Red Peak (Madera County, California)
{{Short description|Mountain in Yosemite National Park}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox mountain
| name = Red Peak
| other_name =
| photo = Red Peak of Clark Range.jpg
| photo_caption = From the north-northeast
| elevation_ft = 11699
| elevation_ref = {{cite peakbagger |pid=2639|name=Red Peak, California|access-date=2021-05-09}}
| prominence_ft = 539
| isolation_mi = 1.52
| isolation_ref = {{cite web|url=https://listsofjohn.com/peak/56008|title=Red Peak - 11,699' CA|website=listsofjohn.com|access-date=2021-05-09}}
| parent_peak = Merced Peak (11,731 ft)
| etymology =
| listing = Sierra Peaks Section
| map = California#USA
| map_caption = Location in California
| map_size = 260
| label_position = bottom
| location = Yosemite National Park
Madera County
California, U.S.
| range = Sierra Nevada
Clark Range
| coordinates = {{coord|37.6537248|N|119.4094953|W|type:mountain_region:US-CA_scale:100000_source:GNIS|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
| coordinates_ref = {{cite gnis|id=255026|name=Red Peak|access-date=2021-05-09}}
| topo = USGS Merced Peak
| rock = Metamorphic rock
| type = Fault block
| age = Cretaceous
| first_ascent =
}}
Red Peak is an {{convert|11,699|ft|meter|adj=mid|-elevation|abbr=off|sp=us}} mountain summit located in the Sierra Nevada mountain range, in Madera County of northern California, United States. It is situated in Yosemite National Park, approximately {{convert|10.5|mi}} southeast of Yosemite Valley, {{convert|1.5|mi|km}} south-southeast of Gray Peak, and {{convert|1.5|mi|km}} northwest of Merced Peak, the nearest higher neighbor. Red Peak is the second-highest peak in the Clark Range, which is a subset of the Sierra Nevada. This geographical feature's brilliant color is caused by iron-bearing minerals weathered to an iron rust which colors the granite.[https://www.yosemite.ca.us/library/climbers_guide/clark_range.html Richard M. Leonard, Climber’s Guide to the High Sierra (1954)]
History
The peak's name originated as "Red Mountain" as it was called by the Whitney Survey.Peter Browning, Yosemite Place Names: The Historic Background of Geographic Names in Yosemite National Park, Great West Books, 1988, {{ISBN|9780944220009}}, page 116. The Red Peak name was officially adopted in 1932 by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names. The California Geological Survey had climbed this peak by 1870, and in 1920 Ansel Adams placed a Sierra Club cylinder-type register at the summit.
Climate
According to the Köppen climate classification system, Red Peak is located in an alpine climate zone.{{cite journal | author = Peel, M. C. |author2=Finlayson, B. L. |author3=McMahon, T. A. | year = 2007 | title = Updated world map of the Köppen−Geiger climate classification | journal = Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. | volume = 11 | issn = 1027-5606}} 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 into tributaries of the Merced River.
See also
{{Portal|Mountains}}
Gallery
File:Aerial view of Red Peak, Clark Range.jpg|Aerial view of Red Peak. Merced Peak (behind), Gray Peak (left), from northwest
File:Red Peak, Clark Range.jpg|Aerial view from the south, Red Peak summit upper right.
Gray Peak and Mt. Clark centered at top.
File:The Clark Range. Yosemite National Park, California, crop.jpg|Red Peak (left). Gray Peak (center), Mount Clark (right). From northeast.
File:Red mtn.jpg|East aspect
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- Weather forecast: [https://www.yr.no/en/forecast/daily-table/2-5386631/United%20States/California/Madera/Red%20Peak Red Peak]
Category:Mountains of Madera County, California
Category:Mountains of Yosemite National Park
Category:Three-thousanders of the United States
Category:Mountains of Northern California