Recess Peak is a 12,813-foot-elevation (3,905 meter) mountain summit located west of the crest of 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 Fresno County of northern California, United States. It is situated on Mono Divide in the John Muir Wilderness, on land managed by Sierra National Forest, and approximately six miles east of Lake Thomas A Edison. The nearest higher neighbor is Mount Hilgard, to the southeast. The John Muir Trail follows Bear Creek below the western slope of this remote peak. The summit is surrounded by arêtes and

cirque A (; from the Latin word ') is an amphitheatre-like valley formed by glacial erosion. Alternative names for this landform are corrie (from Scottish Gaelic , meaning a pot or cauldron) and (; ). A cirque may also be a similarly shaped landform ...

s, which were formed by glaciers in the past, most recently ending 13,000 years ago in the late Pleistocene.

History

This mountain is so named because of its proximity to the First Recess of Mono Creek.

Theodore S. Solomons Theodore Seixas Solomons (1870–1947) was an explorer and early member of the Sierra Club. From 1892 to 1897 he explored and named the Mount Goddard, Evolution Valley and Evolution Basin region in what is now northern Kings Canyon National Park ...

discovered and named the First, Second, Third, and Fourth Recesses in 1894.Francis P. Farquhar, Place Names of the High Sierra (1926)
/ref> The first ascent of the summit was made prior to 1937 by persons unknown.Hervey Voge, James W. Koontz, II, and George Bloom, Climber’s Guide to the High Sierra (1954)
/ref>

Climate

According to the Köppen climate classification system, Recess Peak is located in an alpine climate zone. 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 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 ( orographic lift). Precipitation runoff from this mountain drains into the San Joaquin River watershed.

Climbing

Established climbing routes on Recess Peak:Steve Roper, ''The Climber's Guide to the High Sierra'', 1976, Sierra Club Books, , page 136. * Northeast arête – * Southeast arête – class 3 * Southwest arête – class 3

References

{{reflist

External links

* Weather forecast
Recess Peak
Sierra National Forest 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

Climbing

See also

References

External links