Mount Watkins is an mountain summit 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 Mariposa County,

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.

Description

Mount Watkins is located in

Yosemite National Park Yosemite National Park ( ) is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States in California. It is bordered on the southeast by Sierra National Forest and on the northwest by Stanislaus National Forest. The p ...

, north of

Half Dome Half Dome is a quartz monzonite batholith at the eastern end of Yosemite Valley in Yosemite National Park, California. It is a well-known rock formation in the park, named for its distinct shape. One side is a sheer face while the other three s ...

, and northwest of

Clouds Rest Clouds Rest is a mountain in Yosemite National Park, located east-northeast of Yosemite Village, California. Although there are many peaks in the park having far greater elevation, the proximity of Clouds Rest to the valley gives it a very hig ...

. Precipitation runoff from this mountain drains into Tenaya Creek which is a tributary of the

Merced River The Merced River (), in the central part of the U.S. state of California, is a -long tributary of the San Joaquin River flowing from the Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada into the San Joaquin Valley. It is most well known for its swift and st ...

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 summit rises above

Tenaya Canyon Tenaya Canyon is a dramatic and dangerous canyon in Yosemite National Park, California, USA, that runs from the outlet of Tenaya Lake 10 miles down to Yosemite Valley, carrying water in Tenaya Creek through a series of spectacular cascades and ...

in less than . The mountain is composed of

Half Dome Granodiorite Half Dome Granodiorite is granodiorite (see also granite) found in a region on and near Half Dome, in Yosemite National Park, California, United States. The granodiorite forms part of the Tuolumne Intrusive Suite (aka Tuolumne Batholith), one of ...

which formed during the

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 143.1 to 66 mya (unit), million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era (geology), Era, as well as the longest. At around 77.1 million years, it is the ...

period. An ascent of the summit involves 7.4 miles of hiking (round-trip) with 750 feet of elevation gain, and the months of June through October offer the best conditions. Approach is via the Snow Creek Trail starting near

Olmsted Point Olmsted Point is a viewing area off Tioga Pass Road in Yosemite National Park which offers a view south into Tenaya Canyon, giving, in particular, a view of the northern side of Half Dome, Clouds Rest, and a view of Tenaya Lake to the east. The g ...

History

The mountain is named after

Carleton Watkins Carleton E. Watkins (1829–1916) was an American photographer of the 19th century. Born in New York, he moved to California and quickly became interested in photography. He focused mainly on landscape photography, and Yosemite Valley was ...

(1829–1916), an American photographer in the 1800s whose photographs of Yosemite significantly influenced the United States Congress' decision to preserve it as a National Park. His photograph of Mount Watkins reflected in Mirror Lake was especially popular, and likely led to his name being affixed to this mountain.Francis P. Farquhar, Place Names of the High Sierra (1926)
/ref> This mountain's toponym was officially adopted on June 30, 1932, by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names, although it was featured in publications as early as 1871. The Native American name for the mountain is "Waijau" which means Pine Mountain.

Climbing

Along with

El Capitan El Capitan (; ) is a vertical Rock formations in the United States, rock formation in Yosemite National Park, on the north side of Yosemite Valley, near its western end. The El Capitan Granite, granite monolith is about from base to summit alo ...

and Half Dome, Mount Watkins is one of the three main big walls in Yosemite for rock climbing. Rock climbing routes: * ''South Face'' - - First ascent July 1964 -

Warren Harding Warren Gamaliel Harding (November 2, 1865 – August 2, 1923) was the 29th president of the United States, serving from 1921 until his death in 1923. A member of the Republican Party, he was one of the most popular sitting U.S. presidents w ...

, Chuck Pratt,

Yvon Chouinard Yvon Chouinard (born November 9, 1938) is an American rock climber, environmentalist, and businessman. His company, Patagonia, sells outdoor products, outerwear, and food. He was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by '' ...

* ''Teabag Wisdom'' - class 5.11 - FA 2016 - Vitaliy Musiyenko, Chris Koppl * ''The Twisted Road'' - class 5.12

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 Watkins 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 and travel east toward the Sierra Nevada mountains. As fronts approach, they are forced upward by the peaks (

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 ...

), causing them to drop their moisture in the form of rain or snowfall onto the range.

Gallery

File:Mount Watkins in Yosemite.jpg, Southwest aspect File:Half Dome & Yosemite Valley (Sierra Nevada Mountains, California, USA) 9.jpg, Mount Watkins (left), Half Dome (right) File:From Half Dome 2007-06-01 - panoramio.jpg, Mount Watkins (left), Clouds Rest (right), viewed from Half Dome File:Mount Watkins from Half Dome.jpg, Mount Watkins viewed from Half Dome.
(line parent Mount Hoffmann on the horizon) File:Mount Watkins (California).jpg, Mount Watkins viewed from Clouds Rest File:Half Dome (5903019356).jpg, Mount Watkins (centered) viewed from

Glacier Point Glacier Point is a viewpoint above Yosemite Valley in the U.S. state of California. It is located on the south wall of Yosemite Valley at an elevation of , above Curry Village. The point offers a superb view of several of Yosemite National Par ...

. (Half Dome to right) File:The Lake at the Foot of Half Dome MET DP205161.jpg, Mount Watkins photographed in 1861 by namesake

File:California. Mirror Lake, Yosemite Valley-LCCN2008678085.jpg, Watkins reflected in Mirror Lake, early 1900s File:Watkins in Mirror Lake.jpg, Watkins reflected in Mirror Lake File:Mt Watkins in Mirror Lake.jpg, Watkins reflected in Mirror Lake File:P1000538.jpg, Watkins reflected in Mirror Lake File:Watkins winter.jpg, Winter snow on Mt. Watkins

References

External links

* Weather forecast
Mount Watkins
* Mount Watkins rock climbing
mountainproject.com
* Watkins Pinnacles (photo)
Flickr
{{DEFAULTSORT:Watkins, Mount Mountains of Mariposa County, California Mountains of Yosemite National Park Two-thousanders of the United States Mountains of Northern California Sierra Nevada (United States) Landforms of Yosemite National Park