Mount Darwin is a flat-topped

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...

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 ...

, on the border of between

Fresno Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, maki ...

and

Inyo Inyo may refer to: Places California * Inyo County, California * Inyo National Forest, USA * The Inyo Mountains * The Mono–Inyo Craters Other uses * Japanese for yin and yang Yin and yang ( and ) is a Chinese philosophical concep ...

counties in

Kings Canyon National Park Kings Canyon National Park is an American national park 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 renamed to Kings ...

and the

John Muir Wilderness The John Muir Wilderness is a wilderness area that extends along the crest of the Sierra Nevada of California for , in the Inyo and Sierra National Forests. Established in 1964 by the Wilderness Act and named for naturalist John Muir, it encompa ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

History

Two Australian geologists, Ernest Clayton Andrews and Willard D. Johnson, made the first recorded ascent on August 12, 1908. The modern name of the mountain was given to it in 1895 by

Theodore S. Solomons Theodore Seixas Solomons (1870–1947) was an explorer and early member of the Sierra Club. From 1892 to 1897 he explored and named the Mount Goddard, Evolution Valley and Evolution Basin region in what is now northern Kings Canyon National Park ...

and E. C. Bonner of 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, ...

as part of a series of mountains named for the six major exponents of the theory of

evolution Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...

. Mount Darwin is named for the naturalist,

Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English natural history#Before 1900, naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all speci ...

. Other nearby mountains in the Evolution Group include Mount Mendel, Mount Fiske,

Mount Haeckel Mount Haeckel is a mountain summit located on the crest of the Sierra Nevada mountain range in northern California, United States. It is situated on the shared boundary of Kings Canyon National Park with John Muir Wilderness, and along the com ...

, Mount Huxley,

Mount Spencer Mount Spencer () is a peak 1 nautical mile (1.9 km) south of Mount Darling in the Allegheny Mountains of the Ford Ranges, Marie Byrd Land. Discovered on aerial flights from West Base of the United States Antarctic Service (USAS) (1939–41) ...

Mount Wallace The Tapley Mountains () is a mountain range fronting on the eastern side of the Scott Glacier, extending eastward for between Leverett and Albanus glaciers in the Queen Maud Mountains, a part of the larger Transantarctic Mountains. Discovered ...

, and

Mount Lamarck Mount Lamarck is a mountain summit located on the crest of the Sierra Nevada mountain range in northern California, United States. It is situated on the shared boundary of Kings Canyon National Park with John Muir Wilderness, and along the com ...

. The area around the peaks, known as the Evolution Region, includes Evolution Basin and Evolution Valley. Nearby landmarks include Darwin Glacier and Darwin Canyon. A similar exercise in naming mountains after naturalists and other late nineteenth century proponents of evolution theory was carried out at the

West Coast Range The West Coast Range is a mountain range located in the West Coast region of Tasmania, Australia. The range lies to the west and north of the main parts of the Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park. The range has had a significant num ...

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

, Australia. In contrast, Mount Darwin in

Tierra del Fuego Tierra del Fuego (, ; Spanish for "Land of the Fire", rarely also Fireland in English) is an archipelago off the southernmost tip of the South American mainland, across the Strait of Magellan. The archipelago consists of the main island, Isla ...

was given its name during the voyage of the ''Beagle'' by captain

Robert FitzRoy Vice-Admiral Robert FitzRoy (5 July 1805 – 30 April 1865) was an English officer of the Royal Navy and a scientist. He achieved lasting fame as the captain of during Charles Darwin's famous voyage, FitzRoy's second expedition to Tierra d ...

to celebrate Darwin's 25th birthday on 12 February 1834.

Climate

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Darwin, Mount Mountains of Kings Canyon National Park Mountains of the John Muir Wilderness Mountains of Fresno County, California Mountains of Inyo County, California Mount Darwin

History

Climate

See also

References

External links