Mount Silliman is a
mountain
A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited Summit (topography), summit area, and ...
in California along the boundary between
Sequoia National Park
Sequoia National Park is an American national park in the southern Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada east of Visalia, California. The park was established on September 25, 1890, and today protects of forested mountainous terrain. Encompassing ...
and
Kings Canyon National Park
Kings Canyon National Park is an American national park in the southern Sierra Nevada, in Fresno and Tulare Counties, California. Originally established in 1890 as General Grant National Park, the park was greatly expanded and renamed to Kings ...
The summit, at is on the Sillman Crest, a part of the
Kings-Kaweah Divide
The Kings-Kaweah Divide is a divide in Sequoia National Park. It splits the watersheds of the Kaweah Rivers and the Kings Riverbr> The Divide's extent
The Divide runs from (west to east) from Big Baldy (California), Big Baldy west of Mou ...
.
History
The peak was named by members of the
Whitney Survey in honor of
Benjamin Silliman
Benjamin Silliman (August 8, 1779 – November 24, 1864) was an early American chemist and science educator. He was one of the first American professors of science, at Yale College, the first person to use the process of fractional distillat ...
, professor of
chemistry
Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...
at
Yale College
Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...
.
William Brewer, the head of the survey, had studied
agricultural chemistry
Agricultural chemistry is the study of chemistry, especially organic chemistry and biochemistry, as they relate to agriculture—agricultural production, the processing of raw products into foods and beverages, and environmental monitoring and re ...
under Silliman. Besides the mountain and crest, there are a
pass
Pass, PASS, The Pass or Passed may refer to:
Places
*Pass, County Meath, a townland in Ireland
* Pass, Poland, a village in Poland
*Pass, an alternate term for a number of straits: see List of straits
*Mountain pass, a lower place in a mountai ...
, a creek, a meadow and a lake that bear the name Silliman.
The first recorded ascent was by
Clarence King
Clarence Rivers King (January 6, 1842 – December 24, 1901) was an American geologist, mountaineer and author. He was the first director of the United States Geological Survey from 1879 to 1881. Nominated by Republican President Rutherford B. Hay ...
,
James Gardiner,
Richard Cotter, and William Brewer on June 28, 1864.
Climb
Image:Mount Silliman, Sequoia National Park, and Foxtail Pines.jpg, A stand of Foxtail Pines below the summit
Image:From the summit of Mount Silliman 01.jpg, View of Little Lakes from the summit
The summit can be approached by way of the Twin Lakes trail from the Lodgepole Campground on the
Generals Highway
The Generals Highway is a highway that connects State Route 180 and State Route 198 through Sequoia National Park, Sequoia National Forest, Giant Sequoia National Monument, and Kings Canyon National Park in the Sierra Nevada of California. As the ...
. From Sillman Pass traverse () to the east ridge and follow it to the summit. There are several more technical routes to the summit which are mostly or more difficult.
Flora
The rare
foxtail pine
''Pinus balfouriana'', the foxtail pine, is a rare high-elevation pine that is endemic to California, United States. It is closely related to the Great Basin and Rocky Mountain bristlecone pines, in the subsection '' Balfourianae''.
Descriptio ...
grows directly below Silliman's summit.
See also
*
Silliman Pass
Silliman Pass is a mountain pass on the border of Sequoia National Park and Kings Canyon National Park.
It stands high.
Location
It stands on the Kings-Kaweah Divide, loosely north of Mount Silliman., Hiking trip , EveryTrailTwin Lakes an ...
, directly below
*
Twin Peaks
''Twin Peaks'' is an American Mystery fiction, mystery serial drama television series created by Mark Frost and David Lynch. It premiered on American Broadcasting Company, ABC on April 8, 1990, and originally ran for two seasons until its cance ...
, quite near
References
Mountains of Sequoia National Park
Mountains of Tulare County, California
Mountains of Northern California
{{TulareCountyCA-geo-stub