Mount Le Conte is a mountain

Mountain

Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...

 located in the Sierra Nevada of California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

. The boundary between Inyo

Inyo County, California

-National protected areas:* Death Valley National Park * Inyo National Forest * Manzanar National Historic Site-Major highways:* U.S. Route 6* U.S. Route 395* State Route 127* State Route 136* State Route 168* State Route 178...

 and Tulare

Tulare County, California

Tulare County is a county located in the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California, south of Fresno. Sequoia National Park is located in the county, as are part of Kings Canyon National Park, in its northeast corner , and part of Mount Whitney, on its eastern border...

 counties runs along the crest of the Sierra, across Mount Le Conte. The mountain was named in 1895 for Joseph Le Conte (1823–1901), the first professor of geology

Geology

Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...

 and natural history

Natural history

Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...

 at the University of California

University of California

The University of California is a public university system in the U.S. state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University...

.

Geography

Mount Le Conte is about 3.5 miles (5.6 km) southeast of Mount Whitney

Mount Whitney

Mount Whitney is the highest summit in the contiguous United States with an elevation of . It is on the boundary between California's Inyo and Tulare counties, west-northwest of the lowest point in North America at Badwater in Death Valley National Park...

, and is flanked to the northwest by Mount Mallory

Mount Mallory

Mount Mallory is a mountain located in the Sierra Nevada of California. The border between Inyo National Forest and Sequoia National Park runs across its peak. The peak was named in memory of George H. Leigh Mallory, of the British Alpine Club, who was lost on Mount Everest, June, 1924...

, and to the southeast by Mount Corcoran.

The southwest side of Mount Le Conte drains into Rock Creek, thence into the Kern River

Kern River

The Kern River is a river in the U.S. state of California, approximately long. It drains an area of the southern Sierra Nevada mountains northeast of Bakersfield. Fed by snowmelt near Mount Whitney, the river passes through scenic canyons in the mountains and is a popular destination for...

, which ends in the Central Valley of California. The north side of Mount Le Conte drains into Meysan Creek, thence into Lone Pine Creek, which ends in the Owens Valley

Owens Valley

Owens Valley is the arid valley of the Owens River in eastern California in the United States, to the east of the Sierra Nevada and west of the White Mountains and Inyo Mountains on the west edge of the Great Basin section...

. The east side of Le Conte drains into Tuttle Creek, and thence into Diaz Lake

Diaz Lake

Diaz Lake is located in the Owens Valley, just south of Lone Pine, California, United States.-History:The lake was formed by the 1872 Lone Pine earthquake on Tuesday, March 26 of that year when of the Owens Valley dropped approximately 20 feet and a new spring opened, causing water to fill the...

 in the Owens Valley.

On southwest side is in Sequoia National Park

Sequoia National Park

Sequoia National Park is a national park in the southern Sierra Nevada east of Visalia, California, in the United States. It was established on September 25, 1890. The park spans . Encompassing a vertical relief of nearly , the park contains among its natural resources the highest point in the...

 while on the north and east is in the John Muir Wilderness

John Muir Wilderness

The John Muir Wilderness is a wilderness area that extends along the crest of the Sierra Nevada of California, USA for , in the Inyo and Sierra National Forests. Established in 1964 by the Wilderness Act and named for naturalist John Muir, it contains...

 of the Inyo National Forest

Inyo National Forest

Inyo National Forest is a federally administered forest in the United States. The forest covers parts of the eastern Sierra Nevada of California, and the White Mountains of California and Nevada. It contains two wilderness areas: the John Muir Wilderness and the Ansel Adams Wilderness...

. The Pacific Crest Trail

Pacific Crest Trail

The Pacific Crest Trail is a long-distance mountain hiking and equestrian trail on the Western Seaboard of the United States. The southern terminus is at the California border with Mexico...

enters the park from the south at Siberian Pass about 5 miles (8 km) south of Mount Le Conte, and runs through the park a few miles west of the Sierra Crest.