The Sphinx
The Sphinx rises to 2,786 m in California. Mount Stanford stands 4,260 m to the east-southeast, 9.7 miles off. The nearest named place is Shorty's Bubbs Creek Cabin, a historic site 1.2 miles away.
The story
The Sphinx is a 9,143-foot-elevation (2,787-meter) double summit granitic pillar located west of the crest of the Sierra Nevada mountain range, in Kings Canyon National Park, in Fresno County of northern California. This landmark is situated at the northern end of the Great Western Divide, two miles southeast of Kanawyers, five miles northwest of North Guard, and immediately south of the confluence of Bubbs Creek and South Fork Kings River. Topographic relief is significant as the north aspect rises 4,000 feet (1,200 meters) above the canyon in one mile. This geographical feature was named in 1891 by John Muir. This feature's name has been officially adopted by the United States Board on Geographic Names. The Sphinx formation is the further north and slightly lower of the two peaks, and was the first rock climb done in the Kings Canyon region. The first ascent of the summit was made July 26, 1940, by Art Argiewicz and Bob Jacobs. The North Buttress was first climbed October 18, 1970, by Fred Beckey, Greg Donaldson, and Walt Vennum.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Wikidata Q107222835, referenced by the OpenStreetMap record.
What the record says
- Elevation
- 2,786 m
How to reach it
Named places within 25 miles
- Avalanche Peak: 1.8 mi
- Palmer Mountain: 1.9 mi
- Grand Sentinel: 2.0 mi
- Buck Peak: 2.3 mi
- Glacier Monument: 3.1 mi
- General Sherman Tree: 17.2 mi
- Lower Stony Creek: 17.4 mi
- Chief Sequoyah: 17.6 mi
- Congress Group: 17.7 mi
- McKinley Tree: 17.7 mi
- Mist Falls: 2.9 mi
- Roaring River Falls: 4.0 mi
- Lower Gardiner Falls: 6.0 mi
- Upper Gardiner Falls: 6.1 mi
- Grizzly Falls: 11.0 mi
- Tub Springs: 13.9 mi
- McGann Springs: 15.3 mi
- Boron Springs: 15.5 mi
- Grover Anton Spring: 16.5 mi
- Scotty Spring: 16.9 mi
- Shorty's Bubbs Creek Cabin: 1.2 mi
- Shorty's Sphinx Creek Cabin: 1.8 mi
- Shorty's Gardiner Basin Cabin: 4.7 mi
- Shorty's Williams Meadow Cabin: 7.8 mi
- Shorty's Vidette Meadow Cabin: 8.2 mi
- Bk 34 Mess Hall Garden: 21.8 mi
- Japanese Garden: 21.9 mi
- Arai Pond: 22.0 mi
- Bk 12 Mess Hall Garden: 22.0 mi
- Kado's Garden: 22.0 mi
- Muro Blanco: 9.7 mi
- Slide Bluffs: 13.2 mi
- Valhalla: 13.9 mi
- Windy Cliffs: 15.0 mi
- Windy Cliff: 16.2 mi
- Grizzly Falls Picnic Area: 10.9 mi
- Halstead Meadow Picnic Area: 16.9 mi
- Stony Creek Picnic Area: 17.1 mi
- Pinewood Picnic Area: 18.1 mi
- Hospital Rock Picnic Site: 21.2 mi
- Giant Forest Museum: 18.9 mi
- Eastern California Museum: 19.3 mi
- Mary Austin's House: 19.4 mi
- Manzanar National Historic Site Visitor Center: 22.5 mi
- Dehy Park: 19.4 mi
- Independence Park: 19.6 mi
- General Grant Grove Section Kings Canyon Nat: 20.1 mi
- Merritt Park: 21.9 mi
- Kearsarge: 12.8 mi
- Bend City: 23.5 mi
- San Carlos: 23.6 mi
- Fort Independence Travel Plaza: 18.3 mi
- Division Creek Rest Area: 21.0 mi
- Sandy Cove Beach: 19.4 mi
- Jumping Rock: 19.8 mi
- Kern Hot Spring: 21.8 mi
- Paiute Mural: 22.0 mi
- Whitney Portal Arch: 24.8 mi
Other summits around it
The highest named summits within 10.5 miles of The Sphinx. Elevation from each summit’s own record; bearing measured between the two coordinates.
| Summit | Bearing | Elevation | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mount Stanford | ESE 118° | 4,260 m | 9.7 mi |
| Gregory's Monument | ESE 119° | 4,254 m | 9.8 mi |
| Caltech Peak | ESE 123° | 4,217 m | 10.5 mi |
| Table Mountain | SSE 151° | 4,151 m | 8.8 mi |
| Mount Ericsson | SE 124° | 4,151 m | 9.1 mi |
| Milestone Mountain | SSE 159° | 4,149 m | 10.1 mi |
| Midway Mountain | SSE 157° | 4,140 m | 9.6 mi |
| Mount Brewer | SE 140° | 4,136 m | 5.6 mi |
When to go
Light through the year
| Date | Sunrise | Golden hour | Sunset |
|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox | 06:59 | 18:32 | 19:06 |
| June solstice | 05:36 | 19:39 | 20:17 |
| September equinox | 06:43 | 18:19 | 18:53 |
| December solstice | 07:04 | 16:02 | 16:42 |
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, 15 mi away.
Inside the official boundary of Kings Canyon National Park.
Where this comes from
Location and category confirmed against OpenStreetMap.
OpenStreetMapWikidata- USGS Geographic Names Information System feature 236226 — The Sphinx, Fresno County, California.
OpenStreetMap element node/7900131607
Day trips start here
Take the scenic way to The Sphinx.
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