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Cardinal Mountain

Cardinal Mountain, seen from above at true elevation

Cardinal Mountain rises to 4,076 m in California. North Palisade stands 4,343 m to the northwest, 8.6 miles off. The nearest named place is Split Mountain, a peak 1.6 miles away.

The story

Cardinal Mountain is a 13,396-foot-elevation (4,083-meter) mountain summit located on the crest of the Sierra Nevada mountain range in northern California. It is situated on the common border of Fresno County with Inyo County, as well as the shared boundary of John Muir Wilderness and Kings Canyon National Park. It is 14 miles (23 km) south-southwest of the community of Big Pine, approximately one mile north of Taboose Pass, and one mile south-southeast of Split Mountain, which is the nearest higher neighbor. Cardinal Mountain ranks as the 73rd highest summit in California. The first ascent of the summit was made August 11, 1922, by George Downing Jr. The standard approach is via the Taboose Pass Trail, and the John Muir Trail passes west of this peak, providing an approach option to the mountain. The mountain's descriptive name was given by George R. Davis, a USGS topographer, on account of the brilliant red color of the roof pendant, like the red cap of a cardinal.

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Wikidata Q35732811, referenced by the OpenStreetMap record.

What the record says

Elevation
4,076 m

How to reach it

Coordinates36.99948, -118.41273

Named places within 25 miles

Springs: 29
Historic sites: 15
  • Shorty's Woods Creek Crossing Cabin: 8.8 mi
  • Aberdeen Station: 11.2 mi
  • Prospect: 12.4 mi
  • Shorty's Gardiner Basin Cabin: 13.0 mi
  • Shorty's Granite Pass Cabin: 13.1 mi
Waterfalls: 12
  • Triple Falls: 8.0 mi
  • First Falls: 8.9 mi
  • Second Falls: 9.6 mi
  • Upper Gardiner Falls: 12.7 mi
  • Lower Gardiner Falls: 12.8 mi
Gardens: 9
  • Bk 34 Mess Hall Garden: 23.3 mi
  • Japanese Garden: 23.4 mi
  • Arai Pond: 23.4 mi
  • Bk 22 Mess Hall Garden: 23.6 mi
  • Kado's Garden: 23.7 mi
Parks: 6
Cliffs: 4
Ghost towns: 3
Picnic sites: 3
  • South Lake Picnic Area: 14.5 mi
  • La Hupp Picnic Area: 15.0 mi
  • Grizzly Falls Picnic Area: 22.8 mi
Museums: 3
Rest areas: 2
Attractions: 1
  • Rock Monster: 13.8 mi
Artworks: 1
  • Paiute Mural: 23.5 mi

Other summits around it

The highest named summits within 10.5 miles of Cardinal Mountain. Elevation from each summit’s own record; bearing measured between the two coordinates.

SummitBearingElevationDistance
North PalisadeNW4,343 m8.6 mi
Starlight PeakNW4,324 m8.7 mi
Mount SillNW4,316 m8.3 mi
Polemonium PeakNW4,298 m8.5 mi
Middle PalisadeNNW4,278 m5.8 mi
Split MountainNNW4,269 m1.6 mi
Thunderbolt PeakNW4,268 m8.9 mi
Disappointment PeakNNW4,259 m5.6 mi

When to go

Light through the year

DateSunriseGolden hourSunset
March equinox06:5818:3219:06
June solstice05:3519:3920:17
September equinox06:4218:1818:52
December solstice07:0416:0116:41

Local time (America/Los_Angeles).

Climate normals

Months averaging 50–80 °F: Mar–Jun, Sep–Nov.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg °F444754606979858376645243
Precip in1.40.90.70.20.10.10.10.10.10.20.50.9

1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals, NOAA NCEI — Independence, 18 mi away.

Where this comes from

Location and category confirmed against OpenStreetMap.

OpenStreetMapWikidata
  • USGS Geographic Names Information System feature 257971 — Cardinal Mountain, Inyo County, California.

OpenStreetMap element node/358797159

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