Gilcrest Peak is an
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 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, in
Mono County
Mono County ( ) is a county located in the east central portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 13,195, making it the fourth-least populous county in California. The county seat is Bridg ...
of northern
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.
The mountain is set within the
Hoover Wilderness, on land managed by
Inyo National Forest
Inyo National Forest is a United States National Forest covering parts of the eastern Sierra Nevada of California and the White Mountains of California and Nevada. The forest hosts several superlatives, including Mount Whitney, the highest p ...
. Gilcrest Peak is situated north 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 ...
Mount Warren, east of
Mount Scowden, and southeast of
Black Mountain.
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 nearly above Lundy Lake in one mile. Precipitation
runoff from this mountain drains to Lundy Lake,
Mill Creek, and ultimately
Mono Lake
Mono Lake ( ) is a Salt lake, saline soda lake in Mono County, California, formed at least 760,000 years ago as a terminal lake in an endorheic basin. The lack of an outlet causes Hypersaline lake, high levels of salts to accumulate in the lake ...
. The mountain's toponym has been officially adopted by the
United States Board on Geographic Names
The United States Board on Geographic Names (BGN) is a Federal government of the United States, federal body operating under the United States Secretary of the Interior. The purpose of the board is to establish and maintain uniform usage of geogr ...
.
Climate
Gilcrest 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 moisture in the form of rain or snowfall to drop onto the range.
See also
*
Lundy, California
Gallery
File:Mt. Warren, Gilcrest Peak.jpg, Gilcrest Peak and Lundy Lake. Mt. Warren in upper left corner.
File:Gilcrest Peak, Lundy Lake.jpg, Gilcrest Peak and Lundy Lake seen from north-northeast.
File:Warren, Gilcrest, Scowden.jpg, The north face of Gilcrest Peak rises above Lundy Lake as seen from Copper Mountain. Mt, Warren in upper left corner. Mt. Scowden and Tioga Crest to right.
File:Gilcrest Peak east.jpg, East aspect of Gilcrest Peak and Lundy Lake from Copper Mountain.
File:Conway Summit to Warren.jpg, North aspect of Mt. Warren (center), Gilcrest Peak (right), from Conway Summit
Conway Summit (elevation, el. 8,143 feet (2,482 m)) is a mountain pass in Mono County, California. It is traversed by U.S. Highway 395, which connects Bridgeport, California, Bridgeport and the East Walker River on the north side of the pass to ...
File:Conway Summit Area of Critical Environmental Concern (28173157674).jpg, Mt. Warren (left), Gilcrest Peak (right), from Conway Summit
File:Gilcrest Peak and Burro Lake.jpg, Northwest aspect of Gilcrest Peak and Burro Lake
References
{{reflist
External links
* Weather forecast
Gilcrest Peak
Mountains of Mono County, California
Three-thousanders of the United States
Mountains of Northern California
Sierra Nevada (United States)
Inyo National Forest