Mount Pickering

Mount Pickering
East aspect, from Mount Langley
Highest point
Elevation	13,474 ft (4,107 m)1
Prominence	547 ft (167 m)1
Parent peak	Mount McAdie (13,799 ft)2
Isolation	1.88 mi (3.03 km)2
Listing	Sierra Peaks Section
Coordinates	36°31′38″N 118°17′27″W / 36.5272735°N 118.2908888°W / 36.5272735; -118.29088883
Naming
Etymology	Edward Charles Pickering
Geography
Mount Pickering Location in California Show map of California Mount Pickering Mount Pickering (the United States) Show map of the United States
Location	Sequoia National Park Tulare County California, U.S.
Parent range	Sierra Nevada
Topo map	USGS Mount Whitney
Geology
Rock age	Cretaceous
Mountain type	Fault block
Rock type	granitic
Climbing
First ascent	1936
Easiest route	class 24 Southeast arête

Mount Pickering is a 13,474-foot-elevation (4,107-meter) mountain summit located just west of the crest of the Sierra Nevada mountain range in Tulare County, California.³ It is situated in Sequoia National Park, and is 3.1 miles (5.0 km) south of Mount Whitney, 1.2 miles (1.9 km) southeast of Mount Chamberlin, and one mile south of Mount Newcomb. Mt. Pickering ranks as the 65th highest summit in California.² Topographic relief is significant as it rises nearly 2,000 feet above Sky Blue Lake in approximately one mile. This mountain's name was proposed by the Sierra Club and officially adopted in 1940 by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names to honor American astronomer Edward Charles Pickering (1846–1919).³ The immediate area has other geographical features named for astronomers, including Mount Newcomb, Mount Langley, Mount Young, and Mount Hale. The first ascent of the summit was made July 16, 1936, by Chester Versteeg, Tyler Van Degrift, and Oliver Kehrlein.⁵

Mount Pickering has an alpine climate. 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 west to the Kern River via Rock Creek.