Mount Ritter

Mount Ritter is the highest mountain in Madera County, California, in the Western United States, at an elevation of 13,149 feet (4,008 m). It is also the highest and most prominent peak of its namesake, the Ritter Range, a subrange of the Sierra Nevada in the Ansel Adams Wilderness of the Inyo and Sierra National Forests. Mount Ritter is the 15th highest mountain peak in California with at least 500 meters of topographic prominence.

Mount Ritter
Mount Ritter (on the left) from the John Muir Trail
Highest point
Elevation13,149 ft (4,008 m)  NAVD 88[1]
Prominence3,957 ft (1,206 m) [1]
Parent peakRed Slate Mountain[1]
Listing
Coordinates37°41′22″N 119°11′57″W [3]
Geography
LocationAnsel Adams Wilderness,
Madera County, California, U.S.
Parent rangeRitter Range, Sierra Nevada
Topo mapUSGS Mount Ritter
Geology
Age of rockCretaceous
Mountain typeMetavolcanic rock
Climbing
First ascent1872 by John Muir[4]
Easiest routeSnow/rock scramble

Geography

Mount Ritter is made of strikingly dark rock and is quite prominent due to its height and isolation.[1] It is in the middle of the Ritter Range, which includes neighboring Banner Peak and the Minarets. The prominent and memorable shape of the Ritter–Banner pair is visible from high elevations far to the north and south in the Sierra Nevada.

Mount Ritter was named by Josiah Whitney, chief of the California Geological Survey, for Carl Ritter, who had been a teacher of his when he was a student in Berlin during the 1840s.[5]

See also

References
  1. "Mount Ritter, California". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 2009-08-09.
  2. "Sierra Peaks Section List" (PDF). Angeles Chapter, Sierra Club. Retrieved 2009-08-09.
  3. "Mount Ritter". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 2009-08-09.
  4. Muir, John. "The Mountains of California". Retrieved 2009-08-09.
  5. Browning, Peter (1986). Place Names of the Sierra Nevada. Berkeley: Wilderness Press. p. 183. ISBN 0-89997-047-8.
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