Forsyth 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

Tuolumne County, California Tuolumne County (), officially the County of Tuolumne, is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 55,620. The county seat and only incorpora ...

, United States.

Description

Forsyth Peak is situated in 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 at the northern end of

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 ...

. The mountain rises south of Dorothy Lake and west-northwest of

Tower Peak Tower Peak may refer to: * Tower Peak (Antarctica) in Graham Land, Antarctica * Tower Peak (British Columbia) in the Beaverfoot Range, British Columbia, Canada * Tower Peak (California) in California, United States * Tower Peak (Montana) in Mo ...

which is the nearest higher neighbor. Precipitation runoff from this landform drains into headwaters of Falls Creek which is a tributary of the

Tuolumne River The Tuolumne River ( Yokutsan: ''Tawalimnu'') flows for through Central California, from the high Sierra Nevada to join the San Joaquin River in the Central Valley. Originating at over above sea level in Yosemite National Park, the Tuolumne ...

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 Jack Main Canyon in . Access to the mountain is via the nearby

Pacific Crest Trail The Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), officially designated as the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail, is a long-distance hiking and equestrian trail closely aligned with the highest portion of the Cascade and Sierra Nevada mountain ranges, which lie ...

and the peak can be ascended from the south or west slopes.

History

This mountain's toponym was officially adopted in 1932 by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names to honor Colonel William Woods Forsyth (1856–1933),

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

, acting military superintendent of Yosemite Park (1909–1912). The US Army had jurisdiction over Yosemite National Park from 1891 to 1914, and each summer 150 cavalrymen traveled from the Presidio of San Francisco to patrol the park. The

first ascent In mountaineering and climbing, a first ascent (abbreviated to FA in climbing guidebook, guide books), is the first successful documented climb to the top of a mountain or the top of a particular climbing route. Early 20th-century mountaineers a ...

of the summit was made on July 10, 1937, by Leon Casou, Arthur Evans, Don Hersey, Paul Hersey, Rene Kast, A. I. Teakle, and Harry Tenney Jr.Robert L. Swift and David A. Nelson, Climber’s Guide to the High Sierra (1954)
/ref> The north ridge was first climbed August 23, 1953, by Ken Hondsinger, Le Roy Johnson, and Fred Schaub.

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, Forsyth 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 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 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.

References

{{Reflist

External links

* Weather forecast
Forsyth Peak

National Geodetic Survey Data Sheet
Mountains of Yosemite National Park Mountains of Tuolumne County, California Three-thousanders of the United States Mountains of Northern California Sierra Nevada (United States) Mountains of the Sierra Nevada (United States)

Description

History

Climate

See also

References

External links