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Frenchman Mountain

Frenchman Mountain rises to 1,236 m in Nevada. Quartzite Mountain stands 2,152 m to the north-northwest, 23 miles off. The nearest named place is Great Unconformity, a cliff 1.3 miles away. City of Las Vegas, Las Vegas Boulevard State Scenic Byway passes 7.6 miles off. 53 named summits stand within 25 miles.

The story

Frenchman Mountain is a mountain located east of Las Vegas, Nevada. Made up of rocks similar to those found on the bottom of the Grand Canyon, Frenchman Mountain formed when faulting elevated and tilted the rocks followed by erosion, giving it its sharp triangular profile. The mountain provides an example of the Great Unconformity with the tilted Paleozoic Tapeats Sandstone underlain by Paleoproterozoic Vishnu Schist, which is some of the oldest rock on the North American continent, having been created about two billion years ago. The peak lies on a north to north-northeast trending ridge about 2000 feet above the nearby valleys. Sunrise Mountain lies 3.6 miles (5.8 km) to the northeast adjacent to Nellis Air Force Base. The north end of the McCullough Range about 12 miles (19 km) to the south has a parallel trend. The River Mountains lie to the southeast. State Route 147 crosses its northern slope. A geologically rich area called Rainbow Gardens is located to its southeast, as is an igneous laccolith, Lava Butte. The Frenchman Mountain Fault poses a significant earthquake danger to the Clark County region. It is likely named after the Frenchman Mine, which itself was alleged to be the site of a stock scam by a Belgian immigrant (mistakenly assumed to be French). It is commonly referred to as Sunrise Mountain, the name of a smaller peak to the north of Frenchman Mountain, because the sun rises over it in some areas of Las Vegas. The area from Cheyenne Avenue and Boulder Highway and Lamb Boulevard is commonly known as Sunrise Manor Township CDP. Local conservationists have proposed the area, along with Gypsum Cave and Sunrise Mountain, be protected as a national monument.

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Wikidata Q5502721, referenced by the OpenStreetMap record.

What the record says

Elevation
1,236 m

How to reach it

Coordinates36.17916, -114.99763

Named places within 25 miles

Artworks
  • Frontier Sign: 7.7 mi
  • Sahara Sign: 7.7 mi
  • Cesars Palace Sign: 7.7 mi
  • La Concha Motel Sign: 7.7 mi
  • Ugly Duckling Sign: 7.7 mi
Parks: 57
Peaks: 53
Attractions
Museums: 26
Historic sites: 25
Cliffs: 19
Gardens: 19
Springs: 10
Nature reserves: 5
Ghost towns: 5
Hot springs: 4
  • Two Mile Hot Spring: 19.4 mi
  • Lost Man Hot Spring: 19.6 mi
  • Ringbolt Hot Spring: 21.4 mi
  • Arizona Hot Springs: 21.4 mi
Beaches: 3
Picnic sites: 1
  • Foxtail Picnic Area (Pavilion F): 10.4 mi
Rest areas: 1

Other summits around it

The highest named summits within 25 miles of Frenchman Mountain. Elevation from each summit’s own record; bearing measured between the two coordinates.

SummitBearingElevationDistance
Quartzite MountainNNW2,152 m22.9 mi
Gass PeakNNW2,111 m18.4 mi
Fossil RidgeNNW1,664 m21.7 mi
Mount WilsonESE1,663 m25.0 mi
Muddy PeakENE1,590 m18.8 mi
Peak 5058S1,542 m19.1 mi
Calico HillsW1,505 m24.8 mi
Blue Diamond HillWSW1,503 m22.8 mi

When to go

Light through the year

DateSunriseGolden hourSunset
March equinox06:4418:1818:52
June solstice05:2419:2320:01
September equinox06:2918:0518:38
December solstice06:4815:5016:30

Local time (America/Los_Angeles).

Climate normals

Months averaging 50–80 °F: Feb–May, Oct–Nov.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg °F505361687787939183715748
Precip in0.60.80.50.20.20.00.30.30.30.40.30.5

1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals, NOAA NCEI — N LAS Vegas, 8 mi away.

Where this comes from

Location and category confirmed against OpenStreetMap.

OpenStreetMapWikipediaWikidata

OpenStreetMap element node/297530806

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