Mount Starr, elevation , is a mountain summit located on the crest of the Sierra Nevada mountain range in northern

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, United States. It is situated in the

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

on the common boundary shared by

Sierra National Forest Sierra National Forest is a U.S. national forest located on the western slope of central Sierra Nevada in Central California and bounded on the northwest by Yosemite National Park and the south by Kings Canyon National Park. The forest is kno ...

with

Inyo National Forest Inyo National Forest is a United States National Forest covering parts of the eastern Sierra Nevada of California and the White Mountains of California and Nevada. The forest hosts several superlatives, including Mount Whitney, the highest po ...

, and along the common border of

Fresno County Fresno County (), officially the County of Fresno, is a county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 1,008,654. The county seat is Fresno, the fifth-most populous city in Cali ...

with

Inyo County Inyo County () is a county in the eastern central part of the U.S. state of California, located between the Sierra Nevada and the state of Nevada. In the 2020 census, the population was 19,016. The county seat is Independence. Inyo County ...

. It is bound on the east by Little Lakes Valley, and is 0.8 mile northeast of Mono Pass.

Topographic relief Terrain or relief (also topographical relief) involves the vertical and horizontal dimensions of land surface. The term bathymetry is used to describe underwater relief, while hypsometry studies terrain relative to sea level. The Latin w ...

is significant as the summit rises 2,300 feet (700 meters) above Little Lakes Valley in approximately one-half mile (1 km). Neighbors include Mount Abbot, three miles to the south-southwest, Mount Morgan, 2.5 miles to the southeast, and Pointless Peak is 2.5 miles to the north.

History

The

first ascent In mountaineering, a first ascent (abbreviated to FA in guide books) is the first successful, documented attainment of the top of a mountain or the first to follow a particular climbing route. First mountain ascents are notable because they en ...

of this mountain was made July 16, 1896, by Walter Starr Sr. and Allen Chickering. They were caught in a thunderstorm when everything started buzzing with electricity. Frightened, they descended off the mountain quickly, and would name the mountain "Electric Peak." However, the mountain would later be renamed after Walter Starr's son. Named by the Sierra Club to honor one of their own, this mountain's toponym was officially adopted in 1939 by the United States Board on Geographic Names to remember Walter A. Starr Jr. (1903–1933), a mountain climber of renown, and author of "''Guide to the John Muir Trail and the High Sierra Region.''" In the summer of 1933, "Pete", as he was nicknamed, failed to return from a month-long hike to the Minarets, and his body was eventually discovered by

Norman Clyde Norman Clyde (April 8, 1885 – December 23, 1972) was a mountaineer, mountain guide, freelance writer, nature photographer, and self-trained naturalist. He is well known for achieving over 130 first ascents, many in California's Sierra Nevada ...

following a search.

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, Mount Starr 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 o ...

zone. Most

weather front A weather front is a boundary separating air masses for which several characteristics differ, such as air density, wind, temperature, and humidity. Disturbed and unstable weather due to these differences often arises along the boundary. For in ...

s 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 contin ...

, and travel east toward the Sierra Nevada mountains. As fronts approach, they are forced upward by the peaks (

orographic lift Orographic lift occurs when an air mass is forced from a low elevation to a higher elevation as it moves over rising terrain. As the air mass gains altitude it quickly cools down adiabatically, which can raise the relative humidity to 100% and cr ...

), causing them to drop their moisture in the form of rain or snowfall 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 marke ...

from the west side of this mountain drains into Golden Creek, and from the east side into Rock Creek.

Gallery

File:Mount Starr, Sierra Nevada, California.jpg, East aspect File:Winter High (11168196244).jpg, View from summit looking south File:Mt. Starr, Sierra Nevada.jpg, The north end of Mt. Starr seen from Bear Creek Lake area File:Golden Aspens, Rock Creek Canyon, CA 9-16 (30238924680).jpg, The north end of Mt. Starr seen from Bear Creek Lake area

References

External links

* Weather forecast
Mount Starr
* Mount Starr rock climbing
Mountainproject.com
* Walter A. Starr, Jr
Biography and photo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Starr, Mount Inyo National Forest Sierra National Forest Mountains of Inyo County, California Mountains of Fresno County, California Mountains of the John Muir Wilderness North American 3000 m summits Mountains of Northern California Sierra Nevada (United States)

History

Climate

Gallery

See also

References

External links