Fletcher Peak is an mountain

summit A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous. The term (mountain top) is generally used only for ...

located in

Yosemite National Park Yosemite National Park ( ) is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States in California. It is bordered on the southeast by Sierra National Forest and on the northwest by Stanislaus National Forest. The p ...

, in Mariposa County,

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, United States. It is situated south of

Tuolumne Meadows Tuolumne Meadows () is a gentle, dome-studded, sub-alpine meadow area along the Tuolumne River in the eastern section of Yosemite National Park in the United States. Its approximate location is . Its approximate elevation is . The term ''Tuolumn ...

in the Cathedral Range which is a sub-range 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 primari ...

mountain range. The mountain rises south of Tuolumne Pass, northeast of proximate parent Vogelsang Peak and northwest of

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 ...

Parsons Peak.

Topographic relief Terrain (), alternatively relief or topographical relief, is the dimension and shape of a given surface of land. In physical geography, terrain is the lay of the land. This is usually expressed in terms of the elevation, slope, and orientati ...

is significant as the summit rises above Fletcher Lake in . Precipitation runoff from this landform drains south to the

Merced River The Merced River (), in the central part of the U.S. state of California, is a -long tributary of the San Joaquin River flowing from the Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada into the San Joaquin Valley. It is most well known for its swift and st ...

via Fletcher Creek.

Etymology

Fletcher Creek and Fletcher Lake were named in 1895 by Lieutenant Nathaniel Fish McClure to honor Arthur G. Fletcher, deputy fish commissioner of California's State Board of Fish Commissioners, who directed the stocking of fish in the streams and lakes of Yosemite National Park. The peak was named in association, and this geographical feature's toponym was officially adopted in 1932 by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names. The landform had been named "Baker Peak" prior to the Fletcher name, for a Mr. Baker who was a cook at nearby Boothe Lake Camp.

Climate

According to the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

system, Fletcher Peak is located in an

alpine climate Alpine climate is the typical climate for elevations above the tree line, where trees fail to grow due to cold. This climate is also referred to as a mountain climate or highland climate. Definition There are multiple definitions of alpine cli ...

zone. Most

weather front A weather front is a boundary separating air masses for which several characteristics differ, such as air density, wind, temperature, and humidity. Disturbed and unstable weather due to these differences often arises along the boundary. For ins ...

s originate in the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

, and travel east toward the Sierra Nevada mountains. As fronts approach, they are forced upward by the peaks (

orographic lift Orographic lift occurs when an air mass is forced from a low elevation to a higher elevation as it moves over rising terrain. As the air mass gains altitude it quickly cools down adiabatically, which can raise the relative humidity to 100% and cr ...

), causing them to drop their moisture in the form of rain or snowfall onto the range.

Gallery

File:Fletcher and Vogelsang peaks.jpg, North aspects of Fletcher Peak (left) and Vogelsang Peak (right) File:Fletcher Peak, CA.jpg File:Vogelsang Lake.jpg, Southwest aspect of Fletcher Peak (right) above Vogelsang Lake File:Fletcher Peak, Evelyn Lake.jpg, Northeast aspect seen from Evelyn Lake File:End of Avalanche Lake below Vogelsang Pass.jpg, Southwest aspect of Fletcher Peak (right) with Vogelsang Lake File:Vogelsang-Boothe Lake Trail Fork - panoramio.jpg, Fletcher Peak upper left File:Vogelsang High Sierra Camp - panoramio.jpg, West aspect from Vogelsang High Sierra Camp

References

{{Reflist

External links

* Weather forecast
Fletcher Peak
Mountains of Yosemite National Park Mountains of Mariposa County, California Three-thousanders of the United States Mountains of Northern California Sierra Nevada (United States)

Etymology

Climate

See also

Gallery

References

External links