The Palisades (or the Palisade Group) are a group of peaks in the central part of the Sierra Nevada in 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 sove ...

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 ...

. They are located about southwest of the town of Big Pine, California. The peaks in the group are particularly steep, rugged peaks and "contain the finest

alpine climbing {{unreferenced, date=March 2019 Alpine climbing (german: Alpinklettern) is a branch of climbing in which the primary aim is very often to reach the summit of a mountain. In order to do this high rock faces or pinnacles requiring several length ...

in California." The group makes up about of the Sierra Crest, which divides the Central Valley watershed from the

Owens Valley Owens Valley ( Numic: ''Payahǖǖnadǖ'', meaning "place of flowing water") is an arid valley of the Owens River in eastern California in the United States. It is located to the east of the Sierra Nevada, west of the White Mountains and Iny ...

, and which runs generally northwest to southeast.

Situation

Josiah Whitney Josiah Dwight Whitney (November 23, 1819 – August 18, 1896) was an American geologist, professor of geology at Harvard University (from 1865), and chief of the California Geological Survey (1860–1874). Through his travels and studies in the ...

in his book ''Geology, Volume 1'' writes:

"At the head of the north fork, along the main crest of the Sierra, is a range of peaks, from 13,500 to 14,000 feet high, which we called 'the Palisades.' These were unlike the rest of the crest in outline and color, and were doubtless volcanic; they were very grand and fantastic in shape."

Although referred to by early geologists as "volcanic", the Palisades are a dark granitic rock. On the northeast side of the group lie the Palisade Glacier and the

Middle Palisade Glacier Middle Palisade Glacier consists of two glaciers in the Sierra Nevada mountains, in the U.S. state of California. Less than southeast of Norman Clyde Glacier and situated at an altitude of , Middle Palisade Glacier is in the John Muir Wilderness o ...

, the largest

glacier A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires distinguishing features, such as ...

s in the Sierra Nevada. These glaciers feed Big Pine Creek. Notable peaks of the group include four independentThis uses a

topographic prominence In topography, prominence (also referred to as autonomous height, relative height, and shoulder drop in US English, and drop or relative height in British English) measures the height of a mountain or hill's summit relative to the lowest contou ...

cutoff of . See the fourteener article for more information. fourteeners: *

North Palisade North Palisade is the third-highest mountain in the Sierra Nevada range of California, and one of the state's small number of peaks over 14,000 feet, known as fourteeners. It is the highest peak of the Palisades group of peaks in the central par ...

, *

Mount Sill Mount Sill is one of the fourteeners of the Sierra Nevada in California. It is located in the Palisades, a group of prominent rock peaks with a few small glaciers on their flanks. Mount Sill is located 0.6 miles (1 km) east of North Pali ...

, * Split Mountain, *

Middle Palisade Middle Palisade is a 14,018-foot (4,273 meters) peak in the central Sierra Nevada mountain range in the U.S. state of California. It is a fourteener, and lies on the Sierra Crest as part of the Palisades group, a group of prominent Sierra Nevad ...

, and the following mountains in addition: * Mount Agassiz, , the northwesternmost peak of the group before Bishop Pass. * Birch Mountain, , which juts out further towards the Owens Valley than the rest of the group. *

Norman Clyde Peak Norman Clyde Peak, standing tall, is in natural company among the high peaks of the Palisades region of the Sierra Nevada in California. It raises on the main ridge of the Palisades', between Middle Palisade and Palisade Crest. Norman Clyde Gla ...

, * Palisade Crest, * Mount Gayley, *

Temple Crag Temple Crag is a mountain peak in the Palisades group of peaks of the Sierra Nevada with an elevation of . The peak lies east of the Sierra Crest, between Mount Gayley and Mount Alice, straddling the drainages of the North and South Forks of B ...

, , known for its many rock climbing routes. * Mount Winchell, *

The Thumb The Thumb is a region and a peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan, so named because the Lower Peninsula is shaped like a mitten. The Thumb area is generally considered to be in the Central Michigan region, east of the Tri-Cities and north of M ...

, , also known as "East Palisade." North Palisade has some additional subpeaks over ; see the

article for those summits. Palisades north face.jpg, The Palisades' north faces, from Cloudripper, July 2007 Palisades (California).jpg, North Palisade and Thunderbolt Peak, from the Palisade Glacier

References

External links

* {{Authority control Climbing areas of California Mountains of Kings Canyon National Park Mountains of Fresno County, California Mountains of Inyo County, California North American 4000 m summits