Langille Peak is a mountain summit located west of 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 primari ...

mountain range, in

Fresno County Fresno County (), officially the County of Fresno, is a county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 1,008,654. The county seat is Fresno, the fifth-most populo ...

of central

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 in northern

Kings Canyon National Park Kings Canyon National Park is a national park of the United States in the southern Sierra Nevada, in Fresno and Tulare Counties, California. Originally established in 1890 as General Grant National Park, the park was greatly expanded and ren ...

, west-southwest of the community of Big Pine, south of Mount Thompson, southwest of Mount Goode, and east of

Black Giant Black Giant is a mountain summit located west of the crest of the Sierra Nevada mountain range, in Fresno County of central California, United States. Black Giant ranks as the 86th highest summit in California. It is the northernmost and highest ...

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 east aspect rises above Le Conte Canyon in less than one mile. The approach to this remote peak is made via the

John Muir Trail The John Muir Trail (JMT) is a long-distance trail in the Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada mountain range of California, passing through Yosemite National Park, Yosemite, Kings Canyon National Park, Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Park, Se ...

History

The peak's name (pronounced "Lan'jill") honors Harold Douglas Langille (1874–1954), forest inspector for the General Land Office, Department of the Interior, who visited Sierra Forest Reserve on an inspection tour in 1904. The name was officially adopted by the

USGS The United States Geological Survey (USGS), founded as the Geological Survey, is an government agency, agency of the United States Department of the Interior, U.S. Department of the Interior whose work spans the disciplines of biology, geograp ...

at the suggestion of Charles Howard Shinn, head ranger of the forest reserve. 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 in August 1926 by Nathaniel L. Goodrich, Marjory Hurd, and Dean Peabody, Jr. via the West Ridge.

Climbing

Established climbing routes:R. J. Secor, ''The High Sierra Peaks, Passes, Trails'', 2009, Third Edition, Mountaineers Books, , page 277. * West Ridge – – First ascent 1926 * East Buttress – class 4-5 – FA 1970 * Southeast Face – class 4 – FA 1971 * Southwest Slope – class 2 – FA 2003

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, Langille 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, causing them to drop their moisture in the form of rain or

snowfall Snow consists of 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 througho ...

onto the range (

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 ...

). Precipitation runoff from this mountain drains into the Middle Fork Kings River. Langille Peak east aspect

References

External links

* Weather forecast
Langille Peak
{{Geographic Location , Center = Langille Peak , North = Mount Thompson , Northeast = Mount Goode , East =

North Palisade North Palisade is the third-highest mountain in the Sierra Nevada range of California, and one of the state's small number of peaks over 14,000 feet, known as fourteeners. It is the highest peak of the Palisades group of peaks in the central pa ...

, Southeast = Giraud Peak , South =

The Citadel The Citadel Military College of South Carolina (simply known as The Citadel) is a public senior military college in Charleston, South Carolina, United States. Established in 1842, it is the third oldest of the six senior military colleges ...

, Southwest = Mount McDuffie , West =

, Northwest =

Mount Fiske Mount Fiske is a mountain summit located near the crest of the Sierra Nevada mountain range, in Fresno County of northern California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the U ...

Mountains of Fresno County, California Mountains of Kings Canyon National Park Three-thousanders of the United States Mountains of Northern California Sierra Nevada (United States)

History

Climbing

Climate

See also

References

External links