Junction Peak
Junction Peak rises to 4,224 m in California. Mount Whitney stands 4,420 m to the south-southeast, 8.8 miles off. The nearest named place is Donald Downs Plaque, a historic site 0.3 miles away.
The story
Junction Peak is a thirteener in the Sierra Nevada. Joseph Nisbet LeConte chose this name in 1896, noting that it marks the point where the Sierra Crest crosses the water divide of the Kern and Kings rivers. Today it also is the boundary between Inyo and Tulare counties, and of Kings Canyon National Park, Sequoia National Park and the John Muir Wilderness. Botanist Edwin Bingham Copeland and Chico Normal School colleagues Ernest Norton Henderson and Maxwell Adams made the first recorded ascent of Junction Peak on August 8, 1899. They are credited with pioneering the class 3 South Ridge route from Diamond Mesa to the summit. Over the course of nearly a century, several more class 3 and 4 routes were established. The first winter climb was made by the West Ridge, culminating on March 21, 1973. The first technical climb recorded on Junction was the grade III 5.7 North Buttress route.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Wikidata Q6311758, referenced by the OpenStreetMap record.
What the record says
- Elevation
- 4224 m
How to reach it
Named places within 25 miles
- Caltech Peak: 1.4 mi
- Mount Keith: 1.4 mi
- Gregory's Monument: 1.8 mi
- Mount Stanford: 1.9 mi
- Center Peak: 2.1 mi
- Cyclops Skull Arch: 13.5 mi
- Boot Arch: 13.5 mi
- Chicken Ranch: 13.8 mi
- Man of Steel (movie site): 13.9 mi
- Iron Man (movie site): 14.2 mi
- Tub Springs: 8.3 mi
- Boron Springs: 8.5 mi
- SB23 intermittent spring: 10.1 mi
- McGann Springs: 11.9 mi
- Grover Anton Spring: 14.0 mi
- Donald Downs Plaque: 0.3 mi
- Shorty's Vidette Meadow Cabin: 4.8 mi
- Shorty's Sphinx Creek Cabin: 9.9 mi
- Shorty's Bubbs Creek Cabin: 11.0 mi
- Manzanar Cemetery Monument: 11.5 mi
- Lower Picket Creek Falls: 9.1 mi
- Upper Picket Creek Falls: 9.4 mi
- Upper Gardiner Falls: 10.2 mi
- Lower Gardiner Falls: 10.2 mi
- Mist Falls: 13.2 mi
- Ebersbacher Ledges: 9.6 mi
- Paul's Paradise: 14.7 mi
- Valhalla: 14.8 mi
- Southern Blonde Rock: 15.7 mi
- Chocolate Block: 15.8 mi
- Bk 34 Mess Hall Garden: 11.7 mi
- Bk 12 Mess Hall Garden: 11.7 mi
- Japanese Garden: 11.8 mi
- Rose Garden: 11.8 mi
- Kado's Garden: 11.9 mi
- Whitney Portal Arch: 13.2 mi
- Lathe Arch: 14.4 mi
- Mobius Arch: 14.4 mi
- Heart Arch: 14.4 mi
- Hitching Post Arch: 15.6 mi
- Eastern California Museum: 11.8 mi
- Mary Austin's House: 11.9 mi
- Manzanar National Historic Site Visitor Center: 12.3 mi
- Southern Inyo Museum: 17.7 mi
- Museum of Western Film History: 18.0 mi
- Merritt Park: 11.8 mi
- Independence Park: 11.9 mi
- Dehy Park: 12.0 mi
- Spainhower Park: 17.6 mi
- Diaz Lake Recreation Area: 19.4 mi
- Whitney Portal Picnic Area: 10.0 mi
- Grizzly Falls Picnic Area: 22.3 mi
- Pinewood Picnic Area: 23.6 mi
- Halstead Meadow Picnic Area: 23.8 mi
- Kearsarge: 8.5 mi
- San Carlos: 15.4 mi
- Bend City: 15.8 mi
- Paiute Mural: 11.9 mi
- Miss Alabama: 16.2 mi
- Fort Independence Travel Plaza: 12.6 mi
- Division Creek Rest Area: 19.0 mi
- Kern Hot Spring: 14.9 mi
Other summits around it
The highest named summits within 9.0 miles of Junction Peak. Elevation from each summit’s own record; bearing measured between the two coordinates.
| Summit | Bearing | Elevation | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mount Whitney | SSE 152° | 4,419.6 m | 8.8 mi |
| Mount Williamson | SE 128° | 4,383 m | 3.9 mi |
| Keeler Needle | SSE 153° | 4,361.2 m | 9.0 mi |
| Mount Russell | SSE 149° | 4,296 m | 8.1 mi |
| Mount Tyndall | SSE 147° | 4,275 m | 2.9 mi |
| Mount Barnard | SSE 150° | 4,266 m | 5.0 mi |
| Mount Stanford | WNW 299° | 4,260.2 m | 1.9 mi |
| Gregory's Monument | WNW 295° | 4,254.4 m | 1.8 mi |
When to go
Light through the year
| Date | Sunrise | Golden hour | Sunset |
|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox | 06:58 | 18:31 | 19:06 |
| June solstice | 05:36 | 19:38 | 20:16 |
| September equinox | 06:42 | 18:18 | 18:52 |
| December solstice | 07:03 | 16:01 | 16:42 |
Local time (America/Los_Angeles).
Climate normals
Months averaging 50–80 °F: Mar–Jun, Sep–Nov.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg °F | 44 | 47 | 54 | 60 | 69 | 79 | 85 | 83 | 76 | 64 | 52 | 43 |
| Precip in | 1.4 | 0.9 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 0.9 |
1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals, NOAA NCEI — Independence, 12 mi away.
Where this comes from
Location and category confirmed against OpenStreetMap.
OpenStreetMapWikidata- USGS Geographic Names Information System feature 262046 — Junction Peak, Inyo County, California.
OpenStreetMap element node/358798368
Day trips start here
Take the scenic way to Junction Peak.
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