Jakes Peak is a mountain

summit A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topography, topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous. The term (mountain top) is generally used ...

located in the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primarily ...

mountain range in

El Dorado County El Dorado County (), officially the County of El Dorado, is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 191,185. The county seat is Placerville. The County is part of the Sacramento- Roseville-A ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, United States. It is set within the

Desolation Wilderness The Desolation Wilderness is a federally protected wilderness area in the Eldorado National Forest and Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, in El Dorado County, California. The crest of the Sierra Nevada runs through it, just west of Lake Tahoe. H ...

, on land managed by

Eldorado National Forest Eldorado National Forest is a U.S. National Forest located in the central Sierra Nevada mountain range, in eastern California. Geography Most of the forest (72.8%) lies in El Dorado County. In descending order of land area the others counties ...

. This iconic peak is situated above the southwest shore of

Lake Tahoe Lake Tahoe (; was, Dáʔaw, meaning "the lake") is a Fresh water, freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada of the United States. Lying at , it straddles the state line between California and Nevada, west of Carson City, Nevad ...

, and approximately northwest of the community of

South Lake Tahoe South Lake Tahoe is the most populous city in El Dorado County, California, United States, in the Sierra Nevada. The city's population was 21,330 at the 2020 census, down from 21,403 at the 2010 census. The city, along the southern edge of Lake ...

. Topographic relief is significant as the east aspect rises above the lake in .

Etymology

This mountain's name remembers ski patroller Jeffery James Smith (1954–1982), commonly known as "Jake", and in honor of the other six persons who also died in an avalanche at the Alpine Meadows Ski Area on March 31, 1982. This landform's toponym was officially adopted in 1985 by the

U.S. Board on Geographic Names The United States Board on Geographic Names (BGN) is a federal body operating under the United States Secretary of the Interior. The purpose of the board is to establish and maintain uniform usage of geographic names throughout the federal governm ...

Climate

According to the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

system, Jakes Peak is located in an

alpine climate Alpine climate is the typical weather (climate) for elevations above the tree line, where trees fail to grow due to cold. This climate is also referred to as a mountain climate or highland climate. Definition There are multiple definitions of ...

zone. Most weather fronts originate in the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

, 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 Snow comprises individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water throughout ...

onto the range. Precipitation

runoff Runoff, run-off or RUNOFF may refer to: * RUNOFF, the first computer text-formatting program * Runoff or run-off, another name for bleed, printing that lies beyond the edges to which a printed sheet is trimmed * Runoff or run-off, a stock market ...

from the mountain drains to

Gallery

File:Jakes Peak.jpg, Southeast aspect above Emerald Bay File:Jakes Peak, Lake Tahoe.jpg, Southeast aspect from Kiva Beach File:Jakes Peak and Lake Tahoe.jpg, Jakes Peak (left) and Lake Tahoe from

Mount Tallac Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, C ...

File:Kiva Point, South Lake Tahoe, California.jpg, Mount Tallac (left), Maggies Peaks (center), Jakes Peak (right). File:Jakes Peak from Tallac.jpg, Jakes Peak seen from Mount Tallac File:Jakes Peak, se.jpg, Southeast aspect File:Lake Tahoe, West Shoreline, From M.S. Dixie 9-2010 (5759461120).jpg, Northeast aspect

References

External links

* Weather forecast
Jakes Peak
* Jake Smith (story and photo)
Tahoe Quarterly
{{Geographic Location 2 , Center = Jakes Peak , North =

Meeks Bay Meeks Bay (formerly, Meigs Bay, Micks Bay, and Murphys) is an unincorporated community in El Dorado County, California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residen ...

, Northeast =

, East =

, Southeast = Emerald Bay , South = Maggies Peaks , Southwest =

Phipps Peak Phipps Peak is a mountain in the Sierra Nevada to the west of Emerald Bay and Lake Tahoe; and to the east of Rockbound Valley and the Crystal Range. The peak is in El Dorado County, California and the Desolation Wilderness. Phipps Peak is name ...

, West =

Tahoe Rim Trail The Tahoe Rim Trail is a 170-mile (274 km) long-distance hiking trail that forms a loop around the Lake Tahoe Basin in the Sierra Nevada and ranges of Nevada and California in the United States.Hauserman, Tim ''The Tahoe Rim Trail'' The trail ...

Pacific Crest Trail , Northwest = Rubicon Peak Eldorado National Forest Mountains of El Dorado County, California Mountains of the Desolation Wilderness North American 2000 m summits Mountains of Northern California Sierra Nevada (United States)

Etymology

Climate

Gallery

See also

References

External links