Four Gables, elevation , is a mountain
summit
A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topography, topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous.
The term (mountain top) is generally used ...
located on the crest 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 primarily ...
mountain range in northern
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
, United States.
It is situated in the
John Muir Wilderness on the common boundary shared by
Sierra National Forest
Sierra National Forest is a U.S. national forest located on the western slope of central Sierra Nevada in Central California and bounded on the northwest by Yosemite National Park and the south by Kings Canyon National Park. The forest is kno ...
with
Inyo National Forest, and along the common border of
Fresno County with
Inyo County.
Topographic relief is significant as the summit rises above Horton Lake in approximately . Neighbors include
Basin Mountain, two miles to the east-southeast,
Mount Tom, three miles to the northeast, and
Merriam Peak, four miles to the west. The nearest community is
Bishop, California, 17 miles to the east.
History
Four Gables was likely named by the
United States Geological Survey
The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, ...
during a 1907–09 survey.
This landforms's toponym was officially adopted in 1911 by the
United States Board on Geographic Names
The United States Board on Geographic Names (BGN) is a federal body operating under the United States Secretary of the Interior. The purpose of the board is to establish and maintain uniform usage of geographic names throughout the federal governm ...
.
The
first ascent
In mountaineering, a first ascent (abbreviated to FA in guide books) is the first successful, documented attainment of the top of a mountain or the first to follow a particular climbing route. First mountain ascents are notable because they en ...
of the summit was made in 1931 by
Norman Clyde, who is credited with 130 first ascents, most of which were in the Sierra Nevada.
Climate
According to the
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
system, Four Gables is located in an
alpine climate
Alpine climate is the typical weather (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 ...
zone.
Most
weather fronts originate in the
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
, and travel east toward the Sierra Nevada mountains. As fronts approach, they are forced upward by the peaks (
orographic lift), causing them to drop their moisture in the form of rain or
snowfall
Snow comprises individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes.
It consists of frozen crystalline water throughout ...
onto the range. Precipitation
runoff
Runoff, run-off or RUNOFF may refer to:
* RUNOFF, the first computer text-formatting program
* Runoff or run-off, another name for bleed, printing that lies beyond the edges to which a printed sheet is trimmed
* Runoff or run-off, a stock market ...
from Four Gables' west slope drains to
South Fork San Joaquin River
The South Fork San Joaquin River is the largest headwater of the San Joaquin River in central California, United States. About long, it drains an area of the high Sierra Nevada about northeast of Fresno.
Course
The South Fork begins at Martha L ...
via Piute Creek, whereas the east side of this mountain drains to
Owens River
The Owens River is a river in eastern California in the United States, approximately long.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed March 17, 2011, It drains into and through the ...
via Horton, Gable, and Pine Creeks.
See also
*
*
List of the major 4000-meter summits of California
References
External links
* Weather forecast
Four Gables
{{John Muir Wilderness
Inyo National Forest
Sierra National Forest
Mountains of Inyo County, California
Mountains of Fresno County, California
Mountains of the John Muir Wilderness
North American 3000 m summits
Mountains of Northern California
Sierra Nevada (United States)