Vandever Mountain is an 11,947-foot-elevation (3,641-meter) mountain summit located in the Sierra Nevada mountain range, in Tulare County of northern California.[3] It is situated on the shared boundary of Sequoia National Park with Sequoia National Forest, four miles south of Mineral King, and 1.78 miles (2.86 km) west of Florence Peak, the nearest higher neighbor.[1] Vandever Mountain ranks as the 439th highest summit in California.[2] Topographic relief is significant as the south aspect rises 2,000 feet (610 meters) above White Chief Canyon in one mile. The summit can be reached via class 2 hiking from Farewell Gap or White Chief Canyon.

Vandever Mountain
NNW aspect, from White Chief Canyon
Highest point
Elevation11,947 ft (3,641 m)[1]
Prominence1,361 ft (415 m)[1]
Parent peakFlorence Peak (12,437 ft)[2]
Isolation1.77 mi (2.85 km)[2]
ListingSierra Peaks Section
Coordinates36°23′54″N 118°34′52″W / 36.3983577°N 118.5812350°W / 36.3983577; -118.5812350[3]
Naming
EtymologyWilliam Vandever
Geography
Vandever Mountain is located in California
Vandever Mountain
Vandever Mountain
Location in California
Vandever Mountain is located in the United States
Vandever Mountain
Vandever Mountain
Vandever Mountain (the United States)
LocationSequoia National Park
Tulare County
California, U.S.
Parent rangeSierra Nevada
Topo mapUSGS Mineral King
Climbing
Easiest routeclass 2[2]

History

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This mountain's name was officially adopted by the United States Board on Geographic Names to honor William Vandever (1817–1893), California congressman from 1887 to 1891 who introduced bills establishing Sequoia, Yosemite, and General Grant National Parks.[4] The name was proposed in the Visalia Delta newspaper on September 4, 1890.

Climate

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According to the Köppen climate classification system, Vandever Mountain is located in an alpine climate zone.[5] Most weather fronts originate in the Pacific Ocean, 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). Precipitation runoff from the mountain drains north into tributaries of Kaweah River, and south into the Little Kern River.

 
Vandever Mountain, north aspect

See also

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References

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Vandever from Timber Gap Trail
  1. ^ a b c "Vandever Mountain, California". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 2021-05-29.
  2. ^ a b c d "Vandever Mountain - 11,947' CA". listsofjohn.com. Retrieved 2021-05-29.
  3. ^ a b "Vandever Mountain". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved 2021-05-29.
  4. ^ Francis P. Farquhar, Place Names of the High Sierra (1926)
  5. ^ Peel, M. C.; Finlayson, B. L.; McMahon, T. A. (2007). "Updated world map of the Köppen−Geiger climate classification". Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. 11. ISSN 1027-5606.
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