Cathedral Peak (California)
| Cathedral Peak | ||
|---|---|---|
 Cathedral Peak in Yosemite National Park |
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| height | 3326 m | |
| location | California , USA | |
| Mountains | Sierra Nevada | |
| Coordinates | 37 ° 50 ′ 52 " N , 119 ° 24 ′ 20" W | |
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| First ascent | 1869 by John Muir | |
The Cathedral Peak is a 3,326 meter high mountain in Yosemite National Park in the US state of California . It is the highest point in the Cathedral Range , a mountain range within the Sierra Nevada , and is located in the southern part of the national park. It got its name because of its cathedral-like exterior, which can be traced back to the effects of Pleistocene glaciers . The summit itself was not reached by the ice masses at that time, but remained standing as a nunatak .
etymology
Cathedral Peak was referred to as Cathedral Spiers by Hanks, Hutchins, and Corcoran in 1862 . The California Geological Survey , under the direction of Josiah Whitney, changed this to the existing name in 1863.
geography
The main peak is 3,326 feet high and lies on the border between Mariposa County and Tuolumne Counties . The summit structure is part of a broad ridge running in a northeast-southwest direction, which it towers over by around 280 meters. The summit was climbed by John Muir for the first time in 1869 and can only be reached by a long climb (difficulty level III). The summit block has difficulty level IV .
The rock needle of the upstream western summit ( Eichorn Peak ) was unofficially named after Jules Eichorn , who made the first ascent in 1931 (difficulty level IV +). Larger neighboring peaks are Mount Hoffmann in the west, Tuolumne Peak in the northwest, Johnson Peak in the east and the higher Echo Peaks in the southeast. About 1,500 meters to the west are the Cathedral Lakes and one kilometer southeast of the Budd Lake . A hiking trail leads from Tuolumne Meadows up to the clear mountain lakes. Upper Cathedral Lake near Cathedral Pass is the starting point for various climbing routes and ascent routes.
geology
The Cathedral Peak consists of the Cathedral Peak granodiorite named after him , which in turn belongs to the Tuolumne Intrusive Suite . The granodiorite has been dated to 83 million years and therefore comes from the Upper Cretaceous ( Campanium ). The rock has very large phenocrysts of microcline . Noteworthy are the steep, roughly north-north-east-south-south-west trending, parallel fissures that run through the entire ridge in the longitudinal direction and thus outline its morphological shape. The fissure families dip at two different angles of incidence (80 ° and 65 °) to the southeast. The slightly flatter group forms the southeast pillar of the main summit, which is so popular among climbers.