Phipps Peak is a mountain 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 ...

to the west of Emerald Bay and

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 to the east of Rockbound Valley and the

Crystal Range The Crystal Range is a small chain of mountain peaks in 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, Cali ...

. The peak is in

El Dorado County, California 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 ...

and 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 ...

. Phipps Peak is named after William Phipps, a California pioneer originally from Kentucky that fought in the American Army during the

American Indian Wars The American Indian Wars, also known as the American Frontier Wars, and the Indian Wars, were fought by European governments and colonists in North America, and later by the United States and Canadian governments and American and Canadian settle ...

. He claimed to be a "General" in the Army, though that was a self-proclaimed title. In 1854, he settled in the small settlement of

Georgetown, California Georgetown (formerly Growlersburg) is a census-designated place (CDP) in El Dorado County, California. It is the northeasternmost town in the California Mother Lode. The population was 2,367 at the 2010 census, up from 962 in 2000. The town is reg ...

(named after George Phipps who is unrelated) about 100 miles west of Tahoe, and six years later relocated to McKinney Bay at Lake Tahoe where he settled on a 160-acre homestead near General Creek. Nearby Phipps Pass and General Creek are also named after Phipps.

References

Mountains of the Desolation Wilderness Mountains of El Dorado County, California Mountains of Northern California {{ElDoradoCountyCA-geo-stub