fourteener
In the mountaineering parlance of the Western United States, a fourteener is a mountain peak with an elevation of at least . The 96 fourteeners in the United States are all west of the Mississippi River. Colorado has the most (53) of any single ...
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 ...
of the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...
of
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 ...
, near the southeast end of the Palisades group of peaks. It is the only fourteener in the watershed of the
South Fork Kings River
The South Fork Kings River is a tributary of the Kings River in the Sierra Nevada of Fresno County, California. The river forms part of Kings Canyon, the namesake of Kings Canyon National Park and one of the deepest canyons in North America wit ...
, and rises to , making it the eighth-highest peak in the state.
Geography and Geology
Split Mountain's twin summits lie on a north–south running section of the
Sierra Crest
The Sierra Crest is a roughly generally north-to-south ridgeline that demarcates the broad west and narrow east slopes of the Sierra Nevada and that extends as far east as the Sierra's topographic front (e.g., Diamond Mountains and Sierran esc ...
. This same line of ridges divides
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 ...
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 ...
to the west, from
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 is o ...
and the
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 poi ...
to the east. Precipitation falling on the Crest drains to the Kings River to the west, and the
Owens River
The Owens River is a river in eastern California in the United States, approximately long.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed March 17, 2011, It drains into and through the ...
to the east.
The two-toned appearance of the mountain's eastern face is created by a roof pendant of darker colored
granodiorite
Granodiorite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock similar to granite, but containing more plagioclase feldspar than orthoclase feldspar.
The term banatite is sometimes used informally for various rocks ranging from gra ...
atop a lighter colored body of
leucogranite
Leucogranite is a light-colored, granitic, igneous rock containing almost no dark minerals. Alaskite is a synonym.
double summit
A double summit, double peak, twin summit, or twin peak refers to a mountain or hill that has two summits, separated by a col or saddle.
One well-known double summit is Austria’s highest mountain, the Großglockner, where the main summit of t ...
, was first coined by mountaineer Bolton Brown in 1895. Alternately, it has been called Southeast Palisade or South Palisade.
Climbing
Split Mountain is one of the easier California
fourteener
In the mountaineering parlance of the Western United States, a fourteener is a mountain peak with an elevation of at least . The 96 fourteeners in the United States are all west of the Mississippi River. Colorado has the most (53) of any single ...
s to climb. The least technical route is the class 2 north slope, which can be approached from the west—where the slope is accessible from the
John Muir Trail
The John Muir Trail (JMT) (Northern Paiute language, Paiute: Nüümü Poyo, ''N-ue-mue Poh-yo'') is a long-distance trail in the Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada mountain range of California, passing through Yosemite National Park, Yosemite, ...
as it descends from
Mather Pass
Mather Pass is a high mountain pass in the U.S. state of California, California's Sierra Nevada mountain range. It lies within far eastern Fresno County, California, Fresno County, inside Kings Canyon National Park and the Sequoia-Kings Canyon ...
—or the east.
Joseph LeConte
Joseph Le Conte (alternative spelling: Joseph LeConte) (February 26, 1823 – July 6, 1901) was a physician, geologist, professor at the University of California, Berkeley and early California conservationist.
Early life
Of Huguenot descent, h ...
, Helen LeConte and Curtis Lindley took the simple western approach from Upper Basin when they climbed Split Mountain on July 23, 1902. A more common route to the north face is from the east, by way of Red Lake. Starting at the Red Lake trailhead, this trail covers with of elevation gain one way to the lake. From here, another of cross-country climbing, including a short class 3 ridge traverse, leads to the summit.
There are many more technical routes up both the north and south peaks of Split Mountain.
See also
*
List of mountain peaks of California
This article comprises three sortable tables of major mountain peaksThis article defines a significant summit as a summit with at least of topographic prominence, and a major summit as a summit with at least of topographic prominence. All ...
*
List of California fourteeners
A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to:
People
* List (surname)
Organizations
* List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
* SC Germania List, German rugby unio ...