Mount Darwin (California)

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Mount Darwin
Mount Darwin.jpg
Mount Darwin rises above Midnight Lake.
Elevation 13,837 ft (4,218 m) NAVD 88 [1][2]
Location Fresno and Inyo counties, California, USA
Range Sierra Nevada, Evolution region
Prominence 1,871 feet (570 m) [2]
Parent peak North Palisade [3]
Coordinates 37°10′01″N 118°40′17″W / 37.1668799°N 118.6714993°W / 37.1668799; -118.6714993Coordinates: 37°10′01″N 118°40′17″W / 37.1668799°N 118.6714993°W / 37.1668799; -118.6714993 [4]
Topo map USGS Mount Darwin 37118-B6
First ascent 1908 by Ernest Clayton Andrews and Willard D. Johnson
Easiest route West Wall, Scrambling with exposure (class 3)
Listing SPS Emblem peak [5]

Mount Darwin is a flat-topped mountain in the Sierra Nevada, on the border of Fresno and Inyo counties, was named for evolution-theorist Charles Darwin. It is located in California's Kings Canyon National Park and Inyo National Forest. It was first climbed on August 12, 1908 by Ernest Clayton Andrews, the Australian geologist, and Willard D. Johnson.

The modern name of the mountain was given to it in 1895 by Theodore S. Solomons and E. C. Bonner (of the United States Geological Survey) as part of a series of mountains named after naturalists. Other nearby mountains include Mount Mendel, Mount Fiske, Mount Haeckel, Mount Huxley, Mount Spencer, and Mount Wallace. (This assortment of mountains is also known as the Evolution Region as well as Evolution Basin and Evolution Valley.)

Nearby landmarks include Darwin Glacier and Darwin Canyon.

A similar exercise in naming mountains after naturalists and other late nineteenth century proponents of evolution theory was carried out at the West Coast Range in Tasmania, Australia. In contrast, Mount Darwin in Tierra del Fuego was given its name during the voyage of the Beagle by captain Robert FitzRoy to celebrate Darwin's 25th birthday on 12 February 1834.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ The National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929 (NGVD 29) elevation of 13,831 feet (4,216 m) has been converted to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88), using the National Geodetic Survey's online vertical conversion tool. "VERTCON Orthometric Height Conversion". National Geodetic Survey website. http://www.ngs.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/VERTCON/vert_con.prl. Retrieved 2009-06-21. 
  2. ^ a b "Mount Darwin, California". Peakbagger.com. http://www.peakbagger.com/peak.aspx?pid=2691. Retrieved 2009-08-11 
  3. ^ "Whitney IV. P1000s, California Mountain Atlas". Peaklist.org. http://www.peaklist.org/CAmtnatlas/P1000/tables/Whitney4.html. Retrieved 2008-09-22. 
  4. ^ "Mount Darwin". Geographic Names Information System. U.S. Geological Survey. http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic/f?p=gnispq:3:::NO::P3_FID:259069. Retrieved 2009-08-11. 
  5. ^ "Sierra Peaks Section List". Angeles Chapter, Sierra Club. http://angeles.sierraclub.org/sps/spslist.pdf. Retrieved 2008-09-28. 

[edit] External links


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