Mount Cotter
Mount Cotter rises to 3,879 m in California. Mount Stanford stands 4,260 m to the south-southeast, 8.3 miles off. The nearest named place is Upper Gardiner Falls, a waterfall 0.9 miles away.
The story
Mount Cotter, located in the Kings Canyon National Park, is named for Dick Cotter who was a packer with the California Geological Survey in 1864. Cotter and Clarence King made the first ascent of Mount Tyndall. The Mountain has an elevation of 12,719 feet (3,877 m). The mountain is easily climbed from Gardiner Basin with a class 2-3 slope. There are more difficult routes found on the north and east sides of Mount Cotter. The mountain features a large class 4-5 summit block. Mount Cotter can be reached from the west or east side of the Sierra Nevada. Wilderness permits are required for overnight stays entering from either the east or west. There is a Visitors Center in Grant Grove that can inform visitors of when the office at Road's End will be open. Camping is allowed in many places along the approach to Mt Cotter. Kearsarge Lakes, Charlotte Lake, and Rae Lakes all have a maximum 2 nights stay, and Bullfrog Lake along the Kearsarge Pass Trail is closed to camping. Bear canisters are required for overnight stays.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Wikidata Q6920265, referenced by the OpenStreetMap record.
What the record says
- Elevation
- 3879.2 m
How to reach it
Named places within 25 miles
- Mount Clarence King: 1.0 mi
- Mount Gardiner: 1.3 mi
- Fin Dome: 1.7 mi
- Glacier Spike: 2.9 mi
- Diamond Peak: 2.9 mi
- Chicken Ranch: 21.2 mi
- Boot Arch: 21.4 mi
- Cyclops Skull Arch: 21.4 mi
- Man of Steel (movie site): 21.6 mi
- Iron Man (movie site): 22.0 mi
- Tub Springs: 7.9 mi
- McGann Springs: 8.5 mi
- Grover Anton Spring: 9.6 mi
- Boron Springs: 9.7 mi
- Scotty Spring: 10.4 mi
- Upper Gardiner Falls: 0.9 mi
- Lower Gardiner Falls: 0.9 mi
- Mist Falls: 5.9 mi
- Roaring River Falls: 10.3 mi
- Triple Falls: 13.1 mi
- Shorty's Gardiner Basin Cabin: 3.2 mi
- Shorty's Woods Creek Crossing Cabin: 3.8 mi
- Shorty's Vidette Meadow Cabin: 5.0 mi
- Shorty's Bubbs Creek Cabin: 5.6 mi
- Shorty's Sphinx Creek Cabin: 5.7 mi
- Muro Blanco: 7.7 mi
- Windy Cliff: 14.5 mi
- Slide Bluffs: 15.2 mi
- Great Cliffs: 16.0 mi
- Valhalla: 18.9 mi
- Bk 34 Mess Hall Garden: 16.8 mi
- Japanese Garden: 16.9 mi
- Rose Garden: 16.9 mi
- Arai Pond: 16.9 mi
- Bk 22 Mess Hall Garden: 17.1 mi
- Whitney Portal Arch: 21.8 mi
- Mobius Arch: 22.5 mi
- Lathe Arch: 22.5 mi
- Heart Arch: 22.6 mi
- Hitching Post Arch: 23.8 mi
- Grizzly Falls Picnic Area: 16.7 mi
- Whitney Portal Picnic Area: 19.6 mi
- Halstead Meadow Picnic Area: 23.7 mi
- Stony Creek Picnic Area: 23.9 mi
- Pinewood Picnic Area: 24.7 mi
- Kearsarge: 6.5 mi
- Bend City: 17.2 mi
- San Carlos: 17.5 mi
- Eastern California Museum: 13.2 mi
- Mary Austin's House: 13.3 mi
- Manzanar National Historic Site Visitor Center: 17.4 mi
- Dehy Park: 13.3 mi
- Independence Park: 13.6 mi
- Merritt Park: 16.9 mi
- Fort Independence Travel Plaza: 11.8 mi
- Division Creek Rest Area: 14.3 mi
- Paiute Mural: 16.9 mi
- Miss Alabama: 24.5 mi
- Kern Hot Spring: 23.6 mi
Other summits around it
The highest named summits within 9.4 miles of Mount Cotter. Elevation from each summit’s own record; bearing measured between the two coordinates.
| Summit | Bearing | Elevation | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mount Stanford | SSE 162° | 4,260.2 m | 8.3 mi |
| Gregory's Monument | SSE 162° | 4,254.4 m | 8.5 mi |
| Mount Ericsson | S 170° | 4,150.7 m | 8.5 mi |
| University Peak | SE 138° | 4,138 m | 6.6 mi |
| Mount Brewer | SSW 197° | 4,136 m | 8.0 mi |
| Mount Pinchot | NNE 13° | 4,113.6 m | 9.1 mi |
| North Guard | SSW 201° | 4,058 m | 7.6 mi |
| Black Mountain | E 101° | 4,045 m | 3.6 mi |
When to go
Light through the year
| Date | Sunrise | Golden hour | Sunset |
|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox | 06:58 | 18:32 | 19:06 |
| June solstice | 05:36 | 19:38 | 20:17 |
| September equinox | 06:42 | 18:18 | 18:52 |
| December solstice | 07:04 | 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, 13 mi away.
Inside the official boundary of Kings Canyon National Park.
Where this comes from
Location and category confirmed against OpenStreetMap.
OpenStreetMapWikidataOpenStreetMap element node/358797398
Day trips start here
Take the scenic way to Mount Cotter.
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