California, U.S.
Parent rangeSierra Nevada
Topo mapUSGS Mount Whitney
Geology
Rock ageCretaceous
Mountain typeFault block
Rock typegranite
Climbing
First ascent1934
Easiest routeclass 2[2] South slope

Mount Hale is a 13,494-foot-elevation (4,113-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, 1.4 mile northwest of Mount Whitney, one mile northeast of Mount Young, and 0.85 mile west-southwest of Mount Randy Morgenson, the nearest higher neighbor. The John Muir Trail traverses below the south aspect of the mountain, providing approach access. Mt. Hale ranks as the 63rd-highest summit in California.[2] Topographic relief is significant as the north aspect rises 1,770 feet (540 meters) above Wales Lake in approximately one-quarter mile.

History

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This mountain's name was proposed by the Sierra Club and officially adopted in 1940 by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names to honor the eminent American astronomer George Ellery Hale (1868–1938), best known for his discovery of magnetic fields in sunspots, and founder of the Mount Wilson Observatory.[3] The immediate area has other geographical features named after astronomers, including Mount Newcomb, Mount Langley, Mount Young, Mount Pickering, and Mount Barnard.

The first ascent of the summit was made July 24, 1934, by J. H. Czock and Mildred Czock via the south slope.[4]

Climate

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Mount Hale has an alpine climate.[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 this mountain drains west to the Kern River via Wallace and Whitney Creeks.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Mount Hale, California". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 2021-06-09.
  2. ^ a b c d "Hale, Mount - 13,494' CA". listsofjohn.com. Retrieved 2021-06-09.
  3. ^ a b c "Mount Hale". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved 2021-06-09.
  4. ^ John D. and Ruth Mendenhall, Arthur B. Johnson, Braeme Gigas, Howard Koster, A Climber’s Guide to the High Sierra, (1954)
  5. ^ "Climate of the Sierra Nevada". Encyclopædia Britannica.
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