Split Mountain
Encyclopedia
Split Mountain is a fourteener
in the Sierra Nevada of California
, near the southeast end of the Palisades
group of peaks. Its north summit rises to 14064 ft (4,287 m), and is the eighth highest peak in the state.
and Kings Canyon National Park
to the west, from Inyo County
and the Inyo National Forest
to the east. The water divide of its ridges drain to the Kings River
to the west, and the Owens River
to the east.
The two toned appearance of the mountain's eastern face is created by a roof pendant of darker colored granodiorite
atop a lighter colored body of leucogranite
.
s to climb. The least technical route is the class 2
north slope, which can be approached from the west or east. Joseph LeConte
, Helen LeConte and Curtis Lindley took the simple western approach from Upper Basin when they climbed Split Mountain on July 23, 1902. A more common route to the north face is from the east, by way of Red Lake. Starting at the Red Lake trailhead, this trail covers 6 miles (10 km) with 4000 feet (1,219.2 m) of elevation gain one way to the lake. From here, another 3500 ft (1,066.8 m) of cross-country climbing, including a short class 3 ridge traverse, leads to the summit.
There are many more technical routes up both the north and south peaks of Split Mountain.
Fourteener
In mountaineering terminology in the United States, a fourteener is a mountain that exceeds 14,000 feet above mean sea level. There are 547 fourteeners in the world. The importance of fourteeners is greatest in Colorado, which has the majority of such peaks in North America...
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...
, near the southeast end of the Palisades
Palisades (California Sierra)
The Palisades are a group of peaks in the central part of the Sierra Nevada in the US state of California. They are located about southwest of the town of Big Pine, California...
group of peaks. Its north summit rises to 14064 ft (4,287 m), and is the eighth highest peak in the state.
Geography and Geology
Split Mountain's twin summits lie on a north-south running section of the Sierra crest. This same line of ridges divides Fresno CountyFresno County, California
Fresno County is a county located in the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California, south of Stockton and north of Bakersfield. As of the 2010 census, it is the tenth most populous county in California with a population of 930,450, and the sixth largest in size with an area of . The county...
and Kings Canyon National Park
Kings Canyon National Park
Kings Canyon National Park is a National Park in the southern Sierra Nevada, east of Fresno, California. The park was established in 1940 and covers...
to the west, from Inyo County
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 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...
to the east. The water divide of its ridges drain to the Kings River
Kings River (California)
The Kings River is a major river of south-central California. About long, it drains an area of the high western Sierra Nevada and the Central Valley. A large alluvial fan has formed where the river's gradient decreases in the Central Valley so the river divides into distributaries...
to the west, and the Owens River
Owens River
The Owens River is a river in southeastern California in the United States, approximately long. It drains into and through the Owens Valley, an arid basin between the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada and the western faces of the Inyo and White Mountains. The river terminates at Owens Lake, but...
to the east.
The two toned appearance of the mountain's eastern face is created by a roof pendant of darker colored granodiorite
Granodiorite
Granodiorite is an intrusive igneous rock similar to granite, but containing more plagioclase than orthoclase-type feldspar. Officially, it is defined as a phaneritic igneous rock with greater than 20% quartz by volume where at least 65% of the feldspar is plagioclase. It usually contains abundant...
atop a lighter colored body of leucogranite
Leucogranite
In geology, leucogranites are amongst the youngest intrusions related to anatexis of continental crust anywhere in the world. Leucogranites are commonly found in deformed metapelitic/metagraywacke sequences that have been thrusted over basements during crustal thickening associated with continental...
.
History
The name Split Mountain, inspired by the shape of its double summit, was first coined by mountaineer Bolton Brown in 1895. Alternately, it has been called Southeast Palisade or South Palisade.Climbing
Split Mountain is one of the easier California fourteenerFourteener
In mountaineering terminology in the United States, a fourteener is a mountain that exceeds 14,000 feet above mean sea level. There are 547 fourteeners in the world. The importance of fourteeners is greatest in Colorado, which has the majority of such peaks in North America...
s to climb. The least technical route is the class 2
Yosemite Decimal System
The Yosemite Decimal System is a three-part system used for rating the difficulty of walks, hikes, and climbs. It is primarily used by mountaineers in the United States and Canada. The Class 5 portion of the Class scale is primarily a rock climbing classification system. Originally the system was...
north slope, which can be approached from the west or east. Joseph LeConte
Joseph Nisbet LeConte
Joseph Nisbet LeConte was a noted explorer of the Sierra Nevada. He was also a cartographer, a photographer and a professor of mechanical engineering. He often went by J. N. LeConte in photographs and articles...
, Helen LeConte and Curtis Lindley took the simple western approach from Upper Basin when they climbed Split Mountain on July 23, 1902. A more common route to the north face is from the east, by way of Red Lake. Starting at the Red Lake trailhead, this trail covers 6 miles (10 km) with 4000 feet (1,219.2 m) of elevation gain one way to the lake. From here, another 3500 ft (1,066.8 m) of cross-country climbing, including a short class 3 ridge traverse, leads to the summit.
There are many more technical routes up both the north and south peaks of Split Mountain.
See also
- List of California fourteeners
- Mountain peaks of CaliforniaMountain peaks of CaliforniaThis article comprises three sortable tables of major mountain peaks of the U.S. State of California.Topographic elevation is the vertical distance above the reference geoid, a precise mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface...
- Palisades of the Sierra Nevada