Alta Peak
Alta Peak rises to 3,437 m in California. Red Kaweah stands 4,185 m to the east-southeast, 9.4 miles off. The nearest named place is Tharps Rock, a peak 0.5 miles away.
The story
Alta Peak is in Sequoia National Park not far from Giant Forest. Before 1896, the mountain was known as Tharps Peak. By 1903 it was generally known by its current name and Alta Peak appears on the Tehipite quadrangle, USGS 30 minute topographic map of 1905, and was officially recognized by the Board on Geographic Names in 1928. The Sierra Club Bulletin noted that the name Alta Peak was "euphonious". A meadow on its southern slope had long been known as Alta Meadow. A rocky outcrop, 0.5 miles (0.8 km) southwest of the summit, is now known as Tharps Rock. Hale Tharp was the first euro-American to explore the Giant Forest area. His summer camp, a hollowed out Sequoia log near Crescent Meadow known as Tharp's Log, is popular with park visitors.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Wikidata Q4735990, referenced by the OpenStreetMap record.
What the record says
- Elevation
- 3437 m
How to reach it
Named places within 25 miles
- Tharps Rock: 0.5 mi
- Winter Alta: 0.8 mi
- Little Blue Dome: 1.9 mi
- The Watchtower: 2.3 mi
- Sugarbowl Dome: 2.7 mi
- Tharp's Log: 4.9 mi
- General Sherman Tree: 4.9 mi
- Chief Sequoyah: 4.9 mi
- Congress Group: 5.0 mi
- Chimney Tree: 5.1 mi
- Wall Spring: 6.6 mi
- Big Fern Springs: 7.1 mi
- Granite Spring: 7.1 mi
- Slide Spring: 7.2 mi
- Cold Spring: 10.1 mi
- Upper Buck Creek Falls: 2.1 mi
- Tokopah Falls: 2.2 mi
- Lower Buck Creek Falls: 2.8 mi
- Panther Creek Falls: 4.7 mi
- Tamarack Falls: 5.6 mi
- Stephen Mather memorial plaque: 6.0 mi
- Shorty's Crowley Canyon Cabin: 7.8 mi
- Alles Cabin: 8.7 mi
- Old Ranger Station: 8.7 mi
- Old Big Arroyo Patrol Cabin: 8.7 mi
- Pinewood Picnic Area: 5.8 mi
- Halstead Meadow Picnic Area: 7.0 mi
- Hospital Rock Picnic Site: 7.7 mi
- Stony Creek Picnic Area: 10.7 mi
- Grizzly Falls Picnic Area: 15.3 mi
- Valhalla: 4.4 mi
- Windy Cliffs: 17.3 mi
- Window Cliffs: 21.0 mi
- Ebersbacher Ledges: 22.8 mi
- Muro Blanco: 23.4 mi
- General Grant Grove Section Kings Canyon Nat: 14.8 mi
- Cobble Knoll Recreation Area: 19.0 mi
- Slick Rock Recreation Area: 19.6 mi
- Horse Creek Recreation Area: 21.3 mi
- Lake Kaweah Recreation Area: 21.5 mi
- Giant Forest Museum: 6.3 mi
- Three Rivers Historical Museum: 16.4 mi
- Sandy Cove Beach: 19.0 mi
- Jumping Rock: 19.3 mi
- Homer Ranch Preserve: 21.7 mi
- Dry Creek Preserve: 23.1 mi
- Natural Arch: 22.6 mi
- Natural Bridge: 22.7 mi
- Kern Hot Spring: 16.3 mi
- Kearsarge: 24.1 mi
Other summits around it
The highest named summits within 10.5 miles of Alta Peak. Elevation from each summit’s own record; bearing measured between the two coordinates.
| Summit | Bearing | Elevation | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Kaweah | ESE 112° | 4,185 m | 9.4 mi |
| Michael's Pinnacle | ESE 112° | 4,170.4 m | 9.5 mi |
| Second Kaweah | ESE 113° | 4,165.5 m | 10.3 mi |
| Milestone Mountain | ENE 73° | 4,149 m | 10.4 mi |
| Koontz Pinnacle | ESE 110° | 4,145 m | 9.1 mi |
| Black Kaweah | ESE 111° | 4,140 m | 8.8 mi |
| Squaretop | ESE 112° | 4,121.8 m | 9.9 mi |
| Pyramidal Pinnacle | ESE 110° | 4,116 m | 9.1 mi |
When to go
Light through the year
| Date | Sunrise | Golden hour | Sunset |
|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox | 06:59 | 18:33 | 19:07 |
| June solstice | 05:37 | 19:39 | 20:17 |
| September equinox | 06:43 | 18:19 | 18:53 |
| December solstice | 07:04 | 16:03 | 16:43 |
Local time (America/Los_Angeles).
Climate normals
Months averaging 50–80 °F: Jun–Sep.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg °F | 28 | 30 | 34 | 38 | 46 | 54 | 61 | 60 | 55 | 45 | 35 | 27 |
| Precip in | 8.7 | 7.9 | 6.4 | 3.2 | 2.0 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 0.7 | 2.3 | 3.6 | 6.9 |
1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals, NOAA NCEI — Lodgepole, 4 mi away.
Inside the official boundary of Sequoia National Park.
Where this comes from
Location and category confirmed against OpenStreetMap.
OpenStreetMapWikidata- USGS Geographic Names Information System feature 256208 — Alta Peak, Tulare County, California.
OpenStreetMap element node/358796609
Day trips start here
Take the scenic way to Alta Peak.
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