Mount Henry is a mountain summit 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

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 Census, the population was 1,008,654. The county seat is Fresno, the fifth-most populous city in Cal ...

of northern

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 ...

, United States. It is situated on the Le Conte Divide, along the shared boundary of John Muir Wilderness and

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 northwest of

Emerald Peak Emerald Peak is a high mountain summit of the Collegiate Peaks in the Sawatch Range of the Rocky Mountains of North America. The thirteener is located in the Collegiate Peaks Wilderness of San Isabel National Forest, west-northwest ( bearing ...

, the nearest higher neighbor.

Topographic relief Terrain or relief (also topographical relief) involves the vertical and horizontal dimensions of land surface. The term bathymetry is used to describe underwater relief, while hypsometry studies terrain relative to sea level. The Latin w ...

is significant as the east aspect rises above South Fork San Joaquin River in two miles. The John Muir Trail passes to the northeast, providing an approach option.

Etymology

The peak's name was applied in 1904 by Joseph Nisbet LeConte to honor

Joseph Henry Joseph Henry (December 17, 1797– May 13, 1878) was an American scientist who served as the first Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. He was the secretary for the National Institute for the Promotion of Science, a precursor of the Smit ...

(1797–1878), an eminent American scientist noted for his investigations of electromagnetism, and who served as the first Secretary of the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

. This geographical feature's name has been officially adopted by the United States Board on Geographic Names.

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, nota ...

system, Mount Henry 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 ...

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 ...

s 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 contine ...

, 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 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

San Joaquin River The San Joaquin River (; es, Río San Joaquín) is the longest river of Central California. The long river starts in the high Sierra Nevada, and flows through the rich agricultural region of the northern San Joaquin Valley before reaching ...

watershed.

Climbing

It is unknown when, or by whom, the first ascent was made. Established climbing routes:Fred L. Jones, ''A Climber's Guide to the High Sierra'' (1954)
/ref> * Northeast ridge – – July 7, 1939, by a

Sierra Club The Sierra Club is an environmental organization with chapters in all 50 United States, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. The club was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by Scottish-American preservationist John Muir, w ...

party led by David Brower * Southwest slope – class 2 – August 14, 1939, by a party of eight * West slope – class 2 – August 29, 1940, by Bob Helliwell and Alden Bryant * North ridge – class 3 – July 10, 1951 by Art Reyman

References

External links

* Weather forecast
National Weather Service
{{DEFAULTSORT:Henry, Mount Mountains of Fresno County, California Mountains of Kings Canyon National Park North American 3000 m summits Mountains of Northern California Sierra Nevada (United States) Mountains of the John Muir Wilderness Sierra National Forest

Etymology

Climate

Climbing

See also

References

External links