Mount Johnson (California)

Mount Johnson
North aspect, upper left (Mt. Gilbert on right, South Lake below)
Highest point
Elevation	12,871 ft (3,923 m)^[1]
Prominence	511 ft (156 m)^[1]
Parent peak	Mount Gilbert^[2]
Isolation	0.88 mi (1.42 km)^[2]
Listing	Sierra Peaks Section
Coordinates	37°07′42″N 118°35′11″W / 37.1284588°N 118.5863576°W / 37.1284588; -118.5863576^[3]
Naming
Etymology	Willard Drake Johnson
Geography
Mount Johnson Location in California Show map of California Mount Johnson Mount Johnson (the United States) Show map of the United States
Location	Kings Canyon National Park Fresno / Inyo California, U.S.
Parent range	Sierra Nevada^[1]
Topo map	USGS Mount Thompson
Geology
Age of rock	Cretaceous
Mountain type	Fault block
Type of rock	Granitic
Climbing
First ascent	before 1939 probably by Norman Clyde^[4]
Easiest route	class 2^[2] Southeast slope

Mount Johnson is a 12,871-foot-elevation (3,923 meter) mountain summit located on the crest of the Sierra Nevada mountain range in California, United States.^[3] It is situated on the boundary between Kings Canyon National Park and John Muir Wilderness, and along the county line between Fresno County and Inyo County. It is also 18 miles (29 km) west of the community of Big Pine, 0.9 miles (1.4 km) southeast of Mount Gilbert, and one mile (1.6 km) west-northwest of Mount Goode. Mount Johnson ranks as the 187th-highest summit in California.^[2] Topographic relief is significant as the southwest aspect rises 3,670 feet (1,120 meters) above LeConte Canyon in 1.5 mile, and the north aspect rises 3,100 feet above South Lake in 2.5 miles.

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History

This mountain's name and location was proposed by the Sierra Club to honor Willard Drake Johnson (1859–1917), a geologist and topographer with the U. S. Geological Survey.^[5] The mountain's name was officially adopted in 1926 by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names.^[3] It is in the vicinity of other mountains named for distinguished members of the early U. S. Geological Survey, i.e. Mount Powell, Mount Gilbert, Mount Thompson, and Mount Goode.

Sierra Club member Jack Sturgeon climbed the peak August 14, 1939, by way of the western arête, and reported that the peak had previously been climbed twice by Norman Clyde, who is credited with 130 first ascents, most of which were in the Sierra Nevada.^[6] Clyde made the first ascent of nearby Mt. Gilbert in 1928, possibly climbing Johnson around the same time.

Climbing

Established climbing routes:^[7]

Southeast slope – class 2
West ridge – 1939 by Jack Sturgeon
North ridge – class 3 – July 16, 1960, by Barbara Lilley, Rich Gnagy, Sy Ossofsky

Climate

Mount Johnson is located in an alpine climate zone.^[8] 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 this mountain drains south into the Middle Fork Kings River, and north into Bishop Creek.