Mount Silliman is a

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 California along the boundary between

Sequoia National Park Sequoia National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States in the southern Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada east of Visalia, California. The park was established on September 25, 1890, and toda ...

and

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 ...

The summit, at is on the Sillman Crest, a part of the

Kings-Kaweah Divide The Kings-Kaweah Divide is a divide in Sequoia National Park. It splits the watersheds of the Kaweah Rivers and the Kings Riverbr> The Divide's extent The Divide runs from (west to east) from Big Baldy (California), Big Baldy west of Moun ...

History

The peak was named by members of the

Whitney Survey The California Geological Survey, previously known as the California Division of Mines and Geology, is the California state geologic agency. History Although it was not until 1880 that the California State Mining Bureau, predecessor to the Cal ...

in honor of

Benjamin Silliman Benjamin Silliman (August 8, 1779 – November 24, 1864) was an American chemist and science education, science educator. He was one of the first American professors of science, the first science professor at Yale University, Yale, and the firs ...

, professor of

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

. William Brewer, the head of the survey, had studied

agricultural chemistry Agricultural chemistry is the chemistry, especially organic chemistry and biochemistry, as they relate to agriculture. Agricultural chemistry embraces the structures and chemical reactions relevant in the production, protection, and use of Crop, ...

under Silliman. Besides the mountain and crest, there are a

pass Pass, PASS, The Pass or Passed may refer to: Places *Pass, County Meath, a townland in Ireland *Pass, Poland, a village in Poland *El Paso, Texas, a city which translates to "The Pass" * Pass, an alternate term for a number of straits: see Li ...

, a creek, a meadow and a lake that bear the name Silliman. The first recorded ascent was by

Clarence King Clarence Rivers King (January 6, 1842 – December 24, 1901) was an American geologist, mountaineer, and author. He was the first director of the United States Geological Survey from 1879 to 1881. Nominated by Republican President Rutherford B. ...

, James Gardiner, Richard Cotter, and William Brewer on June 28, 1864.

Climb

File:Mount Silliman, Sequoia National Park, and Foxtail Pines.jpg, A stand of Foxtail Pines below the summit File:From the summit of Mount Silliman 01.jpg, View of Little Lakes from the summit The summit can be approached by way of the Twin Lakes trail from the Lodgepole Campground on the

Generals Highway The Generals Highway is a highway that connects California State Route 180, State Route 180 and California State Route 198, State Route 198 through Sequoia National Park, Sequoia National Forest, Giant Sequoia National Monument, and Kings Canyon N ...

. From Sillman Pass traverse () to the east ridge and follow it to the summit. There are several more technical routes to the summit which are mostly or more difficult.

Flora

The rare

foxtail pine ''Pinus balfouriana'', the foxtail pine, is a rare high-elevation pine that is endemic to California, United States. It is closely related to the Great Basin and Rocky Mountain bristlecone pines, in the subsection ''Balfourianae''. Descriptio ...

grows directly below Silliman's summit.

References

Mountains of Sequoia National Park Mountains of Tulare County, California Mountains of Northern California {{TulareCountyCA-geo-stub

History

Climb

Flora

See also

References