Mount McGee 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 ...

, southeast of

Peter Peak Peter Peak (, ) is an 850 m knob in Delchev Ridge, Tangra Mountains, eastern Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. The peak surmounts Iskar Glacier to the west, Bruix Cove to the northwest and Sopot Ice Piedmont to the ...

, southwest of The Hermit, and north-northwest of

Mount Goddard Mount Goddard is a mountain of California's Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada, in the north section of Kings Canyon National Park. Goddard forms the southwest boundary of the Evolution Basin. The peak is named for civil engineer George Henry ...

, the nearest higher neighbor.

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 west aspect rises above Goddard Canyon in two miles. This geographical feature was named for

William John McGee William John McGee, LL.D. (April 17, 1853 – September 4, 1912) was an American inventor, geologist, anthropologist, and ethnologist, born in Farley, Iowa. He always referred to himself as W J McGee, without periods. Biography While largely s ...

(1853–1912), well-known American geologist and anthropologist.Erwin G. Gudde, ''California Place Names'', page 188.
/ref> This mountain's name 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 ...

. 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 July 1923 by Roger N. Burnham, Robert E. Brownlee, Ralph H. Brandt, and Leonard Keeler.Alan M. Hedden and David R. Brower, ''A Climber's Guide to the High Sierra'' (1954)
/ref>

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, Mount McGee 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 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 tributaries of the

San Joaquin River The San Joaquin River ( ; ) 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 Suisun Bay, San Francis ...

Climbing

Established climbing routes:Alan M. Hedden and David R. Brower, ''A Climber's Guide to the High Sierra'' (1954)
/ref> * South chute – – Probably route of 1923 first ascent * West face – class 2 – FA 1933 by Glen Dawson, Neil Ruge, Bala Ballantine * North chute – class 4 – FA 1930 by Glen Dawson, Charles Dodge, Jules M. Eichorn, John Olmstead

Gallery

File:Mount McGee and Wanda Lake.jpg, Mt. McGee centered, from

Muir Pass Muir Pass is a mountain pass in the Sierra Nevada of California, United States, in Kings Canyon National Park. It is named for John Muir. The pass is near the midway point of the John Muir Trail and around mile 841 of the Pacific Crest Trail. ...

File:Mt. McGee, Sierra Nevada.jpg, Mt. McGee centered beyond Wanda Lake. Looking northwest from Muir Pass.

References

External links

* Weather forecast
Mount McGee
{{DEFAULTSORT:McGee, Mount 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)

Climate

Climbing

See also

Gallery

References

External links