Tinker Knob is an 8,949-foot-elevation (2,728 meter) mountain
summit
A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topography, topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous.
The term (mountain top) is generally used ...
in
Placer County,
California, United States.
Description
Tinker Knob is located south-southeast of
Donner Pass and northwest of
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 ...
, on land managed by
Tahoe National Forest. It is situated on 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, with precipitation
runoff from the peak draining west to
North Fork American River
The North Fork American River is the longest branch of the American River in Northern California. It is long from its source at the crest of the Sierra Nevada, near Lake Tahoe, to its mouth at Folsom Lake northeast of Sacramento. Prior to the co ...
and east to the
Truckee River via Deep Creek and Cold Creek.
Topographic relief is modest as the summit rises above North Fork American River in one mile. Neighbors include
Anderson Peak northwest,
Mount Lincoln Mount Lincoln may refer to one of several mountains located in the United States:
{{Mountainindex, Lincoln ...
to the northwest, and
line parent A peak's line parent is the closest higher peak on the highest ridge leading away from the peak's "key col". A col is the lowest point on the ridge between two summits and is roughly synonymous with pass, gap, saddle and notch. The highest col of ...
Granite Chief is to the south. The
Pacific Crest Trail traverses the peak, providing an approach option from Donner Pass or
Palisades Tahoe, and inclusion on the
Sierra Peaks Section peakbagging list generates climbing interest.
History
This landform's toponym has been officially adopted by the
U.S. Board on Geographic Names,
and has appeared in publications since at least 1874. The name commemorates James A. Tinker, a freight-hauling
teamster whose road between Tinker's Station (now known as
Soda Springs) and gold mines at
Foresthill Divide passed below this peak to the west. More specifically, the landform's name is a humorous reference to a resemblance to Tinker's nose.
Climate
According to the
Köppen climate classification system, Tinker Knob 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 (
orographic lift), causing them to drop their moisture in the form of rain or snowfall onto the range.
See also
*
References
{{reflist
External links
* Weather forecast
Tinker Knob* Tinker Knob (photo)
Flickr
North American 2000 m summits
Mountains of Northern California
Tahoe National Forest
Mountains of the Sierra Nevada (United States)
Mountains of Placer County, California